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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
Snowy Dunes, Atlantis: The Power of Testimony
Posted in Reviews on November 20th, 2017 by JJ Koczan
Snowy Dunes have caught a heavy blues. They're far from the only ones. The last couple years have witnessed a nascent surge of soul-driven heavy rock, and whether manifest in the high-order pop hooks of Snowy Dunes' Swedish countryfolk Blues Pills, the grit of New York's Geezer or the dug-in jams of Australia's Child, these worldwide examples are tied together through a blend of sonic fluidity, songcraft, open atmosphere and underlying naturalism that carries across this core sound as a next logical step forward for what in the earlier part of the decade might've been more straight-ahead boogie rock recorded on vintage gear.
Atlantis, which is the second Snowy Dunes long-player and sees release through HeviSike Records, follows a well-received 2015 self-titled debut (discussed here) and finds the returning four-piece of guitarist Christoffer Kingstedt, bassist Carl Oredson, drummer Stefan Jakobsson and vocalist Niklas Eisen pushing themselves creativity and refining the processes laid forth their last time out. The first album had a thrilling sense of spontaneity, and Atlantis does likewise, though the band stuck closer to home and recorded in Sweden with Anders Oredsson rather than travel as they did for the first record, which was tracked with Dead Meadow's Steve Krille.
Does that make Atlantis less of an adventure? Not necessarily. While there are fewer moments of left-the-tape-running-to-see-what-would-happen flourish among Atlantis' five songs/42 minutes, those same songs are well served by a tighter approach overall, and with its booking title-track installments — beginning with "Atlantis, Part II," which is also the longest cut at 10:55 (immediate points) and ending with the build-into-apex-and-then-drift-away "Atlantis, Part III" — the record is not at all without a sense of journey in the front-to-back listening experience.
If anything, that sense is all the more resonant in Atlantis than it was on Snowy Dunes, because where the debut was so tied to the idea of the band jamming off the cuff in the studio — thereby keeping themselves to that one physical place even if using it as a launch point for musical exploration as they were — Atlantis comes across as roaming more freely on the whole. Between "Atlantis, Part II" and "Atlantis, Part III" — and if you're wondering what happened to "Atlantis, Part I," Snowy Dunes released it digitally as a single in Jan. 2016; it's a 19-minute improv jam also recorded by Oredsson that carries some genuinely glorious moments — the band offers a three-song salvo of organic engagement. It's up to "Atlantis, Part II" to set the scene, and the song does, with an initial strike of piano keys forward and backward that begins Atlantis on an atmospheric note and leads into trades back and forth of volume swells and psychedelic drift that are fluidly executed enough to leave little question why the band might've named the album after a sunken city.
As a frontman, Eisen made a striking and personality-filled impression on the self-titled, and he does so on "Atlantis, Part II" as well, but shines even more on the subsequent "Testify," which picks up directly on beat from the opener and plays off gospel traditions in an insistent heavy rock push marked by Jakobsson's fleet turns stamped with Kingstedt's wah, dropping to Oredson's bass to begin a wonderfully immersive middle third build and hits its peak as it rolls toward its eighth minute with Eisen speaking in tongues before the guitar leads the way back into a final runthrough of the album's most memorable chorus and another scorching but still welcoming solo. The win is immediate, the party is a blast, but if you're looking for a highlight in terms of vibe, centerpiece "The Trident and the Moon" answers the liquefaction of "Atlantis, Part II" with deep-running psych immersion and ballad-style storytelling in its lyrics, the vocals working subtly in layers atop the vast seascape of guitar and steady movement of drums and bass.
The second half of the song is given to another linear build answered by a late return to the chorus, but as with that midsection of "Testify," it's all about the dynamic and the chemistry Snowy Dunes bring to their execution of same. Both are palpable. And as "The Trident and the Moon"'s nine and a half minutes come to an end ahead of the shorter "Ritual of Voices," which though it features some choice vocal work beginning with spoken echoes and unfolding to spacious proclamations, is even more marked out by the wash created by the guitar and the hypnosis conjured thereby.
Casting off momentarily some of the bluesy feel — it's never too far gone — Snowy Dunes retool the balance to emphasize the psychedelic side of their sound, and in this swirl, they find a rhythmic punch held together deftly by the drums and bass as Kingstedt utterly soars and leaves a trail of fire behind him along his way. It comes to a head and cuts out quick at seven minutes, but "Ritual of Voices" is a distinct stretch of Atlantis and demonstrates the ability of the band to emphasize multiple aspects of who they are in their songwriting. After that, the plunge into "Atlantis, Part III" feels almost like a return to solid ground, but is warm and welcome all the same. The closer is the shortest slice of Atlantis at just over six minutes long — and a decent portion of its last minute is silent — but that's still plenty of time for Snowy Dunes to shift from the initial languid verses into a kinetic payoff that smoothly works into the roll-credits guitar line and melodic progression that ends the record with no less a consonant naturalism than it began.
So far as I can tell, "Atlantis, Part II" and "Atlantis, Part III" — and, for that matter, the prior "Atlantis, Part I" — don't tie together in terms of actual sonic theme, but in their ambience they relate much of the same story, and it's a narrative of continued growth on the part of the band and further development of who they are as individual players and together as a functioning unit. The signals are clear throughout Atlantis that Snowy Dunes are not finished with this evolutionary process, and frankly that only renders the songs more exciting, since even as they bask in a more complete realization than one found on the debut, they hold forth a potential no less vivid, and indeed make Atlantis a work of discovery.
