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This is 'Liberation through Amplification.'
Showing posts with label Electric Wizard. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Electric Wizard. Show all posts
Alright folks, let's
get weird. I listen to a lot of music. As such I tend to have to work harder at
times to find something that really lights my fire. I found myself at one point
not listening to a whole lot of music at all, finding myself dulled to the
whole thing from not finding what I was looking for. This particular low point
lead me to my discovery of doom and sludge, some of the great musical loves of
my life. And yet, every now and again, I still feel the need for a little extra
bit of a freaky booster shot to keep my spirits up. If you are currently in
need of a little something on the fringes to help bring you back to center, I
present you with Domo.
I've always said that
I wanted a metal band that could conceivably cover “Ummagumma”
era Pink Floydand neither sound cheesy,
nor like a bunch of lunatics set loose upon an unsuspecting recording studio. Domohas granted me this wish.
Riffs crunch hard
into the earth when not floating into space, with experimental interludes
occurring frequently. Notes of early 70's experimental rock flow throughout the
album. My mind keeps returning to the thought of a Black Sabbath/Toolmashup that I didn't know I wanted.
“Oximoron” starts the album off
as something off an overture, letting you know what you've given yourself into.
With dense atmospheres, psychedelic guitar work and exotic horns creating an
incredibly dense tone that prevails throughout the album.
“Astrodomo” starts out strong
with doomy riffs reminiscent of an early Electric Wizardtrack, before dropping into a distinctly Pink Floydlike piece and right back
again. “Ritual Del Sol” kicks off with an amazingly mellow jazz jam that
puts the bass on center stage before giving us some more of that hard rock
power, right when we need it. “Planisferio” opens with another bass
heavy Tooltype of jam before
descending into pure metal mayhem.
This album is
expertly put together. No part feels like it clashes with another, with Domoskillfully gliding from
one genre to the next.
“Domonautas Vol. 1” was released in late
2019 and was promised to be the beginning of something much larger. I for one
will be keeping my ears open for the next installment. I'm hooked.
“Asterismal” is a powerful distillation
of 11Paranoias strengths that results in their heaviest and most hallucinogenic
release to date. It is another fine addition to a mighty discography that makes
most other doom bands feel tame and grounded in comparison.
“Asterismal” CD//DD//LP track listing:
1).
Loss Portal
2).
Bloodless Crush
3).
Vitrified Galaxy
4).
Prelude
5).
Slow Moon
6).
Quantitative Immortalities
7).
Chambers of Stars
8).
Acoustic Mirror II
The Review:
11Paranoias continue their voyage to
the outer limits of heaviness with new LP “Asterismal”. The UK trio have
developed their distinct brand of mind-expanding doom over a number of killer
releases and this latest collection finds them reaching new heights of crushing
hypnotic wonder.
“Loss Portal” opens proceedings in
punishing style with the band lurching straight into a mesmerising slow-motion
riff. Once 11Paranoias
raise the tempo around the mid-point and Mike Vest's smouldering guitar sets a
course into the stratosphere there is no resisting the sensory overload of
their full sonic onslaught.
While
there is no doubting the bands mastery of dark, spacey doom it is their
unexpected left turns into uncharted waters that really elevate them above
their peers. “Bloodless Crush” is a
relentless heavy garage rock attack cloaked in a cloud of fuzzed-out solos and
swirling vocals. Imagine the Stooges playing through Electric
Wizard's backline and you have a good idea of the joys on offer
here.
Adam
Richardson's trademark roar is still present but this time around it is
projected further into psychedelic territory, cloaked in layers of smoky reverb
and delay. There are also instances of him employing a more melodic approach to
great effect, adding a haunting, mournful edge to album highlight “Slow Moon”. The hulking, funereal first
half of the track gives way to a propulsive second section that launches into
oblivion like Earthless
having a bad trip with Joy Division. “Quantitative Immortalities” takes a similar slow / fast split approach
but this time the high octane finale powers into the heart of the sun like an
armour-plated Hawkwind
on one final flight into the beyond. “Chamber
Of Stars” offers an initially subdued finale with waves of hazy wah guitar
conjuring up the bleary, blissed out haze of Bardo Pond before one last
glorious wave of noise engulfs all.
