Choices Cuts: Earth - The Bees Made Honey in the Lion's Skull (2008)

Years Active: 1989–1997, 2003–present

Records to Date: 14

Genre: Drone, experimental rock,

         post-rock, minimalist

Label: Sub Pop, No Quarter, Or,

Southern Lord, Blast First/Mute

The Band:

• Dylan Carlson – electric guitars, amplifier
• Steve Moore – acoustic grand piano, Hammond organ, Wurlitzer electric piano
• Don McGreevy – bass guitar, double bass
• Adrienne Davies – drums, percussion

Guest musicians

• Bill Frisell – electric guitar on tracks 1, 4, and 5
• Milky Burgess - slide guitar on "Junkyard Priest

Review:

There are some records you forget about, there are some records that make the Top 20 list of the year. There are some records that are inextricably linked to a time and a place. Then there’s a few small bundle of records that transport you to your own personal universe. Earth makes such records as a matter of course, and ‘Bees Made Honey in the Lion’s Skull’ is at the very pinnacle of that, the transcendent space Dylan Carlson and his cohorts occupy. Like most of the records featured in Choice Cuts, this is best experienced in the vinyl format; delicately pulling out the record from its leather bound case and reverently placing it on the turntable is a tactile experience to be savoured. But even if you’re just mundanely hitting play on your iPod, the end result is the same: complete bliss.

The reason for this serenity is simple – Earth can do more with one note than most bands do with a million. At a tempo of a sunlit siesta they languidly yawn and stretch a chord progression as heavy as long-forgiven sins, and it’s utterly gripping. ‘Omens And Portents I: The Driver’ is like spotting a coiled snake in the desert. You’re not sure if it’s sleeping or if it’s waiting to strike, but you’re immediately struck by the beauty and the power of control as the snare gently rattles and guitars plugged into dusty valve amps. There’s no rush to impose themselves here; like a mountain, there are there dominating the senses. Elsewhere, heavy piano chords give the feeling this is a somewhat more classically inclined work, and rightly so. For all the talk about being pioneers of drone, there is really nothing like Earth. No one else who can see the way to combine psychedelia and gospel organ music together with slow cyclical chords into one coherent vision that is ‘The Bees Made Honey in the Lion’s Skull’.

Words by: Steve R. Jones

You can pick up the record everywhere now

Album Details:

‘The Bees Made Honey in the Lion's Skull’ is the fifth full-length studio album by the band Earth, released in 2008 via Southern Lord Records.  The album was produced with Randall Dunn, recorded and mixed at Avast/Aleph Studios.  The artwork is by Arik Roper, who as previously worked with Sleep and High On Fire, to name but a few. The title of the record  is a reference to Judges 14:8 in the Bible. It tells the story of Samson, who tore apart a lion and when he returned, noticed a swarm of bees and some honey on the lion's carcass.

'The Bees Made Honey in the Lion’s Skull’ track listing:

1). Omens And Portents 1: The Driver (09:06)

2). Rise To Glory (05:47)

3). Miami Morning Coming Down II (Shine) (08:01)

4). Engine Of Ruin (06:28)

5). Omens And Portents II: Carrion Crow (08:04)

6). Hung From The Moon (07:44)

7). The Bees Made Honey In The Lion's Skull (08:15)

8). Junkyard Priest (Bonus Vinyl Track)(07:13)

2XLP pressing is 4980 total. (3k black, 1k clear (for European Distribution only), 980 Gold (mailorder).

For more information:

http://www.facebook.com/thronesanddominions

http://instagram.com/earthseattle

http://www.thronesanddominions.com/

http://twitter.com/earthseattle

Earth - Primitive & Deadly (Album Review)

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 2/9/2014

Label: Southern Lord

‘Primitive & Deadly’CD/DD/LP track listing:

1). Torn by the Fox of the Crescent Moon (08:54)
2). There Is a Serpent Coming ((08:06)
3). From the Zodiacal Light (11:29)
4). Even Hell Has Its Heroes (09:43)
5). Rooks Across the Gates (09:03)
6). Badger's Bane (12:27) Vinyl only

