  The Roadburn playlist is a monthly update from the Roadburn staff reflecting what we are spinning here in the head office. These are the records that get us through the day as we work on Roadburn Festival business and our much delayed review section. Much as you'd expect, our playlists feature heavy rock, psych, and space rock from the 60's to immediate present. We also will feature guest playlists from knowledgeable contributors like Jerry Krantiz from Aural-Innovations and Santtu Laakso [editor of PsychotropicZone & Dark Sun] amongst others. The Roadburn playlist is waiting for you... Archive: Playlist February 2008 Playlist June 2008 Contact: Walter Roadburn on Last FM & Myspace. Roadburn Records on Myspace. Plus, instead of a Roadburn Forum, we created a Roadburn Yahoo Group! Please subscribe here. The website: Article Overview Audio Webcasts More Audio Webcasts Roadburn Records Homepage |
Terrorizer  
ANATOMIA | GRUDGE | COFFINS - "DOOM TO DEATH, DAMNED IN HELL" [CD - Grind Mind Records] A three-headed doom / death attack, made in Japan but released on a small Italian label: that's what we call underground folks! Right away, you can remove Grudge from the equation though: plagued by an awful singer, their quite bizarre mix of grindcore and sludge gets tiresome after two minutes. Plus, it pales in comparison to the more death-metal oriented assaults of Anatomia [ex-Transgressor] and Coffins [ex-dot[.]. If the point of reference of both power-trio's is Autopsy, Coffins get extra kudos for diving deeper, akin to Winter at times, and their take of Asphyx's classic "Wasteland Of Terror" is particularly suffocating. Ugly, primitive and totally anti-commercial: what more could you ask for?! 
APOSTLE OF SOLITUDE - "EMBRACED BY THE BLACK" [CD - Necrology Recordings] There's no need to beat around the bush: if you want to play epic traditional doom-metal you NEED a good vocalist. Without him / her, all your efforts to convey that emotional distress so essential to this genre will be useless and you'll be condemned to wander endlessly in Spinal Tap territories. Thankfully, Indiana's Apostle Of Solitude have mastered that lesson well and their singer and vocalist Chuck Brown [amazingly, a former drummer for The Gates Of Slumber!] is the main reason behind the artistic success of their second demo "Embraced By The Black." Adorned with tiny traces of stoner grooves, yet with enough grit around the edges to make sure any form of 'cool vibe' doesn't settle in, they may pay their dues to both Candlemass and Solitude Aeternus but nevertheless have managed to create a form of darkness on their own. Their simple arrangements, loud yet clear guitars and lysergic tempos give Brown all the space he needs to blossom, therefore providing "Embraced By The Black" with a rare quality --the ability to be both beautifuland heavy at the same time. 
HOUR OF 13 - "S/T" [CD - Shadow Kingdom] Funny how sometimes after you've spent years absorbing all kinds of metal you're easily drawn back to where it all started: hot on the heels of Pagan Altar's amazing comeback and Witchfinder General's recent collections, the NWOBHM movement seems to be more alive than ever in 2008, more keen than ever to embrace a classic doom metal sound, a great example of which can be found here by Hour Of 13. The true beauty of their eponymous debut is to be found in its lyrics, sung by great vocalist Phil Swanson, also frontman of the sadly overlooked Upwards Of Endtime. Penned by multi-instrumentist and former black-metal musician Chad Davies, they’re picturing a Hammer movie-like world of satanic rituals and sacrificed virgins, all for the glory of the Great Horned One. Scary stuff! 
JOE HASSELVANDER - "THE HOUNDS OF HASSELVANDER" [CD - Rock Saviour] There's no point denying that Bobby Liebling IS Pentagram. But former Raven member Joe Hasselvander, who started playing with Liebling under the Deathrow banner in 1981, has still to be credited with keeping the band alive until 2003. So if the recycling of Pentagram's typo on the cover of 'The Hounds' doesn’t tip you on what to expect from this solo album - in the true sense of the word, since Hasselvander, besides vocals, is playing all the instruments by himself – the mammoth riffing of ”Pull The Switch” will. Imagine, if you can, a super-heavy album deeply rooted in Black Sabbath tradition [aren’t they all?] but with an up-tempo beat and arena-rock aesthetics, despite its average song length of six-minutes. Doom-rock for the masses?! 