“Asterismal” is a powerful
distillation of 11Paranoias
strengths that results in their heaviest and most hallucinogenic
release to date. It is another fine addition to a mighty discography that makes
most other doom bands feel tame and grounded in comparison.
Drug Cult’s debut album is a confident display of
expert riffcraft cloaked in a shroud of mystery. It is highly recommended
listening for doom connoisseurs and hints at an intriguing future ahead,
particularly if they indulge in their expansive, psychedelic tendencies.
“Drug
Cult” CD//DD//LP
track listing:
1). Serpent
Therapy
2). Release
3). Reptile Hypnosis
4). The Wall
5). Mind
Crypt
6). Slaylude
7). Bloodstone
8). Acid Eye
9). Spell
The Review:
Bands that
seem like they were named by selecting two words from a doom bingo card don’t
inspire expectations of greatness. Fortunately, the racket Australian quartet Drug Cult
create is leagues above the generic tedium of their moniker. Their debut LP may
be low on originality but the bands distinct strain of hypnotic sludge is an
intoxicating brew.
The spirit
of prime Electric
Wizard courses through this records veins. Imagine a combination of
the concise songwriting of the “Witchcult
Today” era with the spite and filth of “Come
My Fanatics” and you get a good idea of Drug Cult’s brand of evil. The band
have a seemingly bottomless supply of nasty, killer riffs that fuel the likes
of “Reptile Hypnosis” and the slowly
unfurling bad trip of “Serpent Therapy”.
Aasha Tozer’s powerful vocals enhance the bleary, sinister ambience,
hitting a darkly sweet spot between melody and grit. The entire production is
caked in reverb that gives these tracks an otherworldly hazy heaviness that
sets Drug
Cult apart from their peers. This is particularly noticeable during
the brief guitar solos in “Slaylude”
and “Acid Eye”, glorious explosions
of untamed cosmic noise that could easily spiral into endless jams into the
beyond.
Drug Cult’s debut album is a
confident display of expert riffcraft cloaked in a shroud of mystery. It is
highly recommended listening for doom connoisseurs and hints at an intriguing
future ahead, particularly if they indulge in their expansive, psychedelic
tendencies.
“Hexenhammer” is surely one of the most talked about doom
releases of 2018, more focus, more weight, more riffs... and better songs, once
again confirming the band's status as one of the UK's premier doom acts.
“Hexenhammer” CD//DD//LP track listing:
1. Maleficus
2. Hexenhammer
3. The Devil’s Throne
4. Demons of the Mind
5. Eternal
6. The Parish
7. Like Sisyphus
The Review:
Witchsorrow are one of the handful of bands
that play doom in the UK; not sludge, not sludge doom, not stoner doom, not
stoner rock: just doom. Firmly from the Electric Wizard school
of tempos and grooves, but with a little more in the way of songs.
On
this record, the band have improved again; this is undoubtedly their best album
yet. A very weighty production job combines with the best song craft from the
band to date. After a suitably portentous intro, it's down to business with the
title track, which is more dynamic than you might expect from the Witchsorrrow of yore. The record certainly sounds like a
Skyhammer recorded production- deep drums with a nice tone, thick guitars and
the whole thing is well mixed with the vocals occupying a pleasing slot in the
centre of the soundscape.
Witchcraft
themes abound as the band lurches from slow and leaden to downright brisk on “The Devil's Throne”, which has a great
NWOBHM feel. The album knocks anything
from their debut into a neatly cocked hat. It is more concise and focused, the
band play in a very assured manner and sound as if they have found a musical
groove which really works for them.
There
is very weighty material on this release; “Demons
of the Mind” is a fine example of the band lumbering into a dark groove
with full force. At seven tracks, the album does not outstay its welcome- even
with several songs running past seven minutes. In fact, the final three
offerings to the gods of doom play really well and go by without anyone having
to look at their watch. Such is the power of Witchsorrow
in 2018; more focus, more weight, more riffs... and better songs.