Snowy Dunes, Atlantis (2017)
Atlantis by Snowy Dunes
Snowy Dunes on Thee Facebooks
Snowy Dunes on Bandcamp
HeviSike Records on Thee Facebooks
HeviSike Records on Twitter
HeviSike Records on Bandcamp
HeviSike Records website
Tags: Atlantis, HeviSike Records, Snowy Dunes, Snowy Dunes Atlantis, Stockholm, Sweden
Church of Misery, Kadavar, The Atomic Bitchwax and More to Play Void Fest 2014 in Germany
Posted in Whathaveyou on May 14th, 2014 by JJ Koczan
Having a cool festival lineup is one thing — it's a huge thing — but driving toward an aesthetic is something completely different and pivotal in creating a vibe for any event, whatever it might be. Germany's Void Fest, which is set for Aug. 1 and 2 in Kötzting in Bavaria with tickets limited to 1,000, seems to be well on its way to that end. The bill runs from the progressive black metal of Sun Worship to the riotous stoner rock of Church of Misery, and with film screenings and a focus on local culture, it seems like an experience that begins with the music and will encompass much more than just that. It looks like a great way to spend a couple days.
They put it thusly:
The Void society was established in spring 2012. Up from its creation Void was planned as an altruistic friendly society with unpaid workforce and do it yourself intention. The idea behind Void is to join forces of people who are interested in music. The goal was to score with new innovative bands and through that strenghten our local cultural landscape.
Since the founding Void organized several well visited shows in the bavarian forest and its surrounding cities, such as Bad Kötzting and Regenburg. While allways keeping it familiar and friendly the shows soon drew big attention. Meanwhile a few bands had some of their last gigs at Void Fest before getting signed a major label contract.
D.I.Y. has always been a big point for the societies work. Next to fairtrade screenprinted merchandise shirts, patches and bags, each band playing at Void Fest gets its own hand drawn posters. The whole festival structure is set up by society members during their spare time.
Allways trying to create unique music events for every people, Void is still trying to do things different than others. Merely the best ideas fit the demands the young society has given itself.
Confirmed lineup so far:
Church of Misery
Rose Windows
Suns of Thyme
H A R K
Brahm
The Wulffs
Doomina
Oddjob Men
Mother's Cake
Sun Worship
https://voidfest.bigcartel.com/
https://www.facebook.com/VoidFest/
http://instagram.com/voidfest#
http://voidfest.de/
Void Fest 2013 Documentary
Tags: Atlantis, Brahm, Church of Misery, Germany, H A R K, Kadavar, Rose Windows, Sun Worship, Suns of Thyme, The Atomic Bitchwax, The Entrance Band, Void Fest, Void Fest 2014
Roadburn 2014: Harsh Toke, Horisont, Jackson Firebird, Evil Invaders, Yama and Atlantis Added to Lineup
Posted in Whathaveyou on January 29th, 2014 by JJ Koczan
You know what they say: "Blink and you'll miss a shit-ton of adds to the Roadburn lineup." Okay, they don't say that, but I do. I had already planned on putting up the sundry bands that joined Roadburn 2014's impossibly-large roster yesterday, and then today they also put on Harsh Toke's first European appearance, and well, hard to say no to that. There's a lot to dig through here, so I won't delay.
Updates courtesy of the Roadburn website:
Harsh Toke To Light Up Roadburn Festival 2014
Skateboards, palm trees, psychedelic bands: these are enduring iconic symbols of California. Whether it's pavement or guitars, the state has a rich and colorful history when it comes to shredding. Ready for the next chapter? Meet San Diego's Harsh Toke!
Emerging from the same scene as Earthless, these four dudes share the mighty trio's predilection for non-stop guitar-heavy psych rock awesomeness. They even have a professional skater in their ranks, too. Justin "Figgy" Figueroa's searing guitar is alive with reverb and delay, climbing the wall of sound like some fast-growing new hallucinogenic strain of bougainvillea.
Meanwhile, Richie Belton's grooving bass line dives into the rip current of Austin "Buya" Ayub's smashing drums as Gabe Messer ("I'm on the space key," he said by way of introduction in a video interview with Front magazine) sends one wave after another into the mix.
Tee Pee Records took notice and released the band's invigorating debut full-length, Light Up and Live, which not only put Harsh Toke in excellent company label-wise but also earned them a spot on many Best Of 2013 lists. Recorded by Astra's Brian Ellis and mastered by Carl Saff (Earthless, OFF!, Unsane), you might also recall that Light Up and Live was Roadburn's Album of the Day on Friday, November 1st.
So far, US audiences have had a chance to trip out on some captivating Harsh Toke gigs. This year will be Europe's turn. One of the enduring hallmarks of the Roadburn Festival is the incredible instrumental magic that happens on stage — Earthless in 2008 and Heavy Jam in 2012 are just two stellar examples. With that in mind, we are ultra stoked to offer Harsh Toke a residency to play their first-ever European shows exclusively at Roadburn Festival 2014 on Saturday, April 12th and Sunday, April 13th (the traditional Afterburner event) at the 013 venue in Tilburg, The Netherlands.
Traditionally, Roadburn audiences have shown a voracious appetite for high grade spaced out jams. Harsh Toke promises to deliver a cosmic buffet that will satisfy. Get ready to feast on some very tasty sounds!
Horisont To Return To Roadburn Festival 2014
Sweden's Horisont will return to Roadburn after their highly acclaimed 2012 performance. This time, the band will be playing Cul de Sac, the friendly music cafe located across from the 013 venue, in Tilburg, The Netherlands on Saturday, April 12th. Since they were on tour with Scorpion Child, we eagerly tabbed them play the 2014 festival.
If you are an avid heavy 70s aficionado, or a lover of supreme hardrock, you will definitely dig Horisont. The band excels at crafting old school, bluesy hardrock, and on their latest album, Time Warrior, released on Rise Above Records, Horisont even incorporates heavy metal, while remorselessly going for the throat. The fact that the lyrics are sung in Swedish and English adds to band's appeal.
Continue to stake their claim that Horisont may be the best new talent to emerge from the ever-fertile Swedish rock scene, the anticipation for their Roadburn appearance will be massive. Make sure to be there early, as Cul de Sac can only host 175 people.