The Band:

Dylan Carlson | guitars
Adrienne davies | drums and percussion
Bill Herzog | bass
Brett netson | additional guitars
Jodie cox | additional guitars
Mark lanegan | vocals
Rabia shabeen qazi | vocals
Randall dunn | moog synthesizer

Review:

For all his lethargic tempos, Dylan Carlson is not a man who lets his musical output stand still. Regular as clockwork he churns out Earth albums, always exploring a little bit more of his internal musical landscape. And apparently, it’s a case of blast of the past for ‘Primitive & Deadly’. Having previously filtered country and gospel through his own interpretation of desert dry psychadelica, Dylan Carlson has now turned his attentions to the music of his youth, like Diamond Head and AC/DC.

Not quite the most obvious influences for a band whose chords hang in the air like a heat haze, but that's the genius of Dylan. ‘Torn By The Fox Of The Crescent Moon’ opens this piece, and any seasoned Earth fan will know, there in for something a little different: that opening chord bursts with a menace that hasn't been seen in Earth since their pre-millennial hiatus.

There's plenty of guitar hero flourishes from Dylan, even a touch of soloing on ‘Even Hell Has Its Heroes’. That's not the only thing that harks back to the early days, as Mark Langegan and Rabia Shaheen Qaz from Rose Windows adding their considerable vocal talents to a few tracks with devastating effect. Without the addition of celloist Lori Goldstein, it feels like a back to basics for this now trio, of them taking the opportunity to fill the space they graciously left for a collaborator of such a calibre.

Adrienne Davies and bassist Bill Herzog smoothly fill in the sonic gaps with a glee that's evident right the way through to ‘Rooks Across The Gate’. This is trademark Earth, the hoarse whisper beckoning you to come closer to listen to what they have to say. For those who have the patience to listen to the hidden depths, you will not be disappointed.

Words by: Steve R. Jones

You can pick up a copy here and here

For more information:

http://earthsl.bandcamp.com/album/primitive-and-deadly

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http://www.thronesanddominions.com/

Giant Squid - Minoans (Album Review)

Album Type: Album

Date Released: 28^th October 2014

Label: Translation Loss Records

Minoans – Track Listing

1. Minoans

2. Thera

3. Sir Arthur Evans

4. Palace of Knossos

5. Sixty Foot Waves

6. Mycenaens

7. The Pearl and the Parthenon

8. Phaistos

Bio

Sacramento / San Francisco based, progressive doom-rock scientists, Giant Squid, have been wielding palatial vocals and enormous waves of cello, keys, and exotic sludge riffs for over ten years, garnering universal critical acclaim from all over the world. Marine biology and natural history metaphorically collide with heartbreaking stories of historic human tragedy; resulting in some of the most unexpectedly emotional and sincere music being made today in any underground scene. Cherished by a cult following of fans, Giant Squid has maintained and nurtured their fierce originality for over a decade, while still remaining relevant and tactful in the expert execution of their art.

Members

Aaron John Gregory - guitar, vocals

Bryan Beeson - bass

Jackie Perez Gratz - cello, vocals

Andrew Southard - keyboards, vocals

Zack Farwell – drums

Review:

For a genre that stereotypically has been the preserve of knuckle-dragging cider-swilling denim-clad simpletons, there are an awful lot of intellectual pursuits about. Nile have made an career out of the unlikely forging of the cultures of Ancient Egypt and ultra-technical death shredding, while Mastodon hit a career peak with 'Leviathan', exploring the themes prevalent in Moby Dick.

In a similar vein of aquatic mayhem, long timers Giant Squid have been operating under the sonar with an every-shifting crew, but with the prevalent interest in archaeology and ancient civilisations. Perfect fodder for their brand of doom metal you might think, but by great C’thulu they make you work hard for it. In common with the real diggers, who can extrapolate whole civilisations from a fragment of pottery but don’t wear fedoras and beat Nazis up, the charms of Giant Squid aren’t immediately apparent. With apparent musical cues from My Dying Bride and Anathema (before they decided to go all Radio 2 on us, but that’s a rant for another time), but unlike those bands who sing about love, loss and other matters of the heart, there’s a drier academic tone on this one rather than full-blooded howls of emotion. Take 'Sir Arthur Evans', for example. Building on a solemn procession of a bass motif and haunting cello, it’s also the crux point of the album, where the intellectual breadth of their vision becomes clear. It throws opening tracks 'Minoans' and 'Thera' into sharp relief, especially the latter’s double bass drumming filled climax.