Whether
it be the creepy riffing of “The Parish”
or the epic closing statement of “Like
Sisyphus”, the album delivers consistently and powerfully. This is a huge
step up from their self titled debut and a consolidation of the improvements
made on “No Light Only Fire”. “Hexenhammer” is surely one of the most
talked about doom releases of 2018 and it once again confirms the band's status
as one of the UK's premier doom acts. Doom on.
The record can most certainly be filed amongst Witch
Mountain's best and will slot right into the collections of doom heads
alongside The Wounded Kings, Electric Wizard, Cathedral, Castle and so on. This
is slow and bluesy doom of the finest vintage with a vocalist who is fantastic.
“WitchMountain” CD//DD//LP
track listing:
1). Midnight
2). Mechanical World
3). Burn You Down
4). Hellfire
5). Nighthawk
The Review:
A
doom institution of the last twenty years, WitchMountain are back with their
first full length post Uta Plotkin's departure. Kayla Dixon has stepped up to
the mic and she absolutely delivers a vocal tour de force on this low, slow
record. The bass is as deep as a mine shaft (supplied by another new addition
to the line up- Justin Brown) and the whole sound consists of self assured
performances alongside a very big sound.
Whether
you will like this album depends entirely on your liking of doom; if you like Sabbath,
you will probably like this. Likewise, if you like Sleep... ditto. Hell, even those
at the more sludge end of the doom spectrum will find much to enjoy here. Dixon
employs a ferocious growl at times to go with her crystal clear soulful vocals
(double tracked for effect at times) which should appeal to all sides of the
doom coin.
It's
not perfect- the pace is uniformly slow and the fact that there are only five
tracks here might irk some listeners- even if track five edges towards the
fifteen minute mark! Opener “Midnight”
tells you much of what youneed to know
about the new record; it's weighty and atmospheric in equal measure, while
utilising a lot of what is best about the genre in terms of sound and themes.
From there, “Mechanical World”
successfully captures the right mood and the record is starting to take firm
form.
The
sound is darker for “Burn You Down”
and the pace is no quicker. “Hellfire”
offers up a two and a half minute interlude of acoustic and folksy melancholy
which acts as the perfect bridge to what is the grand finale.
Clearly,
the closing “Nighthawk” is the heavy
artillery here; a sprawling epic of huge proportions- but the rest of the album
fits together perfectly and the five tracks absolutely work as a whole piece.
The record can most certainly be filed amongst Witch Mountain's best and will
slot right into the collections of doom heads alongside The Wounded Kings, Electric Wizard,
Cathedral,
Castle
and so on. This is slow and bluesy doom of the finest vintage with a vocalist
who is fantastic.
Throneless do not break any musical barriers on “Cycles” but their mastery of riffcraft and ability to create massive, awe-inspiring compositions sets them high above the competition.
“Cycles” DD//LP track listing:
1).
Born In Vain
2).
Cycles
3).
Senseless
4).
Oracle
The Review:
Right
from the opening subsonic bass rumble, you know you are in safe hands with Throneless. The Malmö trio’s new LP “Cycles” is a master class in monumental sludged-up doom bathed in
a cosmic glow.
“Born In Vain”
immobilises the listener with a ten minute onslaught of crushing riffs, each
one striving to reach a higher plane of heavy perfection. The reverb-laden
vocals and hazy atmosphere recall the rural horror of Electric Wizard’s
“Dopethrone” recast as a science
fiction epic. After this pulverising introduction, the title track initially
offers some respite. Beginning as a laid back jam, there is an almost
optimistic mood reminiscent of Colour Haze at their
most blissed-out. It’s not long until Throneless unleash the full power of their earth-shaking
backline once more, taking the track into lumbering Torche
style thunder pop territory.
The
second half of “Cycles” shifts
towards slower tempos with an increase in punishing heaviness. This
metamorphosis reaches its peak with the gargatuan “Oracle”. Over the space of fifteen glorious minutes, Throneless gradually build a sonic fortress of epic
proportions from huge slabs of dense riffage worthy of Bongripper.
Throneless do not break any musical barriers
on “Cycles” but their mastery of
riffcraft and ability to create massive, awe-inspiring compositions sets them
high above the competition. This is a hypnotic trip that will have you coming
back for more throughout 2018.