Jackson Firebird To Deliver Rugged, Explosive, Full-Filt Aussie Rock 'n Roll at Roadburn 2014
Aussie full-tilt garage rockers, Jackson Firebird, will bring their mightly wallop to Roadburn Festival 2014 on Saturday, April 12th at Cul de Sac in Tilburg, The Netherlands.
Delivering their volatile live power to much acclaim Down Under, the duo of Dale Hudak and Brendan Harvey, will also leave Roadburn wild-eyed and breathless the moment their growling guitars, dirty riffs, and super tight beats kick you in the teeth.
The duo's high octane debut album, Cock Rockin', is one helluva wild ride — you want rock with no shame, stripped back, simple, dirty and in-your-face? Jackson Firebird has it in spades. Be forwarned, as Hudak and Harvey go straight at it!
Roadburn Festival 2014 will run for four days from Thursday, April 10th to Sunday, April 13th 2014 at the 013 venue in Tilburg, The Netherlands.
Evil Invaders To Kick Ass at Roadburn Festival's Hardrock Hideout on Wednesday, April 9th
In addition to Death Alley's gnarly shake appeal we'll crossover into the retro-thrash movement as well at Roadburn Festival's traditional Hardrock Hideout on Wednesday, April 9th at Cul de Sac in Tilburg, The Netherlands.
Belgium's Evil Invaders offer a speedy but melodic old school rip fest, forging 80-ish inspired (thrash)metal along the lines of Exciter, Exodus, Agent Steel, Mercyful Fate and WASP among others. It's really impressive to see these kids galloping away, pedal to the metal, rockin' their denim-clad asses and sounding like the real deal from the early eighties!
The relentless neck wreckers of Evil Invaders simply kick ass and should have you headbanging and air guitaring to bring you back to those fast rude speed 'n' roll heavy metal days!
Just do yourself a favor and thrash until you crash at Roadburn's Hardrock Hideout. Doors open at 8pm and admission is FREE!
Roadburn Festival 2014 – Cul de Sac: Atlantis and Yama To Play On Saturday, April 12th
Next to the announcement of Ggu:ll, Mühr, Seirom and Ortega, we're continuing to showcase Dutch bands that have their own vibe while at the same time possessing a certain Roadburn flair, by giving Utrecht's Atlantis and Tilburg's very own Yama, the opportunity to connect with the international Roadburn community on Saturday, April 12th at Cul de Sac in Tilburg, The Netherlands.
With three critically acclaimed albums, Carpe Omnium, Mistress Of Ghosts, and Omens, plus their intense live shows, Atlantis has become a respected name in the post-metal / rock scene.
Their latest release, Omens, is an intense, engaging, bleak, and heavy affair, which compelled us to let Atlantis return to Roadburn Festival, after performing at the 2012 Afterburner.
While all music is written by Gilson Heitinga, Atlantis live is a full blown band. By creating a deafening wall of sound with their mixture of noise, doom, ambient, industrial, electronica, and metal, Atlantis tears down the walls between these genres, leaving their audiences in a state of awe.
Named after the Tibetan God of Death, Yama built a reputation as a solid live band over the last couple of years, and played festivals like Yellowstock and Freak Valley. Currently working on their debut full-length, Yama deliver heavy, fuzzed out stoner rock, underpinned with massive grooves — think Goatsnake meets Graveyard with occasional High on Fire type riffs thrown in for good measure!
Roadburn Festival 2014 will run for four days from Thursday, April 10th to Sunday, April 13th 2014 at the 013 venue, Het Patronaat and Cul de Sac in Tilburg, The Netherlands.
Tickets for the traditional Afterburner event on Sunday, April 13th at the 013 venue in Tilburg, The Netherlands are still available. Get in on the action HERE!
Harsh Toke, Live at Unit B Skate Park, Santa Ana, CA, Dec. 2012
Tags: Atlantis, Harsh Toke, Horisont, Jackson Firebird, Roadburn 2014 Lineup, The Netherlands, Tilburg, Yama
audiObelisk: Atlantis Stream "Raptor" from New Album Omens; Out Oct. 14 on Burning World Records
Posted in audiObelisk on September 26th, 2013 by JJ Koczan
It should say something about the complexity of their operations that it takes six people to reproduce live what by and large is created solely by multi-instrumentalist Gilson Heitinga in the studio for the band Atlantis. Heitinga's project began seven years ago and will release Omens, their third mostly-instrumental full-length — there are also two EPs, most recently 2012's La Petite Mort — on Oct. 14 through Burning World Records, crafting a sonic blend of post-metal, progressive electronica and a sense of tonal weight, resulting in six varied and textured tracks that truly seem to be the output of a clear vision for what the sound should be. Whether it's the initial ambience of "Rapture" or the patient building of tension that leads to the slow-paced crush of "Widowmaker," both of Omens' vinyl sides produce a rich, immersive feel that's easy to get lost within.
There are stretches that come across as comparatively minimal, but Omens is never really still, and whether it's a swirl of synth on backing the emergent shouts on "And She Drops the 7th Veil" or the noisy, chaotic patterning of the side B intro "The Path Into" — that path, incidentally, goes into
"Widowmaker" — Atlantis always keep a sense of forward motion despite the changing sphere of each given track and the mood that each piece of the 50-minute offering makes so malleable throughout. As both the first instance of the weighted riffing that comes to the fore periodically and the album's initial thrust,"Raptor" does a significant amount of work in establishing the atmospheric basis from which the rest of the songs work. It has both parcel fluctuations and an overarching linear build, and pays off in grand style only made more affecting by the drawn out keyboard melodies that top.
Because of that drama at the apex and because "Raptor" does so well in representing the whole of Omens from which it comes, I'm happy to have the chance to feature it here. Check it out on the player below, and please enjoy:
Omens will be available on Oct. 14 through Burning World Records and can be pre-ordered now on CD and gold or black vinyl.