MOURN - "S/T" [CD - Rise Above Records] Complain all you want about the lack of musical extremism of Mourn's eponymous and sole album from 1995: the long-awaited reissue of this lost-gem, enhanced with both their "For Evermore" demo and contribution to the "Dark Passages II" compilation, will shut out all the naysayer with its female vocalist-fronted unique brand of stoner and doom-rock that influenced other potent British bands from the mid-90's, like Orange Goblin or early Electric Wizard. Avid collectors would be well advised to get their hands [while they still can!] on the exquisite 2LP version of this one-of-kind full-length that finally gets the recognition it deserves. Main-editor Aural-Innovations. 
ZONE SIX - "10 YEARS OF..." [CD - Sulatron Records] I've been following Zone Six since their first album, and sharp eyed fans will know that between regular releases, CDRs and web site downloads they have been highly prolific. Their latest CD is a collection of unreleased studio tracks and live performances that celebrates the band's tenth anniversary. Though I think Zone Six are at their best as an instrumental outfit, I did enjoy the debut album with Jodi Barry on vocals, so the three tracks from 1997-98 that include her are a treat. Jodi's improvisational vocal style was ideal for a band that has so excelled at instrumental exploration. "Something's Missing" consists of melodic and totally cosmic psychedelia, with liquid, wah'd, fuzzed and spaced out guitars, throbbing basslines and lots of jamming. "Beautiful" is an easy paced psych rocker with a funky, and at times jazzy groove. And "Come Inside" is a live track from a 1998 festival appearance and is my favorite of the tracks with Jodi. It's got some of her most powerful vocals, the band rock hard and the guitars take off into bubbly freakout territory. Next up is a live track from 1999 and now the band is now a quartet. This is an aggressive psychedelic space rocker with more head throbbing mind massage bass and wild psych guitars. Perfect brain candy for your acid laced mantra. Fast forward to 2003 and Julius K has taken over on guitar. Less than a minute into the track it's clear why he's credited with 'spaceguitar'!!! In fact, this from the first recording session with Julius. The last three tracks are live recordings from 2006. Two are from the Deadheadmeeting in May, and the last from the Burg Herzberg festival in July. "Grateful Life" is a cool grooving psych rocker that trips along and includes some very nice guitar work, both acidic and ambient. A cool jam tune. At less than 5 minutes "Rockhead to Eden" is surprisingly short for a Zone Six piece. But that's ok because it works well and has a sort of "song" feel, being a spaced out punky proggy dancey psychedelic tune. Finally, the 15 minute "Infernale Grande" closes the set and showcases Zone Six at their very BEST. It starts off like a freakout from Hawkwind's Space Ritual. Then we get into a free-wheeling space-prog-jazz improvisational bit that's out of this world. Like electric Miles Davis meets Hawkwind. But of course the whole thing ends up as a heavy duty steamrolling acid-space rocking jam, and is some of the most sophisticated music I’ve heard from Zone Six yet. Very impressive and HOT HOT HOT! Overall an excellent compilation and a fine selection of music from the past decade. 