5). Satan’s Satyrs – “Ain’t That Lovin’ You, Baby”
The Review:
I was lucky enough to catch Windhand and Satan's Satyrs playing
together when they toured the UK at the end of 2017. At the time I didn't quite
see the kinship between the two bands, but thanks
to this new Relapse
Records split release, the connection is now somewhat clearer
to me.
On first listen Windhand’s opener, “Old Evil”, sounds
like a track straight off of “Griefs Infernal Flower” (and
that’s definitely no bad thing). Further plays however, reward the listener
with something that’s actually a few degrees heavier, and tighter than the
content of the 2015 album. Essentially it’s like the most Windhand that Windhand have ever
been; they are well and truly on point here. “Three Sisters” is built around
one simple and massive riff, with added keyboard gloom courtesy of
Jonathan Kassilow (of Sinister Haze and former Windhand Split-buddies Cough). The track is
staggeringly doomy: lumbering and powerful and miserable, and pretty
fucking wonderful overall.
“Alucard A.D.” starts
things off on the Satan’s
Satyrs half of the record, and it does so in heavy style. Now
previously, thanks to their 2015 album “Don’t Deliver Us”, I
thought of Satan’s
Satyrs as a kind of Glam Punk retro rock kind of band, but
that’s not what they sound like here. This is juicy, juicy stuff which reminds
more than a little of Electric
Wizard’s“We, The Undead”,in the best
possible way.
“Succubus”follows on
wonderfully well with a main riff that’s both doomy and kind of cheeky and
funny. There’s more than a hint of NWOBHM in the guitar work, and the whole
thing just slots together in such a way that, even after several listens, still
hasn’t failed to put a smile on my face. Closer “Aint That Lovin’ You Baby” is
much more in line with my previous expectations with regard to Satan’s Satyrs. It’s a
sleazy 12 bar blues that clicks into double-time half way through before going
down in a blaze of Cock Rock guitar solos. Claythanas'/Clayton
Burgess' shout of “thank you, goodnight!” is all that’s really
missing from the end of this obvious set-closer.
Sometimes these split EPs can feel a bit like filler
between “proper” releases; songs that didn’t make it on to the main record, or
versions of some work in progress that’s not yet quite come together. That is
definitely not the case with this Windhand / Satan's Satyrs release however. This is
two bands at the top of their game, producing some of their finest work to
date. So much so in the case of Satan's Satyrs that
I’m really regretting missing the beginning of their
set back in October.
“Windhand & Satan’s Satyrs Split” is available here
At the end of 2017, today’s featured band, Shadowmaster and their
self titled debut full length was voted the 11th best underground
release by THE SLUDGELORD. Since July 2017, we selected 13 albums a
month that were either released via smaller labels and/or via bandcamp and took
it upon ourselves to focus the microscope on those bands and at the end of the
year we selected our favourites and Shadowmaster was one of them.
Following in the footsteps of legendary doom royalty
Candlemass and
hailing from Sundsvall, Sweden, Shadowmaster are one of latest and heaviest
of doom exports, and we talked to the band at the end of 2017, to get the
lowdown on the roots of the band and the creation of their devastating new
album, which was released via Seeing Eye Records.
Can you give us an insight into how you
started playing music, leading up to the formation of Shadowmater?
Micke (guitar): I guess it all started when we went to high school.
We all found out that we shared the same interest in music, so we developed a
friendship and started hanging out, both in and outside of school. As time went
by we all started playing in various groups based in our hometown Sundsvall, and as our
music taste developed with time, Cedermark and I felt that we wanted to play
slow and heavy doom, so we started this band called Desert Crone. In the beginning it was a duo,
with Cedermark on the drums and me on guitar. We soon realized that the music
lacked a certain feel, so we started looking for a drummer. Eventually we
called Jimmy and told him that we wanted him, and he gladly accepted. After
that we had some gigs, did a short European tour, made an album, changed name
to Shadowmaster
and here we are!
For those people unfamiliar with your
band, are there any
bands on the scene past and present that you would use as a reference point
bands to describe your band, and who or what continues to inspire you and push
you to try new things?