Atlantis on Thee Facebooks
Tags: Atlantis, Atlantis Omens, Burning World Records, Nijmegen, Omens, The Netherlands
audiObelisk Transmission 030
Posted in Podcasts on September 21st, 2013 by JJ Koczan
With no slowdown in the music coming out as we move into the fall, it's time for another audiObelisk podcast. Like last month, the idea here was to keep it super-simple, not go too long or get lost too much in including stuff just for the hell of it. Whether it's a big band or someone you've never heard of in this tracklist, it's all quality, and most of it is new. A couple of these albums haven't even come out yet.
Things get pretty dark in the second of the two hours, but I figured what the hell? It starts off rockin' with Sasquatch and The Freeks and so on, so it seemed there was room to doom out for a while, and once I threw in The Body, there was nothing to do but plummet even further. As it winds down, there's some transition back to more rocking fare though with Earthless, so it's not like it gets totally lost and drowns in the mire of dark tones and sonic abrasion. I know you were worried. I was too.
Like last time, it clocks in at just under two hours long. I hope you download and enjoy the tracks. Here's the full rundown of what's included:
First Hour:
Sasquatch, "The Message" from IV (2013)
Monster Magnet, "Mindless Ones" from Last Patrol (2013)
The Freeks, "The Secret Pathway" from Full On (2013)
Red Fang, "Blood Like Cream" from Whales and Leeches (2013)
Pyramido, "Tiden är Kommen" from Saga (2013)
Hollow Leg, "Ride to Ruin" from Abysmal (2013)
YOB, "Ether" from Catharsis (2013 Reissue)
Seremonia, "Suuri Valkeus" from Ihminen (2013)
Aqua Nebula Oscillator, "Human Toad" from Spiritus Mundi (2013)
Jesu, "Everyday" from Everyday I Get Closer to the Light from Which I Came (2013)
Ayahuasca Dark Trip, "To the Holy Mountain" from Mind Journey (2013 Reissue)
Second Hour:
All Them Witches, "Born under a Bad Sign" (2013)
The Body, "Prayers Unanswered" from Christs, Redeemers (2013)
Primitive Man, "Antietam" from Scorn (2013)
Windhand, "Cassock" from Soma (2013)
Atlantis, "Omen" from Omens (2013)
Earthless, "Violence of the Red Sea" from From the Ages (2013)
Total running time: 1:59:33
Hope you dig it. Thanks for listening.
Download audiObelisk Transmission 030
Tags: All Them Witches, All Them Witches Born Under a Bad Sign, Aqua Nebula Oscillator, Aqua Nebula Oscillator Spiritus Mundi, Atlantis, Atlantis Omens, Ayahuasca Dark Trip, Ayahuasca Dark Trip Mind Journey, Earthless, Earthless From the Ages, Hollow Leg, Hollow Leg Abysmal, Jesu, Jesu Everyday I Get Closer to the Light from Which I Came, Monst Magnet, Monster Magnet Last Patrol, Primitive Man, Primitive Man Scorn, Pyramido, Pyramido Saga, Red Fang, Red Fang Whales and Leeches, Sasquatch, Sasquatch IV, Seremonia, Seremonia Ihminen, stoner rock podcast, The Body, The Body Christs Redeemers, The Freeks, The Freeks Full On, Windhand, Windhand Soma, Yob, YOB Catharsis
audiObelisk: Listen to Roadburn 2012 Audio Streams from Sir Admiral Cloudesley Shovell, Atlantis, Black Tusk, Christian Mistress, Doom, Mars Red Sky, Red Fang and Mike Scheidt
Posted in audiObelisk on August 3rd, 2012 by JJ Koczan
There's a few in this latest batch of Roadburn 2012 audio streams that I've really been looking forward to hearing. I stood and watched their whole set, but Mars Red Sky played a new song at the festival and I'd like to get another glimpse of what might be in store on their next album, and acts I didn't get to see like Sir Admiral Cloudesley Shovell and Black Tusk should be fun to check out. Thanks as always to Walter, Jurgen, Marcel van de Vondervoort and the entire Roadburn crew. Hope you have as much fun as I do with these:
Sir Admiral Cloudesley Shovell — Roadburn 2012
Atlantis — Roadburn 2012
Black Tusk — Roadburn 2012
Christian Mistress — Roadburn 2012
Doom — Roadburn 2012
Mars Red Sky — Roadburn 2012
Red Fang — Roadburn 2012
Mike Scheidt — Roadburn 2012
Read The Obelisk's coverage of Roadburn 2012 here.
Tags: Atlantis, Atlantis band, Black Tusk, Black Tusk Relapse, Christian Mistress, Doom, doom metal, Mars Red Sky, Mars Red Sky band, Mars Red Sky France, Mike Scheidt, Mike Scheidt Solo, Mike Scheidt YOB, Oregon, Portland, Red Fang, Red Fang metal, Red Fang Portland, Red Fang Roadburn, Sir Admiral Cloudesley Shovell, Sir Admiral Cloudesley Shovell band, Sir Admiral Cloudesley Shovell UK, Southern rock
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Paleohacks Cookbook Review: A WASTE OF MONEY?
The Paleohacks Cookbook is the ultimate guide to getting started with the Paleo Diet, which is a diet that promises to bring you weight loss, improved energy and much more.
Essentially, the Paleo Diet includes anything that could have been eaten by a caveman. So, that means no Doritos or donuts- the diet is limited to fish, meat, leafy greens and seeds. As neanderthals lived before the invention of farming and the agricultural revolution, this diet forbids cereal, rice and pasta.
Believers in the Paleo Diet state that this diet is the key to losing weight, having more energy, sleeping better, looking more vibrant and preventing diseases.