THUNDERBOLT PAGODA - "S/T" [LP - Mutant Music] Thunderbolt Pagoda is the latest project from a group of Minneapolis based musicians that have been involved in such bands as Skye Klad, Salamander, The Pins, and others. The band consists of Erik Wivinus on guitars and vocals, Nate Cutlan on drums and percussion, Dave Onnen on bass and electric bouzouki, and Ralph Karsten on analog synthesizers, mellotron, and flute. Side one of the LP opens with "Horizon On Fire." An intense, thunderous, metallic intro leads to a psychedelic jam with melodic eastern flavored guitar, flute, synths and a potent rhythm section that creates a tension laced on-the-edge feel. The band alternates between trippy vocal sections and high energy acid rock explosions, including some volcanic guitar and light mellotron embellishments. Black Sun Ensemble fans would LOVE this. "The Watcher" is next and keeps the energy level high. Though "Horizon On Fire"had vocals, "The Watcher" has more of a song element to it. But it's just as psychedelically volatile, as the verses inevitably lead to luscious acidic meltdowns. All of side two it taken up by "Release the Krakken" Parts 1 & 2. It begins very sparse, with a repetitive, echoed guitar note. Bits of flute, light drones and atmospherics soon join in, and the buildup is very gradual. But right after the 6 minute mark the drums kick in, tipping us off that something is about to happen. And sure enough, the band launch into Rock mode, with a mixture of trippy psychedelia and sonic boom claps. Part 2 returns to calm, with floating ambient guitar, flute and atmospherics. A meditative and spacey sound exploration. But a groove slowly gets going and the band starts to rock out, the pace and volume steadily increasing. This would be perfect soundtrack music for an action packed thriller flick. Its very image inducing and I felt like I was the guy being chased in a Hitchcock movie or something like that. I've been following Erik Wivinus and Dave Onnen's work for many years now and they never disappoint, always being on the more progressive end of the psychedelic spectrum. If you’re already familiar with the music of Skye Klad and Salamander you'll know what I mean. Vinyl lovers step this way because this is an LP only release, pressed on 180g vinyl.  OBSKURIA - "DISCOVERY OF OBSCURIA" [CD - World In Sound] Obskuria is an interesting band. Apparently these musicians from various countries met in Germany and decided to do some recording together, resulting in this album. We've got Tom Brehm from the 1960s Cleveland, Ohio based band Dragonwyck, Winnie Rimbach-Sator of the German band Karmic Society on keyboards, and all the members of the great Peruvian heavy space-psych band La Ira de Dios. The best tracks are the ones where the La Ira de Dios members have the most obvious influence. I like the dual guitars combined with the classic organ sound on "I See." It starts off as a nice acid-bluesy jamming psych rock tune, and really takes off into space at times. "Essences Of Its Own" and "Discovery of Obskuria" are the two monster tracks of the set. "Essences Of Its Own" is a nearly 19 space trip, much of which sounds like its right off a La Ira de Dios album. Deep space liquid trip guitars and heavy organ lead the way as we travel the acid drenched and old time prog-psych cosmos. Things get rhythmically funky, keeping a nice rolling groove going as the guitars and organ explore. And the intensity level is high throughout. Ditto for the 12 minute "Discovery of Obskuria." It begins with a funky blues-jazz groove along with heavy fuzz guitar. The funky groove continues as the guitar gets increasingly tripped out and acidic, until finally melting into another La Ira de Dios styled acid-space journey. Very cool ripping guitar on this one and the organ is a welcome addition. And then we've got a mixed bag variety of music. "Breakfast Suite" is an interesting blend of styles. We're still firmly in the 70s, but in this case it's more heavy rocking jamming psychedelia but with funky-jazzy bits. As if the San Francisco band Mushroom were sitting in with them. I like the way they go off into an intense La Ira de Dios jam, but with the jazzy Rhodes tripping alongside. "Turn Your Face"is a basic blues tune. It's decent for what it is but didn't overly excite me, given the rest of the music on the album. There's also four cover tunes on the album. There's the punk-psych-prog rendition of the Dayglo Abortions' "I’m My Own God." Heavy psych rock, complete with a full blown organ sound, bluesy guitar solo, but all done at a thrashy pace and with classic punk vocals. Very strange but intriguing. There's a short freaky cover of The Beatles' "Come Together." A cover of The Misfits' "Die Die My Darling", and Metallica's "For Whom The Bell Tolls", which features doomy goth-psych with prog influences. The first half of the song sounds like a Goth band morphing into a 70s prog-psych band. Interesting. But the second half, when they take off on an instrumental section is much better, being a full blown bombastic prog-psych jam. Still doomy, and with cool fuzz guitars, freaky keyboards, yet still a Goth flavor from the organ. The CD includes one bonus track that the Obskuria web site say is not played by Obskuria, and you can certainly tell by listening. It's Peter Thomas, described on the web site as 'Germany's mastermind for moviesounds from 40 years ago, but shares Obskuria's vision.' It's a novelty soul tune which seems completely out of place on the album. Go figure. Anyway, this is a pretty schizophrenic album. The good stuff is very good, though overall the album is a bit inconsistent. The band are playing at the Burg-Herzberg Festival in June and I'm guessing that live they probably stick with the jamming psych-rock style [which would be wise]. 