Micke: Well, I’d be a fucking
hypocrite if I wouldn’t mention Electric Wizard to start with, as they are the biggest
influence (surprise, surprise). But for people who are unfamiliar with us I
would mention Monolord,
Belzebong, Burzum and Sleep, to name a few.
But honestly speaking, I look for inspiration everywhere. We’re talking movies,
nature, emotions etc. Obviously heavy music is the greatest influence, but
sometimes when I write, I listen to OST-music. It sounds weird, perhaps stupid,
but it’s true. There are no limits to our imagination.
What can you tell us about your debut
record and where do you feel it sits within the context of current doomscene
Micke: Dark. Heavy. Disgusting. That’s at least our goal
with the album. Nowadays there are tons of bands out there, but you are only
drawn to a few. We believe that the reason for this is that most people think
that you can just pick up an instrument and write slow music, with no feel to
it at all. So we think (and hope) that this album is going to be one of those
record that people will react positive towards, and not get bored the first two
minutes in. We can only wait and see.
Does anything
spring to mind when you think about the completion of your new record “Shadowmaster”
and how is the mood in the camp at present?
Micke: Well first of all we are
just relieved that it’s done, as we worked really hard on the album both in the
studio and in the rehearsal room. But in the end we are very pleased with the
results so we are feeling great about the completion of the album. We are
excited at the moment. The signing with Seeing Red Records feels great, the music is
finally going to be released physically and merch is in the making. Now we will
focus on playing live so all is good!
What stands out as your overarching memory from the
recording sessions?
Micke: The recording of “The
Lizard King” went horribly, as I got nervous playing by myself and fucked up
more than once. Because off this I wanted to scratch the song, but Cedermark
didn’t agree. In the end we got it, but I was pissed at myself. The recording
of “Under His Black Skies” was also a moment of aggression. We first
failed at the end of the song, so we had to do a second take. As the song is
almost 20 minutes and we play everything live in the studio, it was a pain in
the ass. But it wasn’t all bad. The vocals went smooth as fuck, and they sound
amazing. Plus we had some help by Björn, a close friend of ours. He helped us
with everything during the recording session and mixing.
With
you new record in the bag, how is your schedule shaping up over the next 12
months?
Micke: Play as much gigs as
possible, spreading the word of Shadowmaster and write more music! We already have a lot of
ideas for new songs. Releasing the album on vinyl is also something we will try
to do as soon as possible. But mostly perform live, since we truly enjoy it.
Releasing some merch is also something we will do. T-shirts will be available
in a couple of weeks with a design made by none other than Wizard Of Meth (Mephistofeles).
Finally,
do you last words?
You
can only die once. After that, nothing, and nobody, can harm you.
This
Friday, November 17, Electric Wizard drops
their ninth album, “Wizard Bloody Wizard”. Their second release through the legendary Spinefarm Records, the album is also their first with
Clayton Burgess on bass and Simon Poole on drums. After honing their sound with an extensive
international tour, the band recorded six tracks live to tape, creating one of
their most accessible releases yet. Founding
member and doom metal icon Jus Oborn took a few minutes to talk to THE SLUDGELORD about this new chapter in the band, future
film projects, and what to expect from the legendary doom crew in the coming
year.
What was the writing and rehearsal process like for “Wizard Bloody Wizard”?
Pretty
much the same as usual, really! It was a bit of a hassle because we were moving
houses at the time. A bit all over the
place, rehearsing in different places.
But basically we work on the riffs, me and Liz, and just jam them out at
rehearsals.
In putting it to tape, did you put any restrictions on
yourselves – a certain number of takes?
It certainly sounds like a real throwback, not ProTooled but all in the
same space.
It
was all recorded live – first or second take to be honest, on all of it. I recorded all of it myself on a
sixteen-track tape. You don’t really
have options to do drop-ins and shit when you’re actually recording the whole
band live. You gotta get it right. But I like that discipline. I like the fact that you capture a
performance on tape, you know? What a
band really sounds like. And you gotta
play as fucking good as you can! You
gotta really give it everything. Because
it comes out – it’s not like ProTools or whatever where you can chop things up
afterwards. You go, “Well ok that was ok,
we can fix that bit.” Then you’re
just making some kinda classical music or something *laughs*.