So what's the idea behind the paleo diet and why is the Paleohacks Cookbook so important? The concept is that before the age of agriculture, human beings were muscular, agile, athletic and versatile. These days, most people are out of shape, stressed out, sleep deprived and overweight. Supporters of the paleo diet argue that when humans discovered farming and advanced from hunter gatherers to farmers, our bodies didn't adjust to eating all of the grains that we learned how to farm.
Our bodies are still adapted to eating the hunter-gatherer diet and although our diet has shifted, our genetics have not. When we eat grains the carbohydrates within them are turned into glucose for our body to store and it is used for energy in our system. Any glucose that is not used for energy (and this happens often with our sedentary lifestyle) is stored as fat.
Our bodies are actually designed to operate on a lower amount of carbohydrates than we are used to, so we can easily adapt to eating fewer carbs. When you start eating on the Paleo Diet, your body will begin to take the stored fat that you have been struggling to lose for years and start to burn it for energy.
The Paleohacks Cookbook isn't just written by one person, it is a compilation of recipes that were gathered from many different sources. It was created by the PaleoHacks Team and it is the best of the best hand picked recipes. These meal ideas were chosen for their versatility, how easy they are to make and for how good they taste.
It can be difficult to adjust to a strict diet such as the Paleo Diet. When so many foods are not allowed, there comes the question, "So what AM I allowed to eat then?" Our habits of eating are so focused around grains (cereal for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch, pasta for dinner) that it's hard to think of alternatives. The normal diet in our society contains so many grains – bread, muffins, bagels, toast, donuts, cereal, pasta, etc. These foods do not have much nutritional value and they are loaded with calories and carbs which will add weight to your belly.
This is why the cookbook is so helpful. It will give you ideas for what to eat on the Paleo Diet, so that you are prepared and you can plan out your meals for the week. You can eat paleo foods for breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as preparing delicious snacks and meals for your guests when you host dinner parties. You are no longer stuck wondering what to eat, as the cookbook will give you a huge range of ideas.
This book will give you a huge range of options for foods that you can cook which will fit within the Paleo Diet. This makes it much easier to stick your diet, because you are not worrying about how to make a filling meal that only includes meat, fish, fowl, eggs, oils, nuts, vegetables and fruit. It also includes information on how you can order Paleo meals at any restaurant, so that you can go out with your friends and socialise while still being able to stick to your diet.
One of the great things about the Paleohacks Cookbook is that the foods within it are incredibly nutritious and filling, so it is nearly impossible to overeat. When you eat sugary and carb laden foods you can feel hungry many hours later, but with the foods on the Paleo Diet you will feel satiated. Also, one of the huge advantages of this program is that you don't have to count calories. You can eat as much as you like and you never have to worry about gaining weight.
This great cookbook has a great range of recipes, so you will be prepared for any occasion. Whether you are preparing breakfast, making a lunch to take to work or preparing dinner for the entire family- the Paleohacks Cookbook will have a creative recipe that you can use. Also, another advantage is that the recipes are very simple and easy to follow, which means that you can cook them even if you are not a culinary expert.
One of the main benefits of this program is that it offers a full 60 day money back guarantee. If you try the recipes within the paleo cookbook and they don't work for you, all you have to do is ask and you can get your money back. So, there's really nothing to lose if you want to download this ebook and get started with the Paleo Diet. It just might be the best move you make all year for your health and overall well being.


In these three years, I got over 1.200.000 page views and the last month was the first one to break the 70.000 views threshold.
On 1st of October 2015, I started working on my own. On 1st of December 2015, I joined the Hibernate team as a Developer Advocate. This blog has played a major role in getting this job, so I'm grateful I have started it in the first place.
I really enjoyed being on stage and meeting a lot of great people.
This year, I finished High-Performance Java Persistence. The whole book is very much inspired by the research I underwent on this blog. I would have never started writing it if I didn't see that my readers are interested in my articles about Hibernate.
Looking forward to the next year of blogging. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it.


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China-Africa expert Ian Taylor, St. Andrews University, spoke on 8 January 2013 at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses in New Delhi.
Below is a summary of his remarks, which touched on a wide range of China-Africa issues.
His recent publications include The Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) London: Routledge (2011), The International Relations of Sub-Saharan Africa New York, NY: Continuum/Bloomsbury Publishers (2010), and (with Dominik Kopinski and Andrzej Polus) (eds.) China's Rise in Africa: Perspectives on a Developing Connection London: Routledge (2012). His recent academic articles include 'India's Rise in Africa', International Affairs, vol. 88, no. 4, 2012, pp. 779–798 and 'Spinderella on Safari: British Policies Toward Africa Under New Labour', Global Governance, vol. 18, no. 4, 2012, pp. 449-460.


As SVP- Marketing Group Head, Edgardo Tettamanti is responsible for the strategic management of the Latin America & Caribbean (LAC) Region. Tettamanti will be a speaker at the upcoming Portada Latin American Advertising and Media Summit.
With more than 29 years of well-rounded financial services, marketing and agency experience, Mr. Tettamanti has focused on delivering innovative programs with notable results in markets throughout the region on both the advertising agency side and at financial institutions.
At MasterCard he has dedicated to expanding and refreshing the Priceless Campaign in the LAC region with innovative direct to consumer platforms that drive brand preference.
Prior, Mr. Tettamanti capped off a 15-year trajectory at American Express as vice president, Head of Brand Management Latin America, the Caribbean and Canada.


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Vengeance (2022) review
Dir. B. J. Novak
Vengeance revolves around Ben Manalowitz (B. J. Novak, The Office), a New York journalist and outspoken intellectual — the kind that reminds you of it by way of lengthy ramblings at functions. Early in the film, Ben has a conversation with his editor, Eloise (Issa Rae), where he suggests that the reason it's so difficult for we, as humans, to live in the moment is because we can create our own moments through technology. He adds that this creates a ripple effect with disconnectedness and feelings of division, which currently plague this country.