HEAR & NOW - "COAXED OUT FROM OXFORD" [CD - 4 Zero Records] "Coaxed Out From Oxford" was originally released on cassette in 1983, and is a Here & Now release I'd previously been unaware of. Dave Weller at 4 Zero Records has recently released a remastered version of this live performance, recorded live at Oxford's Cowley Centre on October 14, 1983, with three bonus tracks recorded live at the Polytechnic of Wales on March 7, 1984. The band at these shows consisted of Deano Ferrari on guitar & vocals [the more than capable successor to Steffi Sharpstrings], Gavin Da Blitz on keyboards & vocals, Keith Th'Bass on bass & vocals and Paul 'Baby Face' Rose on drums. Songs like "Ways To Be Free", "Heartbeat" and "Fantasy Shift" feature classic Reggae infused space rock that so many of the great British festie bands adopted in the 1980s. Other highlights include "Heart of the City", a fun song that rocks hard, and has a cool combination of new wavey keyboards and ripping space guitar. "Theatre" is similar, incorporating elements of new wave, ska, and space rock. At nearly 10 minutes "Secrets" is the longest track of the set and is one of the most purely space rock. The guitar, synths and song style are deep in Gong territory, and it's got a great mixture of song and rocking instrumental space exploration. Absolutely fantastic. Also deep in space is an excellent renditions of Gong's "Opium for the People." Among the other tracks I enjoyed are "The Mega Number" and "Glad You're Here", both of which blend festie psych, a bouncy Reggae-ish groove, and a whimsical punky vibe. And "Salvador" is a rollicking song with a ska type vibe. Like Madness gone festie-psych. Then there are the three bonus tracks, which hint that this performance may have been a bit different from the Oxford's Cowley show the year before. "Last Chance" is a laid back Gong-ish song that rocks out but has an overall mellow vibe. There's a cool cover of Daevid Allen's "Stoned Innocent Frankenstein." And "Jimmy Mac" is a hell of a closing track, and along with "Secrets" is among my favorites of the set. It's a rip roaring space rock instrumental, but with a bit of a prog rock edge. Really outstanding. I'd love to hear the entire set from this show. In summary, an outstanding set and I'm tickled to hear this live Here & Now from so many years ago. There's also a little booklet with musings from Keith Th'Bass and pictures. Big kudos to Dave Weller for making this available. Dave started his 4 Zero label a couple years ago to release some archival music from the San Franciscan band Mushroom, and has since released a second Mushroom set. He's on a real roll with this Here & Now release. Hear tracks at myspace.  RADIO MASSACRE INTERNATIONAL - "RAIN FALLS IN GRAY" [CD - Cuneiform Records] Radio Massacre International [RMI] are a UK based trio who have an extensive discography dating back to 1995. The band consists of Steve Dinsdale, Gary Houghton and Duncan Goddard, all on an array of guitars, keyboards, synthesizers and percussion. Their new album, Rain Falls in Grey, is inspired by Syd Barrett, and, as stated in the album notes, is the band's way of saying goodbye and thanks to a genuine one-off. The CD opens with the 17 minute title track, an electrifying Space-Prog expedition that is "Piper at the Gates of Dawn" influenced, but also draws on a variety of early 70s Kosmiche infused progressive styles. We've got classic 70s keyboards, a variety of electronics that add an experimental edge to the music, killer space guitar, and Martin Archer guests on saxophone, adding a bit of swing to the proceedings. Things get pretty frenzied at times, alternating between the more overtly Floydian sounds and just rocking out in space. "Bett'r Day-s" is a grooving spaced out instrumental with lots of tasty guitar work, both cool soloing and screaming licks. Later in the track we get into Tangerine Dream / Ash Ra Tempel