Agitation Free - Malesch

Praise from San Francisco’s Aquarius Records for Agitation Free’s Malesch: for those unfamiliar with Agitation Free, here’s the deal… They got their start as a hippie commune band, with ties to Guru Guru, Tangerine Dream, and Amon Duul. Their debut, Malesch (Arabic for “it doesn’t matter, take it easy”), is a true cosmic Krautrock classic, blending the spacey psych of Pink Floyd and fellow krautrockers Ash Ra Tempel and Popul Vuh with a flair for Eastern “exoticism”. Plus, in the intertwining guitars, you’ll find some hints of the American West Coast psych sound (yes, even a little Grateful Dead — but don’t let that scare you off).

The album was recorded in 1972 not long after the band was sent on a tour of the Middle East by the Goethe Institute, and incorporates field recordings (decades before the likes of Godspeed You Black Emperor!) from their trip: the bustle of Cairo streets, desert winds, calls to prayer, friendly airline pilots… These tapes are a key element of this record’s appeal (along with their sheer talent for jamming and their synth and electronic experimentation). Oh, and some great Hammond organ sounds too. Basically, this is a fantastic album of mostly instrumental psych / drone / ethnic rock, that’s generally mellow but powerful too. Whether to the Great Pyramids of Egypt (where the album cover was shot) or to inner space, Malesch portrays a true trip indeed. So recommended.

Apostle Of Solitude - Last Sunrise

Lovingly pinched from HellrideMusic.com: Those of you that are into real two-fisted Doom Metal, the ‘no beatin’ round the bush’, ‘misery and woe of this mortal coil’ variety, those whose Doom Metal proclivity is of the Godzilla-stomp-on-your-cerebrum genus, will most certainly find the godhead in Apostle of Solitude’s newest collection of recordings, Last Sunrise.

The expectations for AoS following 2008’s sublime Sincerest Misery were huge. I’d be hard pressed to name another release in recent memory as heavy, skilled and as tethered to real human emotional suffering as Sincerest Misery. So the question on most fans minds is, does Last Sunrise match the visceral power of it’s predecessor?

The answer is… no, not quite. Almost, but when you’ve recorded what is widely to be considered a totem of the Doom Metal genre, anything in comparison is bound to fall short as good as it may be. Such is the case with Last Sunrise… a very good album from the Indy fearsome foursome, but missing some of urgency and differentiation between songs that made Sincerest… such a wallop. And an agonizingly horrible choice (in my opinion, anyway) in an album cover. Fear not though, Last… is definitely no let down. The walls of Russian Studios in Bloomington, IN would tell you, if only they hadn’t been rendered speechless by the band.

There are some exceptional songs on Last…. ‘Letting Go Of The Wheel’ comes in with a whisper and leaves 9 minutes later with your head in it’s hands. Heavy as a mutha. The oddly titled ‘Hunter Sick Rapture’ is nearly 5 minutes of mid-to-uptempo bludgeoning, the Webb / McClellan rhythm section firing on 16 cylinders of Doom-fueled fury. The cymbal sound in the mix here is superb… sounds like hammers against an anvil, especially effective in the slower section. Amazing how that sound alone can give you an amazing sense of unadulterated gravitas.

Continue reading:  HellrideMusic.com – Apostle Of Solitude – Last Sunrise.

KTVU.com It seems like all the Saint Vitus concerts have focused on the classic era material since the initial reunion you did since 2003. Is there any talk about writing new material or recording together again?

Weinrich: “We have and we are. We’re writing some stuff right now. Everybody’s pretty busy. I know I’ve been busy. The Wino band is pretty much on hiatus right now. So it looks like we’ll be doing some recording in the near future. The bottom line is we would like to do a new record. There’s talk about it. We’ve already been floating around a couple ideas. So yeah, somewhere down the line there will be a new Vitus record in the cards.”

Scott Wino Weinrich - Roadburn 2009

KTVU.com I was sorry to hear about the passing of bassist Jon Blank in May. Do you have plans on more solo album work in the future?

Weinrich: “I’m starting to think about that more now. I’m pretty sure Southern Lord and Greg [Anderson, co-founder of the Southern Lord label and member of modern doom bands Sunn O))) and Goatsnake] will be behind me whatever I decide. Jean-Paul is a fantastic drummer. Jon Blank’s passing was really sad, but the guy we got to replace him [Brian White, who played in the band Dog Fashion Disco] is amazing too. When the Wino band went on tour with Clutch this summer, we had some really great shows and we got some good responses for some of our newer tunes. I’d really like to record another record.”

