Archive for September, 2011

Album of the day: Queen Elephantine – Garland Of Skulls

Posted on Tuesday, September 6th, 2011

Lovingly pinched from The Sleeping Shaman: There comes a point when listening to a record becomes more of a religious experience than a musical one. Queen Elephantine’s 10th release is one such experience. Indy Shome and his merry musicians from the NYC have once again crafted a singular flowing piece of belching doom chords, ringing Middle-Eastern tanpura twangs and neo-gospel vocals to accompany the thematics of Tibetan Buddhist mythology.

A short release for a full length, Garland of Skulls wastes no time in dragging you across a floor of distorted bass for 30 minutes plus. The simplistic bass riffing becomes so repetitive that before you know it the record has nigh on finished and you’ve been swallowed up into a hypnotic trance for a half-hour! It’s sometimes difficult to tell with such long and disjointed pieces of instrumentalism, quite what is written and planned songverse, and what is simple improvisation to fill in the gaps.

Vocals are few and far between, and when they do surface it sounds like a trio of lonely church-goers praying to the dead at dusk inside a cavernous and isolated cave. It’s certainly far from cheery on all accounts as half-riffs drop down off-kilter, like tombstones collapsing under the humid weight of damp smoke in a deserted graveyard. When drums do kick in and some form of tempo is set, the tanpura (a sitar-like creation) becomes the instrument of mystery, shaking off conventional string arrangements to create a nervous ambience; uncertain and eerie in its textures.

Continue reading: Queen Elephantine ‘Garland Of Skulls’ CD 2011 review | The Sleeping Shaman.

Tags: Album of the day, billy anderson, Concrete Lo Fi Records, Garland of Skulls, Pete Green, Queen Elephantine, The Sleeping Shaman
Posted in 2011, Album of the Day, Roadburn Recommended | 1 Comment »

Album of the day: Botanist – I The Suicide Tree / II A Rose From The Dead

Posted on Monday, September 5th, 2011

Lovingly pinched from Lurker: Botanist sounds and reads as an insect choir to the noblest aspects of garden couture. A menagerie of luminescent hymns that consistently veers toward the edge of insanity. Picture spindled-legged beings hanging on precipice cliffs of rose thorns, guzzling nectar, imbibing wares and decorating the quaint ...read more

Yob: Ball of Molten Lead (Live at Roadburn 2010) Track Premiere Plus Download

Posted on Monday, September 5th, 2011

It’s no secret that we’re hooked on riff-mongers Yob, so today we’re bringing you the track premiere of Ball of Molten Lead (Left Click to listen or Right Click to download). The track (wrongly named as Quantum Mystic) comes off the band’s new album, “Live at Roadburn 2010″, which is ...read more

Monday Song: Grand Funk Railroad – I’m Your Captain / Closer to Home

Posted on Monday, September 5th, 2011

Every Monday morning we’ll post a kick-ass song to get your week going.

Album of the day: Sun Araw – Ancient Romans

Posted on Sunday, September 4th, 2011

Praise for Sun Araw‘s Ancient Romans from San Francisco’s aQuarius Records: For all the deserved attention and press the whole Los Angeles musical underground has been receiving in the last couple years, we still think that Sun Araw, aka Cameron Stallones, is perhaps the most unique musical visionary to come ...read more

Melvins Ready Ridiculously Rare ‘Endless Residency’ Vinyl Box Set (self-titled magazine)

Posted on Sunday, September 4th, 2011

Anyone into rare vinyl and the Melvins needs to head over to Rock Is Hell at noon EST tomorrow, when the label plans on taking pre-orders for an 8-LP box set of live recordings from the band’s recent L.A. residency. Here’s the breakdown, via the Vinyl Collective… Continue reading: Melvins ...read more

Album of the day: Saviours – Death’s Procession

Posted on Saturday, September 3rd, 2011

Lovingly pinched from MeatMeadMetal: I speak often on this site about beer-drinking metal, mainly because it’s fun when kicking back some brews to have something ass-kicking bleeding from the stereo. Not everything qualifies under that designation. For instance, I’m not going to be too eager to have a nice ale ...read more

Sun Araw: Ancient Romans Full Album Stream at VPRO 3voor12

Posted on Saturday, September 3rd, 2011

Sun Araw‘s Ancient Romans is currently streaming in its entirety at this location, courtesy of Vpro 3voor12, which is the leading cultural media network in the Netherlands. “The tracks on Ancient Romans just melt in and out of each other, you lose track of what song is playing, and instead ...read more

Eyehategod: Pro-Shot Footage From France’s Hellfest

Posted on Friday, September 2nd, 2011

Professionally filmed video footage of Nola’s Eyehategod performance at this year’s Hellfest, which took place June 17-19, 2011 in Clisson, France, can be seen below.

The Devil’s Blood: Track Premiere of The Thousandfold Epicentre Via Soundcloud

Posted on Friday, September 2nd, 2011

Occult rockers The Devil’s Blood have posted the title track from their forthcoming album The Thousandfold Epicentre online now at Soundcloud. Listen below.  The Thousandfold Epicentre will be released on 11 November via Van Records.