territory, the overall result being a nice cosmic jam tune. "Shut Up" is a shorter track that's a clear nod to early exploratory Pink Floyd, especially the "One Of These Days" guitar bits and voices. This leads directly into "Syd", another [obviously intentional] total Floyd influenced piece [the EARLY truly cosmic stuff]. "Emissary" starts off as a mellow, floating, deep space piece that would be right at home on Ummagumma. But it soon develops into something from later Floyd, with trademark Gilmour styled jamming guitar and more saxophone. Luscious!! The first several minutes of "…Far Away" recall the opening to "Shine On You Crazy Diamond". But then it segues into a more purely space ambient and electro orchestral floating piece, along with jamming blues guitar. A nice peaceful finale to an outstanding album. Definitely more of a rock element than their 2005 Emissaries album. Oh, and check out the cool artwork by Daevid Allen. Editor PsychotropicZone & bassplayer in Darksun 
PRE-MED- "THE TRUTH ABOUT US" [CD - Voiceprint Records] "The Truth About Us" is the second CD by the new UK based space rock band Pre-med. Formed by Danny Faulkner [vocals, drums, keyboards] and ex-Hawkwind member Alan Davey [bass, keyboards, rhythm guitar on a few tracks], the album features some guests as well. This is one of the best heavy, psychedelic space rock albums that I’ve heard in quite some time! All the tracks are written by Danny except of course the excellent cover version of Hawkwind's "The Demented Man." The album includes hard-rocking, mind-blowing space rock tracks like "Cerebral Escape" that remind me of the old Hawkwind classic "Brainbox Pollution." Other highlights include the pounding "Has the Whole World Gone Insane", and "Wallpaper Warriors" which has a heavy killer riff and oriental feel as well. There are some mellower songs like the great instrumental "5HTP" that gets really psychedelic, the floating space ballad "Death of a Star", and "Debouch", the beautiful, laidback number that finishes off the album. Possibly the best track is the title track, "The Truth About Us."It has both emotion and power. "Demented Man"preserves the fragile and melancholic atmosphere of the original, but is brought into the 21st century. "The Truth About Us" is a totally amazing album full of strong, heavy and emotional space rock and Alan Davey has done a great job with mixing, producing and engineering as the sound quality is excellent. Just get this album! 
ACID MOTHERS TEMPLE & THE COSMIC INFERNO - "OMINOUS FROM THE COSMIC INFERNO" [CD - Essence Music] AMT in all its different incarnations keep up the busy release schedule and now we've got a marvelous new album by AMT and the Cosmic Inferno on the Brazilian label, Essence Music. The creative force of these Japanese freaks doesn't show any signs of diminishing. "Ominous from the Cosmic Inferno" is one of the best AMT albums I've heard for a while. This CD comes with an exquisite, open gatefold mini LP cover with pop-up and includes six tracks that are somewhere between four and 19 minutes in length. One of the shortest tracks is the opener "Ecstasy in Hell" that is a rocking psych-rock blast with vocals, wild freaky soloing and space sounds. What a way to start an album! The heavy, mid-tempo "Dark Side of the Apocalypse" includes a hypnotic riff and vocals. This is a dark, sinister and lysergic track that really warps your mind. The end part is chaotic freeform freaking out in the style that only AMT can master. Excellent stuff! The other tracks are very good as well. "Ominous from the Cosmic Inferno" is a bit challenging. It might not appeal to the most fainthearted, but, the album doesn’t have the noisiest noise aspects that can be found on some other AMT albums that get a bit too heavy to handle for some people. All the effort put into enjoying this ultimately rewarding sulfur-scented experience is well worth it though. 