In these fleeting minutes, Novak, who wrote and directed Vengeance, proves he has something to say. And he spends the subsequent hour and forty minutes illustrating it with great black humor, absurdity, satire, and perspective.
The story truly begins when Ben is in bed with a woman and receives a late-night phone call from Ty Shaw (Boyd Holbrook), who lives in Abilene, deep in the heartland of Texas. Ty rings to tell Ben that his sister, Ben's girlfriend, Abby (short for Abilene, oddly), has died. Plot twist: Ben doesn't have a girlfriend named Abby. He's an unapologetic womanizer, who enjoys hooking up with many different women. While on the phone with Ty, he scrolls through Instagram and remembers this aspiring singer named Abby (Lio Tipton). He hooked up with her and promptly forgot about it, while Abby declared their fling a relationship to her family.
Stuck between a rock and a hard place, Ben flies to Abilene, attends Abby's funeral, and mingles with her grieving family: her mother, Sharon (J. Smith-Cameron), her younger sisters, Paris (Isabella Amara) and Kansas City (pop singer Dove Cameron), and her younger brother, "El Stupido" (Elli Abrams Beckel). What a backwoods bunch these folks are, but that's for you to discover. Moreover: Ty is convinced Abby was murdered, probably by a Mexican drug dealer named Sancholo (Zach Villa), and implores Ben to help the family avenge her death.
A man who prioritizes status in his relationships, Ben initially doesn't see the purpose nor fruitfulness of sticking around. That is until he realizes that he could potentially use Abby's death and her grieving family as the basis for a podcast series depicting rural convictions and Red vs. Blue State ideologies. This could be his "great American novel" — except it's a podcast. So, Ben sticks around to gather material, with Eloise aiding him in the process remotely.
Vengeance is In Cold Blood for the post-truth era. Novak chews on a lot of fascinating ideas, and it's a thrill to report most of them are fleshed out enough to work: including, but not limited to, the persistent tussle between intuition and theories as well as recordings promoting inspirations, not people, in the long-run. Just when you fear it starts getting a little too obsessed with making the Texans caricatures, the film leans into the emotion, as well as the crime angle.
An Ashton Kutcher performance is hard to come by these days, so it's a thrill not only to see him in a movie but also a role as juicy as this one. He plays Quinten Sellers, a low-rent but intellectual record producer, who cut a handful of Abby's demos, as she was an aspiring singer. It's Quinten who proposes the idea to Ben that archival recordings, be them audio, video, or textual, are ultimately all we have left of people who have passed. Similar to archaeology, humans cherry-pick what we remember. We recontextualize quotes from movies we haven't seen or books we haven't read to fit our personal world-view — until we're nothing more than an archived soul to the next generation. It's very Godardian; the French New Wave filmmaker once said that art attracts us by what it reveals of our most secret, or inner, selves. The same pretense is often on display when the Shaw's dominate the screen.
A perfect example of the contrasting world views of Ben and the Shaw family is when Abby's surviving relatives are all singing the praises of the fast food joint Whataburger. Ben tries to beat the reasons out of them for their obsession with the chain, but their only justification is "because it's always right there." Intellectual reasoning be damned; the family just wants to have their burgers and eat them too.
It also helps that Vengeance is quite frequently funny as all hell. Its dark humor treads on absurd at times, but its observations of the flaws and misgivings of both educated northerners and blue collar southerners isn't as surface as it initially appears. Even a sequence set at a rodeo line-dance has Ben mystified how the crowd can choreograph their moves to any given song. "Collective consciousness," says Ty. Having recently relocated to Iowa, and been to a couple country line-dances for the first time in my life, I can say that's the best explanation I've yet to hear. I'm used to songs like the "Cha Cha Slide" that instruct me on the moves.
A trifecta of genres, merging comedy with suspense and mystery, Vengeance successfully juggles all three while making the core murder mystery intriguing — while providing enough thoughtful theories to make it substantive. Its observations are far from folderol, and Novak has definitely marinated over this material long enough for it to come across as a distinct vision. This reminds me of recent neo noirs such as Galveston and Nightcrawler: a contained, self-assured, original movie — the kind we all clamor for yet rarely give the time of day.
NOTE: Vengeance is now available to rent on multiple VOD platforms.
Starring: B. J. Novak, Boyd Holbrook, Issa Rae, Ashton Kutcher, J. Smith-Cameron, Isabella Amara, Dove Cameron, Eli Abrams Bickel, John Mayer, Zach Villa, and Lio Tipton. Directed by: B. J. Novak.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


The Problem: Rural poverty and malnutrition are severe in southwestern Uganda. The country's food security is threatened by high population density, low productivity, and a fragile economy in which average soil losses are among the highest in sub-Saharan Africa.
Additionally, unreliable and poorly constructed roads further hinder farm-to-market movement, agro-business and access to integral social services.
Long-Term Goal of Project: Improve household food security and nutrition in Uganda through agricultural productivity, natural resource management and infrastructural development.
Improve agriculture and nutrition, rural roads, natural resource management and, local capacity building.
Decreasing child malnutrition and increase existing government commitments to addressing malnutrition and development needs in southwestern Uganda.
Africare provided support services related to production and marketing to over 24,000 farming families through a system of nine extension agents and 108 community demonstrators.
Africare facilitated contract farming for the production of maize seed that generated a total of $85,000 in revenue for 161 farmers.
The average duration of the hunger period fell by over 40%.
Chronic malnutrition in children 6-59 months old fell significantly. 54% of children were stunted at the start of the project compared to 22% in 2006.
The % of infants below 4 months who were exclusively breast fed increased by over 65% from 39% of children to 65%.
Learn more Africare project results or donate now to help make our results possible!