“When Jon died, we were doing a month long tour supporting Clutch. So basically when he died I was unsure about what to do. And Jean Paul said ‘Why don’t you come on the bus with us and open up the tour acoustic?’ And I was pretty floored. That’s pretty daunting, to play acoustic for a Clutch show, you know?”

“But I went ahead and did it and that’s when I realized there might be something there. I’ve had people tell me they’d like to see an acoustic record. I thought about it for a while and now I’m leaning towards doing a combination of both. Some acoustic songs and some electric songs that we’ve worked up…I’m thinking that might be good. So that’s what I’m thinking about right now, but it could change.”

KTVU.com That’s interesting, because in the research I was doing I came across an interview where you said the American roots of doom can be traced back to Woody Guthrie and Hank Williams. I’d hadn’t heard any metal musicians make that connection before, but there’s obvious a common thread there. I was going to ask if you ever contemplated stripping your music down to bare elements and recording an acoustic album; obviously you have.

Weinrich: “Sort of, yeah. When people call me the godfather of doom, I’ll tell you the godfather of doom was Hank Williams. He’s the real godfather of doom [laughs]. I think if you look back to that music, there are a couple of Woody Guthrie songs that are unbelievably dark. And I recently discovered Townes Van Zant. He’s a more modern guy. I can’t sit there and listen to everything he’s done, but his life and whole trip was rather sad.”

“I’ve always been more attracted to the darker types of music. I’ve always been more attracted to melancholy, sadder — for lack of a better word — doom-y kind of stuff. And some of their music fits right in there. The music that I’m making today and that Saint Vitus has always made reflects the mood of the time. Now the United States and the world at large are kind of in a rough time. I think people need music that isn’t so happy and poppy, at least in my opinion. This kind of music fills that gap between your hip hop and your dance type stuff and your real sappy pop.”

“There are times when I’ve doubted my lifestyle. There are times when I think to myself ‘Man, you know, I never learned a trade.’ Sometimes I think about how it would nice to have a more stable trip with a 9-to-5 or whatever. But when it come down to it, this is what I do. This is what I love. You’ve just got to keep going.”

Continue reading:  KTVU.com Interviews Metal Legend Scott “Wino” Weinrich – Local Live: Bay Area Music Scene News Story – KTVU San Francisco.
Please click HERE for the audio stream of Wino – Roadburn 2009, and HERE for Saint Vitus – Roadburn 2009.

There are many terms that always crop up during discussion of the bewildering variety of leftfield rock and electronic music that came out of Germany in the late 60s and 70s. The most commonly occurring nomenclature is the only partially useful and slightly disagreeable umbrella name of Krautrock.

Michael Rother

Probably the second most popular term is the much more useful motorik. The word, which literally means ‘motor skill’ in German, was originally coined by journalists to describe the minimal yet propulsive four four beat that underpins just a small amount of the music from this time and place. However, if this non-existent genre has anything approaching a definable quality, then this beat is it. It was a hallmark of Klaus Dinger’s drumming for Neu!, although he rejected the term, preferring to call the rhythm the ‘Apache beat’. This metronome was first used in this context by Kraftwerk on tracks such as ‘Ruckzuck’, and Can on the blistering ‘Mother Sky’.

Continue Reading: The Quietus – From Neu! To Kraftwerk: Football, Motorik And The Pulse Of Modernity

As the legendary frontman of Kyuss, JOHN GARCIA really needs no further introduction, but here’s one anyway. The incredible emotional content of Kyuss is due in large part to the vocals of JOHN GARCIA. Deeply rooted in blues and baked solid by the searing desert sun, his powerful contributions to the classic Kyuss records Blues for the Red Sun, Kyuss (aka “Sky Valley”) and Circus  Leaves Town cast the mold for a legion of imitators. Backed by a band of highly accomplished musicians, JOHN GARCIA will perform an entire set of Kyuss songs at Roadburn Festival 2010.

John: “I don’t want to do this just for myself, but especially for the fans. Both for the ones who have seen Kyuss live back in the days as well as for the ones who haven’t had that chance. This could be as close as they could get to the real thing. Please bear in mind that this could be a one-off unique opportunity !’’

GARCIA plays KYUSS tour dates:

28.05 -- Dublin (Ire) -- Andrews Theatre
29.05 -- Gent (Bel) -- Vooruit
30.05 -- Amsterdam (Hol) -- Melkweg
01.06 -- Koln (Ger) -- Underground
02.06 -- Luzern (Swi) -- Schuur
03.06 -- Arau  (swi) -- Kiff
04.06 -- Bologna (Ita) -- Estragon
05.06 -- Munchen (Ger) -- Feierwerk
06.06 -- Wien (Aut) -- Arena
08.06 -- Berlin (Ger) -- Festsaal Kreuzberg
09.06 -- Copenhagen (Den) -- Loppen
10.06 -- Hamburg (Ger) -- Übel & Gefährlich
11.06 -- Frankfurt (Ger) -- Batchkapp

Godflesh

According to Justin, the band’s lineup for the Hellfest performance will consist of Broadrick and Green, accompanied by various “machines and projections.”

