The members are:
Andreas - drums
Martin - guitar, vocals
Robert - guitar
So much praise for High Priest Of Saturn's debut album on Svart Records - and all the accolades are well-deserved - yet I haven't heard a peep or seen a single snippet about the band's more muscular alter-ego: RESONAUT. That disappoints me.
I agree with everyone else who says High Priest Of Saturn are a superb band with haunting female vocals and all. I like them a lot and I own their full-length on gold vinyl, but it's Resonaut who I really love and that's why I'm writing about them. Thanks to the Sludgelord for allowing me the freedom to do so. Plain and simple: I think the music is somewhat heavier/fuzzier and I prefer the strong, exceptional male vocals. I get no frills (like keyboards), less psychedelia and more straight-up rocking my ass off with Resonaut. That's my opinion and I'm sticking to it.
Truthfully, I had no idea the two Norwegian power trios had the same core members until I started exchanging emails with Andreas, who plays guitar/drums on the new High Priest Of Saturn record and is also the drummer for Resonaut. Martin is a guitarist for both and sings in Resonaut. I'd been bugging Andreas about a new Resonaut record for a while when he finally suggested I check out their other project and I was happily surprised when I learned the same people were playing some of the music on my iPod. Knowing nothing about the musicians themselves, I had already been rocking digital demos from both Resonaut and High Priest Of Saturn for over a year.
Many of us snatched up High Priest Of Saturn's self-titled vinyl record upon release, but did you know that Sky Burial by Resonaut recently came out on vinyl from U.K. label At War With False Noise? You didn't? If you don't follow Resonaut then I can't fault you. Nobody else is talking about it. The 12" black, 45 rpm maxi-single (limited to 200 copies), features two new songs by one of my favorite heavy rock bands in the world today - and some fantastic artwork on the cover. I only wish it was a full-length but I know these extremely talented guys have been staying busy with...that other group.
Side A: "Sky Burial" opens with a short sample explaining the traditional Tibetan funeral ritual in which a corpse is exposed to the open air to be eaten by sacred vultures. Sound sick? It's the circle of life, man. Heavy subject matter for a heavy-ass, 8-minute song. Then the damn sky opens up - slowly. Martin's riffs are thick and beefy and I think Andreas killed his drum set while recording this. The tempo quickens to a chugging pace with a couple minutes left and some killer 70's-inspired solo action follows. Ranks right up there with my top Resonaut tunes.
Side B: "Tower Of Silence" equals, if not surpasses, the titanic awesomeness of "Sky Burial". I think it could be awesome-r, if that was a word. Here's nearly 10 minutes of fuzzy, doom-laden rock with freaking excellent vocals. Plus there's a well-placed 70's-influenced psychedelic interlude about halfway through that leads to some really breathtaking guitars. Seriously, I'm continuously astounded by the premier musicianship and production on this record. The whole thing is stellar and I can't praise it enough, except to say that I got Norwegian wood from listening to it.
If you're into High Priest Of Saturn in the least little bit then you owe it to yourself to give Resonaut a listen and buy some vinyl. I don't think you'll be disappointed at all. Who knows? You could enjoy the music from Resonaut as much or maybe even more. You can buy a vinyl copy of Sky Burial via the Resonaut Bancamp page or directly from At War With False Noise Records like I did (only because the label is closer to me). Get on it.
While you're at it, you should also check out their monster track from a promo vinyl split with Krakow called "Molten Planet", yet another highlight from Resonaut released a couple years ago by Unborn Productions. Think High Priest Of Saturn on heavy doses of steroids and testosterone. It's a bad-ass 7" record and, to me, it was well worth the time waiting for it to arrive in the U.S., all the way from Norway. Last I heard, band members were still giving away some copies of this one with purchases of the Sky Burial 12" on Bandcamp - but only for the first people who act swiftly.
Resonaut rule. Stream all the heaviness below.
Support the underground.
--Heddbuzz
https://www.facebook.com/Resonaut
http://www.atwarwithfalsenoise.com/
http://www.unbornproductions.com/