1.Take it Easy on the Road- Every single person on the road has somewhere to be. So stop trying to run everyone off the road to get where you are going five minutes faster. Having a car is a luxury, not an entitlement. I created a mantra for myself that inspires me to relax even if everyone out there is crazy: The bird does not explain to the snake why it flies; it simply flies. Meaning, you don't have to bring yourself down to the level of road ragers and cell-phone gazers. Be cognizant, but be cool.
2. Slow Down While Shopping- This is pretty much the same concept as driving, with the exception that people hidden behind metal and class in their cars can be a little more rude without being personal. When you are out there shopping this Christmas seasons, don't forget what Christmas is all about. The point is to celebrate Jesus Christ's birth, not to get the last hot toy of the season. Also, as the husband of a wonderful woman that works in retail, I ask you to be polite and patient when you shop and be kind to the people helping you. It might seem like you are not getting the attention you need, but remember that these folks are usually working with a skeleton crew and 5 times their normal volume of customers. Treat others kindly and you will feel the Spirit move in you.
3. Travel Light, Dress Like a Rockstar – Make your life easier by traveling like your favorite lead singer on tour. Ever notice how your favorite band will often wear the same two or three outfits on tour? That's because nobody has the time or the space to carry around hundreds of cool outfits or to coordinate them. Pick a few essentials and mix it up. For the gentlemen: One pair of jeans, one pair of chinos, three long-sleeve shirts (one white; spread collar, one plaid; use some colors that that go with anything, and one that's your favorite ever), a sweater and two blazers, one pair of dress shoes one pair of casual sneakers, provide a lot of fun combinations. And you don't have to pack the entire closet. This should all fit in one bag and a hang-up. If it doesn't, upgrade to a side pocket duffel.
4. Show Up With Something – You might have the biggest family in Texas, or you might be joining another couple for a tiny Thanksgiving dinner. Either way, a gift will be appreciated. The best red wine for turkey day is a Pinot Noir, because its earthiness compliments the meal. The best white wine is a Riesling, because the wine's wonderful apricot and apple accents compliment the sweetness of a Thanksgiving meal. If you want to go non-alcoholic, I've personally always appreciated a loaf of French bread or a couple of baguettes.
5. Check Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself- It seems like a no-brainer, but last year, I got ready to take off for a road trip and realized I had a flat tire. Couldn't make the trip because guess what, Discount Tire isn't open every single day of the year. Nobody is! Check your tires, oil, etc, before you go on a long trip.
6. Be Courageous – You know that one person nobody likes that somehow manages to make it to every family event? If you're the host, do yourself a favor–don't invite them. I know that's controversial. We're supposed to be graceful and kind. Well, some people invite that and some people don't. Do your entire family a favor and make the holiday enjoyable. Many a beautiful Thanksgiving and Christmas has been sacrificed to the obligatory inclusion of Drunkle Frank or Cousin Drama. Treat the deserving with the grace of the world, but don't open yourself up to a disaster. The owner of the China shop rarely invites the bull inside out of the bottom of his heart. Most of the time, he just gets invited by default.
7. Collect Keys – I feel like a PSA here, but this is the truth. It's a lot of fun getting together with family and friends during Thanksgiving and Christmas. Whether you're out of town or safely nestled in your own home, be safe! Collect keys and make sure that people aren't leaving the party before they're ready to make the drive.
8. Love Your Spouse- November and December are the busiest months of the year. It's super easy to let tensions rise and to take that out on the closest person…your husband or wife. Don't! This is a fun time to work together. Nothing in the world matters as much as your marriage. As a newlywed, I'm probably highly unqualified to give marital advice. But then again, it is pretty good advice, right? Make sure that you are taking care of the special person in your life and working together to have a Thanksgiving and Christmas that is as stress-free as possible, enjoyable, and dedicated to God and not greed.
9. Make it Personal – So much of Christmas these days seems to be about the accumulation of wealth. I believe it's better to give someone a personal gift than a generic thing off of some wish list they wrote while watching Youtube from the comfort of the lavatory. Is this selfish on my part? I don't think so. I would rather give someone a trinket that they will keep forever than a 100th shirt or 5th pair of sunglasses, etc. Example: my wife's grandfather needed a shoe horn but was having some hip problems. So, I had a custom shoe horn made out of Texas mesquite that was basically the length of a cane. Custom gift with function and form.
10. Be Thankful – We all say the Grace before dinner. Well, take it one step further. Spend a little time and look around at all of your blessings. Even if times are tough. Count your blessings. Appreciate Thanksgiving and Christmas for the time you get to spend with the people you love. Cherish these moments. Ignore the hustle. Let your loved ones know they matter. It will make their holiday a lot better. And then, when Christmas rolls around, give them a gift that means more to their souls and less to their closets.


Search for schools in Athens GA and see Athens GA schools map. You can see all the private schools and public schools located in Athens GA. Use the sorting feature to find elementary schools in Athens GA, high schools, or Athens Catholic schools. Looking for homes for sale near Athens schools? Click on the Homes for Sale Nearby feature and instantly see properties for sale near Athens schools, distance from school, and in-depth property details.
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Victoria University of Wellington has three campuses across the capital city of Wellington, New Zealand. It has nine faculties, with seven of them conducting teaching and research. Each faculty is divided into schools which include; School of Architecture; Graduate School of Nursery, Midwifery and Health; and School of English, Film, Theater, and Media Studies.
Victoria University of Wellington was founded in 1897 as Victoria College, and gained its name because it was the same year that Queen Victoria celebrated her Diamond Jubilee. Teaching began two years later, with a student enrollment of just 115. The first years saw lectures held at a rented accommodation in the city, before the decision was made to build in Kelburn, an area that is today home to its Kelburn campus. Victoria College officially became Victoria University of Wellington on January 1, 1962.