CIRCLE - "RAKENNUS" [CD - Ektro Records] Rakennus ["building" in English] was recorded last autumn in Charlottesville, Virginia, and offers an hour's worth of raw, energetic and extremely tight two-track-recorded Circle at their best. The album includes several fast and heavy songs, slower doom and a couple of more peaceful pieces. The disc has many tracks that haven't yet been released as studio versions, which of course makes this release even more interesting. Starting off with a Tangerine Dream / Klaus Schultze styled keyboard arpeggio the closer to 11-minute-long "Uusi Uhraus" later on changes into tight and hard rocking in one key including occasionally some vocals and mouth-organ. Hypnotic stuff. The more familiar "Nopeuskuningas" rocks like hell. The merciless metal mania continues on "Tulilintu" that also has some psych sounds. The long "Tuhat" begins with psychedelic noises, then there’s some laid-back piano, little bit of guitar and soft bass. Later on there's also some chanting vocals by Jussi as well as drums. Nice jamming. "Virsi" has a really weird, psychedelic and flaky atmosphere. As a nice surprise, on this gig they also played the extremely tight number “Point” that was originally released on a single in 1992 and works very well also in its new form. Despite the slightly rusty sound, "Rakennus" is absolutely one of the best Circle live recordings I've heard and the atmosphere on this gig must have been amazing. This comes highly recommended! 
THE FUTURE KINGS OF ENGLAND - "THE FATE OF OLD MOTHER ORVIS" [CD - Backwater Records] This is the second album by the progressive / psychedelic / post rock band The Future Kings of England. This CD includes some of the best progressive rock I've heard for a while. This band has no intention to be highly technical, 'fastest-players-in-the-world' or any of that shit, they just play excellent, emotional, often mellow, sometimes a bit complex but always enjoyable music. They cite early Pink Floyd, Hawkwind, Gabriel-era Genesis, GSY!BE and Moqwai as their influences, and you can hear all those in their sound that still manages to be pretty original. The theme of this album seems to be witches, ghosts and the like. Although I really like all the tracks on the CD, the masterpiece is the title track. It's over 18 minutes in length, so there's a lot of time to build up the atmosphere. It starts off in a rather peaceful way with some narration about witches. Then it gets into bubbling wall of delays and sounds really far-out. The drums and chords disappear and there is some very hallucinatory ambience in there along with spoken word. After that there is a beautiful picked guitar part and when the other instruments join in the going gets rather hypnotic with some excellent keyboard stuff. At one point the track gets heavier, and then there is a weird, repetitive and psychedelic part with odd rhythm. The track speeds up a bit and sounds like early Porcupine Tree / Dead Flowers. Excellent! Later on it cools down and has some tremolo guitar and traditional instruments. This is very melancholic and dark stuff. Then the track grows again and rises into amazing spheres. Spectacular! I really enjoy this CD a lot. 
THE LINUS PAULING QUARTET - "ALL THINGS ARE LIGHT" [LP - Camera Obscura] The Linus Pauling Quartet is a Texas-based psych band. The LP includes the CD-R version as well, which is a great idea. I like the band's loud, guitar-filled stoner / garage / heavy music very much. The album starts off with the heavy and mid-tempo psych / stoner rock of "Alien Abduction" that has some great fuzz soloing and apathetic sounding vocals. Then the track gets groovier and the sax brings in some jazzy vibes. A great opener! The tender-but-still-heavy "Southern Pine" swings very nicely. Then there comes the funky "She Bad She Thowed." Reminding me of Monster Magnet, "Old Crow" is more like 70’s hard rock. Getting close to Americana or country music, "40 Oz"is a Grateful Dead-like homage to malt liquor. The fast and tightly rocking "Encherito" is a rather punky and energetic number that also includes some saxophone. Hot shit! The album ends with the slower, heavy and excellent classic / stoner rock track "Waiting for the Axe to Fall" that also has some Moog and reminds me of "Tales of Brave Ulysses" by Cream. This is very nice disc and you should hurry up if you want it since the purple-colored vinyl is limited to 500 copies. The album also includes an excellent 12 page booklet with lyrics etc. |
THE ROADBURN PLAYLIST
Here's what's spinning at Roadburn HQ these days...  