Justin explained to U.K.’s Terrorizer magazine the reasons behind the band’s return to the live stage.

“It wasn’t remotely planned”,  he said. “Whenever it’s been mentioned previously, I’d stated categorically not, regardless of the color of the offers. But, somehow, this started to make sense late 2009, and once I put it to Ben G.C. Green in no uncertain terms, it made sense to him, too. Not having to support a record or a label and just do as we wish on our terms is exciting, and to play as Godflesh were originally designed is even more thrilling. Not that this may be repeated at all after Hellfest; we’e literally taking it as it comes.”

Terrorizer: What else have you got planned?

Justin: “Godflesh will not commit to anything but Hellfest currently. I am unsure as to where we will go from there, if we go anywhere at all.”

Terrorizer: Obviously, I’ve got to ask, what are the odds of any new Godflesh material?

Justin: “That is fairly minimal. We are more than happy to return to our old sound for a show, but uncertain how we could do this in the context of new material. We’ve both moved on so much, but we will not rule out any possibility currently.”

Terrorizer: What do you think makes a reunion worthwhile?

Justin: “I consider it more worthwhile for those who never got the chance to experience the band live, especially under great conditions, as in projections and big stage / sound.”

Continue reading:  BLABBERMOUTH.NET – GODFLESH Mainman Doesn’t Rule Out Possibility Of New Material.

“In the last few months we have been working very intensively on our new album Raised By Wolves. It was and still is a very strong period, in which we more or less ‘rediscovered’ ourselves. It was also a period of evaluation for all of us in the band about what we are actually doing in the band, what we want from it, and where we want to go.”

SerpentCult 2010

“It went so far that about two months ago, we even discarded about 80% of the new material just to start again from scratch. We don’t want to make Weight Of Light 2, we want to make something exceptional.”

“Creativity, vision, future, motivation and other very personal related topics are things we often discussed in the last series of months.”

“As a consequence of all this, our singer Michelle has decided to leave SerpentCult a few days ago for both personal and band related reasons. Cozy, Steven and myself agreed with her decision.”

“I speak for the whole of the band when I say that the material we have been writing for Raised By Wolves is by far the best stuff we ever made. The music comes straight from the guts, has clear vision, and in comparison with our previous material, is far more avant garde and experimental. However, the music still retains the typical tone and heavyness of SerpentCult.”

“The more the new songs were taking actual shape, the more we were wondering what position the vocals would be taking on this new material. Together with Michelle, we also concluded that the traditional setup of 3 musicians and a front vocalist does not work anymore for us.”

“Therefore, we have decided with SerpentCult to make some drastic changes. For a while already, I was playing with the idea of redefining the concept of a ‘band’. The departure of Michelle was the trigger for me to make these plans actually happen.”

“This is what will follow:

First of all, Michelle will not be replaced! This seems pointless to us, and would only be a weak attempt to continue what we’ve been doing on Weight Of Light. However, let it be clear that SerpentCult is NOT turning into an instrumental band!”

“From now on, the band will consist of a creative core of a limited amount of people, which are Cozy, Steven and myself, as permanent members. This “core” will lay out the vision and the basics for all the future SerpentCult happenings.”

“The band will expand with a few other musicians, who will join us in the realisation and creation of our visions and music. These members will be very close to the band, but will not be permanent SerpentCult members.”

“We do not limit ourselves to an amount, nor to certain instruments. Vocals and lyrics will still play an important role in SerpentCult, however, the approach will be totally different from what is commonly accepted and expected in modern music.”

“This new concept will allow us to spread our wings, and touch new horizons. We are extremely excited to start working within this new setup, and we see it as one of the most challenging things we have ever done in music.”

“These changes obviously have their impact on the short term future: First of all, we have to cancel all the one off gigs in the coming two months. We would like to apoligize to the bookers of these gigs for the trouble this has caused them.”

“For the European tour with Dark Fortress, Sardonis and Farsot; Michelle and the band have agreed to make it happen. This will be the last opportunity to see SerpentCult in the ‘old’ line up.”

“After this tour, the band will start working intensively on the new concept, and we will be proud to present you the new material at Tom G Warrior’s “Only Death Is Real” – Roadburn Festival, April 16th.”

“We  would to stress that the friendly relations between SerpentCult and Michelle remain unaffected, and we are still good friends. These 4 years together in the band have been awesome, and we wish her all the best for the future in her new projects and personal life.”