Victoria University of Wellington has around 21,000 students, and 3000 international students that come from over 100 countries. In addition to its three campuses in Wellington, Victoria University has premises in Auckland and is also the only New Zealand university with an offshore campus in Vietnam. Being the capital of New Zealand, Wellington is an attractive destination for international students because of its rich culture and diverse community. Victoria University itself has an International Team that is dedicated to supporting international students from when they first arrive until they graduate.
Victoria University of Wellington is New Zealand's top ranked university for research quality.
Learning is student centered. Lecturers are approachable and available despite their busy schedules. They bring in their research from fields into the lecture theatre making it both exciting and relevant. Lecturers are 'real people' who care about each individual and they are there to remove barriers. We have 2 generations of our family through this university. Proud of it!
Highly dynamic and supportive working environment. One of the best place in the region for economics and finance initiates to start their careers.
The Media Studies department has some of the best teaching and research talent in NZ media studies, and beyond. A media studies degree from VUW is interdisciplinary and well worth it.


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text:
Masterpiece International
x min read
Masterpiece International Curates In-Transit Visibility for Fine Art Clients with Tive
Masterpiece International knows a thing or two about shipping priceless works of art — they move fragile, high-value artwork worldwide. The provider of premier logistics solutions serves museums, collectors, galleries, and private clients. From coordination to packing to transport, Masterpiece utilizes a massive global network to ensure shipments move on time and in full.
Masterpiece International believes that all clients deserve exceptional, personalized service. The company carefully curates its services to meet every customer's bespoke shipping needs. Every detail is important. Every shipment is treated as a masterpiece!
A New Challenge Calls for a New Level of Visibility
Fine art shipping is a unique business. The logistics are complex, and the risks are high: shipments tend to be fragile and often have immense cultural significance. As such, temperature, humidity, light, shock, and security must be actively managed, alongside precise arrival times for highly coordinated installations.
Masterpiece International has long provided best-in-class customer service to clients, serving as a true partner in their supply chain. So when the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted both the art and logistics worlds, the company went into immediate action to meet clients' changing needs.
"Normally, a fine art shipment travels with a courier from each museum - a dedicated person stays with the piece through every step of its transport from point A to point B," said Tina Sullivan, Vice President of Fine Arts for Masterpiece's Western Region. "The pandemic complicated this practice with travel bans, import and export restrictions, and an overwhelming hesitancy from museums to put their people at risk."
In search of a way to have visibility into shipments without a courier during this unprecedented time, Masterpiece began exploring in-transit visibility solutions. With the availability of high-tech solutions capable of providing hyper-accurate location and condition insights in real-time, the company saw an opportunity to keep high-value art moving without human accompaniment and continue to meet client expectations.
When Every Shipment is a Masterpiece, Every Shipment Matters
Masterpiece's hunt for an in-transit visibility solution brought them to Tive. After testing trackers from multiple companies, they determined Tive - as well as the Tive belief that "every shipment matters" - was a great fit for both their company and their clients.
"We love Tive. We looked at others, we've used others, and we much prefer Tive. And the disposable aspect of the trackers is really appealing - you can spend weeks trying to get devices back, and with other companies, it gets costly. The Tive team has a willingness to listen and to help us with challenges that are unique to our industry."
TINA SULLIVAN, VICE PRESIDENT OF FINE ARTS
Tive Trackers Add Value, Revenue, and Competitive Advantage
In late spring 2020, Masterpiece began using Tive to accompany some fine art shipments instead of couriers. They currently use Tive's Flagship tracker and the Solo 5G, depending on shipment requirements. Masterpiece uses the Tive's precise location tracking capabilities and real-time conditions tracking - temperature, humidity, light, and shock - to actively manage these high-value shipments.
"The trackers have been well-received among museum clients, who are now more amenable to the tech solution than they have been in the past. With courier costs among the most expensive aspects of shipping fine art, Tive provides significant cost savings," Sullivan said. "It's a value-added service that our clients really like."
Masterpiece Predicts Trackers Will Gain Traction
While tech advances are not new to the fine art shipping industry (some high-tech transport cases have built-in shock monitors and tracking devices), the idea of replacing or augmenting in-transit couriers is novel.
"This (Tive) is definitely something new for our industry," Sullivan said, noting that only one exhibition during her past 20 years had previously required a tracker. "It's getting a lot of attention!"
The pandemic-era need for fine art shipment trackers may evolve into a new industry standard post-pandemic. "Having a courier and a tracker will not be mutually exclusive for museums in the future," said Sullivan. "They're going to be doing both, and we're banking on the Tive."
Masterpiece recently expanded offerings of Tive shipment trackers to clients beyond their fine art division as well, including their general freight department. "We've used one on an ocean shipment for wine. And we just sent five to China for a client," said Sullivan, who added that they're also introducing Tive trackers to their sister company TrumpCard, which provides expedited air freight.
Specialty Chemicals Manufacturer
A specialty chemicals manufacturer uses Tive's supply chain visibility solution to monitor in-transit temperature levels of highly sensitive Active Product Ingredients between Asian manufacturing facilities and European production sites.


RSVPs for dinner have now closed.
Club burgees will be for sale.
You can pay for the Ladies' Christmas Lunch December 6.
You can pay for the Commodore's Ball - this is the last day for registration and payment.
The bar will close just before the meeting begins.
Coffee and tea are available before the meeting.
The Bar will reopen at the end of the meeting.


Hall 10 - Stand M1 (ex G1).
Our Company has been selected among over 2,600 companies for a new English magazine to represent the Italian oenological excellence.
The guide will be introduced in New York on 27th February 2009.
12th-14th December - Second edition of PIÙGUSTO in Lugano, Swiss International Fair of Taste.
The company will be present with its wines within the stand "Terra dei Vini Piemonte". Host the magazine Merum.
17th - 18th October - Washington at Hilton Hotel during the convention NIAF (National Italian American Foundation). Selected for SensofWine "The event of the Best Italian Wines" by Luca Maroni.