BARONESS - "RED ALBUM" [CD - Relapse Records] Hated this one at first. In retrospect, can't for the life of me figure out why. It certainly wasn't because it was lacking in super catchy riffs, great time / rhythm changes or tight pacing. maybe it was the averageness of the vocals, but heck, they're much less annoying than Isis or Coheed and Cambria. Whatever. I'll just chalk it up to wrong time / wrong place. I have nothing but props for Baroness' sophomore release at this point. Fun, catchy, reasonably heavy, inventive, great recording, super clean mix... it's all good. If you like that there's "Popular metal" that makes the hipster boys and girls dance like crazy, then Baroness' "Red Album" will not disappoint. Not one bit.. drew 
BIRCHVILLE CAT MOTEL - "OUR LOVE WILL DESTROY THE WORLD" [CD - Pseudo Arcana] Did you ever wish that Comets on Fire were a little less structured and little more ferocious? Have you ever thought that Sunn o))) would be great if they had more than one interesting musical idea? Did you ever wish that The Heads made more records like "33"? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you owe it to yourself to check out BCM's "pop" album. "Our Love..." shows off the heavy acid-psych side of Campbell Kneale as well as some of the most accessible tunes he produced prior to the monumental "Astro Catastrophes" release. drew 
DISFEAR - "LIVE THE STORM" [CD - Relapse] Tomas Lindberg's most rock and roll offering to date, the debut album by Disfear is [blasphemy!] able to stand it's own against works of Lindberg's countless side projects [not to mention his key role in melodic death Gods At the Gates]. A dancey thrash album that's guaranteed to get some part of you moving, whether it be drunkenly slam dancing or moshing in the pit, or simply, umm... exercising, "Live the Storm" is as sexy as metal can get -catchy choruses, blindingly fast guitar, splashy drumming, Lindberg's incredible scratchy howl and meaty bass support. And, in tune with the theme, like any good quickie, it's short, [clocking in at just over 30 minutes] sweet and ends on a high note. sarah kitteringham 
EARTH - "THE BEES MADE HONEY IN THE LIONS SKULL" [CD - Southern Lord] All the constants listeners have come to expect from Earth are covered in their newest album "The Bees Made Honey in the Lions Skull." Featuring slow atmospheric guitar with dense arrangements that flesh out the purely instrumental tracks alongside steady, simplistic drums and fuzzy, stoned and minimalist stylings, the biggest change from their previous endeavors is the level of focus. Most likely due to the addition of legendary jazz guitarist Brill Frisell, [who has worked with Elvis Costello, Paul Simon and Brian Eno] the album sees Earth dreamier, yet more focused and cohesive than ever before. sarah kitteringham 
ELDRIG - "EVERLASTING WAR DIVINITY" [CD - Eastside] Another in a suddenly longish line of black metal bands hailing from Portland, Oregon. Eldrig are my personal pick of the lot. They combine a ridiculously bombastic classical side with a relentless pace to produce an extremely catchy and listenable record. Just for fun, the band seems to be some sort of hyper-eco-friendly yoga enthusiasts. No, I'm not kidding. Check their myspace page and see. drew 
EVOKEN - "A CARRESS OF THE VOID" [CD - I Hate Records] Doom. oh yes. Dark churning discord and overcast vocals carry your attention while the insidious bleakness creeps in unawares. Unlike the skull pulverizing doom of Moss, Bunkur and Monarch... Evoken leans toward a richer, more atmospheric vein of bludgeon [like the one immortalized by dISEMBOWLMENT] on their latest effort. Evoken are the only doom band that I know that hail from New Jersey. A bit of a surprise, that, given New Jersey's inherently doomy industrial wastelands and spooky wildlands. In their 14 year history, Evoken have produced many great records like "Shades of Night Descending," and "Guietus", but they have also steadily honed their craft, adding layers of complexity and intrigue and subtlety along the way. All of this experience and growth culminate in the magnificent and intricate "A Caress of The Void." drew 