From then on, the whole album swims into focus. Like the famous Rosetta Stone, a whole new light is shed and Giant Squid’s unique attributes come to the fore: the guitars carefully mingling with cello for the greater good on 'Sixty Foot Waves', or the close out track 'Phasitos Disc' that offers contemplation and remembrance alongside the heaviest riffs that also have a satisfying tinge of near-East motifs in the hulking ceremonial tones. If you’re after immediate thrills, this isn’t the album for you - heavy as it is, it doesn’t have the immediate visceral thrills of meaner sludge cousins, or the instinctual connection that comes with the more emotionally-affected doom set. But if you’re willing to study and appreciate its unique qualities you’ll experience a quieter sort of satisfaction.

Words by Steve R. Jones

Thanks to Carl at Action PR for the promo. Minoans will be available to buy from Translation Loss Records on CD/DD/Vinyl from October 28^th 2014

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Nadja - Paradox - Live At Incubate 15.09.14 (Album Review)

Album Type: Album

Date Released: 20th Sept 2014

Label: Consouling Sounds

Nadja - Paradox - Live At Incubate 15.09.14

1. Paradox - Live At Incubate 15.09.14

Bio

Nadja is a duo of Aidan Baker & Leah Buckareff alternately based in Toronto, Canada & Berlin, Germany. Nadja originally began in 2003 as a solo project for Baker to explore the heavier/noisier side of his experimental/ambient guitar-based music. In 2005 Buckareff joined in order to make the project more than just a studio endeavour & allow Nadja to perform live.

Nadja creates music that has been variously described as drone metal, ambient doom, and shoegazer, combining soundscapes, electronics, & atmospheric vocals & tempering the cacophony with an ethereal melodicism such that the listener is enveloped in a sublimating wall of amorphous sound.

Members

Aidan Baker (guitars, vocals, woodwinds, piano, drum programming)

Leah Buckareff (bass, vocals, violin)

Review:

Here’s an old cliché to kick off this review: you had to be there. This is especially important in the case of Nadja. A duo who specialise in experimental soundscapes, who push guitars in such overdriven fuzz directions that they can scarcely be called riffs anymore, and don’t so much write songs as compose alternative dream-like realities, you would have to be in their presence to gain the full benefit from all enveloping noise and the tactile sensations of guitars rattling your sternum. So with that proviso, we plunge in 'Paradox', and discover it’s a beauty.

On record they’re meticulous about their songwriting, never wasting an epic hanging chord, and Paradox shows they can translate that easily into the live arena, and even in the cold light of day through earphones they can absorb, mesmerise beguile and fascinate.

Like any live album, there’s always a balancing act between catching the best sound possible, while retaining enough grit so that it sounds authentic; whoever was on duty for Nadja can give themselves a damn huge pat on the back, as every tender feedback and fuzzy tone is captured perfectly. Halfway through, when they cede to the feedback and segue from all-enveloping drone into their finale it’s captured with crystal clear clarity, you’re still transfixed.

That’s the genius of Nadja – that mystical factor that keeps you hooked. Unlike the masochistic fascination of power that comes with a Sunno))) gig in addition to nausea and possibly needing to wear a nappy if you stand too close to the stacks, Nadja are rather more poetic and moving in ways that don’t involve symptoms of shellshock. As 'Paradox' draws to a close, you’re left with a feeling of profoundness. You might not have been to Incubate, but this is the next best thing.

Words by Steve R. Jones

Thanks to David at Viral Propaganda PR for the promo. Nadja - Paradox - Live At Incubate 15.09.14 will be available to buy now on Vinyl from Consouling Sounds.

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