This is your first release with Clayton Burgess and
Simon Poole on bass and drums and they bring some real swing and soul in their
rhythm. What’s their addition to the
band been like?
It’s
definitely given us a whole new foundation we hadn’t had before. We were out on the road quite a lot in the
last two or three years, so the lineup’s really solidified. And you noticed Simon and Clayton have a
chemistry. We actually got them to
rehearse together before we brought in the guitars to get them locked in
together. And that was cool, that worked
out. I think it’s something we’ve wanted
for a long time – to have a bit of a stronger rhythm section so we can
experiment and go a bit more over the top.
I always had the idea that the guitars in ‘Wizard
were always very solid, very simple, very brutal, and then the drums and the bass
would play around a lot more. Just have
a lot of counter rhythm, counter melody.
Just another dimension, you know?
And I think it’s really worked out on this record. I’m pretty fucking pleased.
From the beginning, Electric Wizard has had a
multimedia element, whether with the film references, the Drugula comic, the
visual show. Do you have any plans with
other media or film collaboration?
Well
we’ve always been tinkering around with doing film, and we’ve filmed various
things over the years. But it’s always a
bit of a long process, a lot of the time.
It’s all kind of unfinished projects and half ideas. I think this video for “See You in Hell” is the first real video we’ve ever done! We got to experiment with a few ideas there,
recreating the old 70s TV studio sort of feel.
But moving into film is something we’d like to do. I’ve been looking into – there’s actually an
old biker movie called “Angels”. It’s a Danish biker movie by the people that
did “The Sinful Dwarf”. But it’s missing its soundtrack and missing
all the dialogue, so I’ve had the idea of re-recording it. Recording music and doing the dialogue again
– I mean the plot’s pretty easy to follow! *laughter*
And
as far as comics and stuff, I’ve been interested in doing comics for a long
time. I’ve been talking with some people. A few people seem to like the Drugula idea,
you know! I think they’d like to see a
comic like that.
It seems there’s a lot of crossover appeal, from the
beginning of metal, with horror and comics.
It’s
just part of the culture, growing up with the dark and heavy metal stuff.
One of our readers, Eric, wanted to know what you’re
listening to lately. Specifically, any
non-metal/non-doom stuff that stands out for you?
I
mean I do tend to listen to a lot of heavy rock and metal *laughs*. I’ve been listening to a lot of The Sweet, an English heavy rock band. They were kind of a pop band at first and
they started doing some heavier shit. I
think they’re a pretty big influence on a lot of people.
Non-metal
I just picked up this album by Jean-Claude Vannier –
an album called “Insolitudes”. A guy who collaborated with Serge Gainsbourg on the “Melody Nelson” album (1971’s “Histoire
de Melody Nelson”). It’s a pretty
cool album, man! It’s really dark,
weird, kind of jazz, classical soundtrack music. It’s pretty far out, pretty psychedelic, to
be honest. Good to smoke to. Fuckin blew my mind *laughs*.
But
yeah I’d recommend The Sweet F.A. (aka
Sweet Fanny Adams) to anyone. It’s some
pretty fuckin epic, awesome guitar work on it.
Are there any reissues of some of the classic, out of
print Electric Wizard stuff in the works?
Specifically, “Chrononaut” and
“Supercoven” have become pretty
sparse.
We’ve
actually been approached by some labels recently. Southern Lord have
asked us about it again, because they put out the rerelease of “Supercoven” the first time round. I’d like to see them come back out,
especially as “Supercoven” is one of
my favorite Electric Wizard albums.
OK here’s an urban legend to either debunk or confirm:
one of our readers, Dan, asked if the volume of an Electric Wizard show really
made you go deaf once?
Yeah
pretty much! *laughter* Yeah I burst an eardrum. Yeah it’s not cool. I mean I hurt my eardrums for many years and
it got pretty bad.
What are you planning as far as shows in the near
future?
With
the new record, it’s time to get out on the road. We have a few festivals lined up – Inferno in
Norway is gonna be cool with Satyricon and Obituary. It’ll be
pretty fucking heavy! And we’re back in
the US with the New Year. It’s fuckin
awesome to go over there. Seems like
everyone is still into heavy music, man.