“We know that the steps we are taking now will create strong reactions amongst the fans. SerpentCult however has never been a band you know what to expect from. We do this because it’s our minds and hearts speaking. We follow the path that we think is right, and we’ll be the only ones to judge this.”

“But this is what it’s all about for us; we do what we want and what we feel we must do. We do not seek acceptance, our lives will be free…”

The Wounded Kings - The Shadow Over Atlantis

Lovingly pinched from The Obelisk: Whenever I hear a record like the The Shadow over Atlantis, the jaw-dropping sophomore outing from UK doomers The Wounded Kings (and contrary to whatever hyperbole is yet to come, reason knows there are other albums that have provoked this reaction), I feel oppressed by it, like I’m drowning in it — and yes, that is a very good thing. The duo’s I Hate Records label debut crosses traditional lines with newer atmospheres, and maintains a punishingly, torturously slow approach that simply is the essence of doom. As the cover art harkens to the vinyl days of yore while keeping a mystical, occult vibe, so too does the music fall into line across the six tracks of the album.

Continue reading: The Obelisk: Reviews: The Wounded Kings – The Shadow Over Atlantis. (Very special thanks to JJ Koczan for the kind permission)

Triptykon

In an exceptionally rare gesture, HR Giger has granted Triptykon the use of his dramatic painting “Vlad Tepes” (work no. 412, 200 x 140 cm, acrylic on paper on wood, 1978). It is the artist’s first authorized appearance on an album cover in 17 years, and the second time he collaborates with Warrior (following Celtic Frost’s “To Mega Therion” album in 1985).

Vincent Castiglia contributes Triptykon, a specially created portrait of the members of the group, painted in the artist’s own blood (86 x 86 cm, blood/iron oxide on archival paper, 2009). As Castiglia aptly put it, the amalgamation of works by HR Giger, Vincent Castiglia, and Triptykon on “Eparistera Daimones” forms a creative triptych in itself.

HR Giger: ” I am very proud to work with Triptykon. My art hasn’t appeared on an album cover for quite some time, and I feel honored to have been approached by Tom about such a collaboration for Triptykon’s very first release.”

Vincent Castiglia: “It’s been a tremendous honor to work with both Triptykon and HR Giger on the forthcoming release of, “Eparistera Daimones”. It was a project of enormous depth for me, conceptually as well as visually. I think the resonance between Triptykon’s music, Giger’s art, and my work is extremely powerful, and it coalesces in quite an amazing, and singular way.

Tom Gabriel Warrior: “We feel deeply privileged to be able to adorn our very first album with the work of two artists we respect enormously. To us, their astonishing contributions convey significant symbolism both with respect to our personal frame of mind as well as for this particular album and its history.”
“It is an immense pleasure to be able to work with HR Giger again. He was one of our most significant mentors during the days of Hellhammer and early Celtic Frost, and he is an extraordinary human being and an artist without equal.”

“Vincent Castiglia has become a close friend in recent years, and we both sensed that the time had come to create something truly unique together. I am infinitely grateful that he has lent us his incredible talent, not least because I know he incorporates as much passion, darkness, and pain into his work as I do, too.”

Triptykon Eparistera Daimones Mediabook CD Cover:

Eparistera Daimones CD Cover

Triptykon Eparistera Daimones Double LP Cover:

Eparistera Daimones LP Cover

A special webisode series was launched today focusing on the album’s defiant artwork and musically sinister aesthetic. Click below to view part one of this three-part series:

Two songs from Eparistera Daimones can already be heard at the band’s official MySpace profile.

Eparistera Daimones will also feature detailed credits, full lyrics and extensive liner notes to all songs and will be released via Century Media Records under exclusive license from Prowling Death Records Ltd. on March 22nd, 2010 (Europe) and March 23rd, 2010 (North America).

Earthless - Live at Roadburn

Lovingly pinched from StonerRock.com: The trick of free-flowing instrumental jams is keeping it interesting for long stretches of time. If there’s a group currently out there that knows this better than Earthless, I’d like to know who it is. From my vantage point, Earthless is the cream of the psychedelic rock crop, and while that opinion was solidified well before I heard Live at Roadburn, the San Diego-based band’s latest reinforced that feeling tenfold.

This two CD/LP release, recorded live and without any overdubs at this year’s (2009 -ed) prestigious Roadburn Festival (You don’t know about this? What are you, dense?), may take awhile to get going, but once it does, the band’s impossible to stop.

Continue reading:  StonerRock.com – Earthless – Live at Roadburn.
Please click HERE for the audio stream of Earthless – Live at Roadburn.