GENGHIS TRON - "BOARD UP THE HOUSE" [CD - Relapse] If you can imagine a metal bipolar convulsion running concurrently with one well programmed drum machine, than how Genghis Tron sounds may be easy to understand. If not, than nothing can prepare you for the intense fusion of highly technical metal and electronica. Not only does the band successful fuse ambience with crashing, cymbal laden drumming, a mix of screeching and hypnotic vocals and dissonance with beautiful harmony, they have real fun with it. Also, impressively, they have learned to manipulate, utilize and abuse a sampler to an impressive extent and it never feels forced. This is one album you don't want to miss. sarah kitteringham 
JESU - "SUNDOWN / SUNRISE" [12" - Aurora Borealis] Featuring just two 15 minute plus tracks, Jesu's "Sun Down / Sun Rise 12" is supposed to continue from where prior EP "Silver" left off. Although it has little sonically in common with the upbeat EP, it certainly features what fans have come to expect from Mr. Broadrick in the form of his trademark hopeful, dreamy drone featuring chugging guitars, sweet vocals and minimalist musical accompaniment. It is slightly different, however, in its delivery -lower than usual vocal arrangements, a drum machine rather than the usual addition of Ted Parsons, and tracks similar in length to debut EP "Heartache." Once again, Jesu has created a beautiful, spacey tidbit that will subdue your craving until another full-length is released. And, considering how quickly this guy works, you won't suffer for all that long. sarah kitteringham 
JOSIAH - "NO TIME" [CD - Elektrohasch Records] Josiah are the UK proponents of their self-labelled brand of "Garage Doom." "No Time" is their third full-length and comes at you from the hippest stoner label in Europe, Elektrohasch Recordings. Opener "Looking At The Mountain" speedily sets out Josiah's stall, with hard-riffing guitars funking up against big-hitting percussion in a most head-nodding fashion. However, by the songs conclusion the riff does perhaps become slightly overplayed and the vocals, whilst certainly not bad, serve no real positive purpose here. Title track "No Time" comes swaggering at you in a torrent of cowbell, waving a broken whiskey bottle dangerously near your ears and the guitars riff in and out of the onslaught hypnotically with some tasty licks. The vocals have more of an impact on this track, coming across as part Dave Wyndorf, part Ozzy Osbourne and are used more sparsely to great effect. The epic track sat in the middle of "No Time", "Harvester of Lies" is the highlight for me. Nigh-on eleven minutes of humongously obese riffery and pounding skins packed full of zig-zag changes and classic licks with an almost Josh Homme-esque vocal performance picking out the trippy moments spectacularly, it sits perfectly at odds with the much shorter tracks either side and keeps you begging for more just like this. By the time drums step up above the mix and begin to slow the tempo around the 7 minute mark you will be grinning or spinning like an idiot, the soloing guitars gently licking the blurred edges of your psyche with their stringed tongues. Josiah are a band that demand to be seen live as this record proudly testifies with its accomplished musicianship and dynamic horseplay, another British trailblazer firing up the scene. dave e destruction 
NADJA - "BLISS TORN FROM EMPTINESS" [CD - Profound Lore] Unless you are a real-life Rip van Winkel, you know the band Nadja by now. Hell, you probably have a better than fair chance of knowing that Nadja is Aidan Baker and Leah Buckareff. Their latest album is a bit of an oddity in that it is a re-creation of an earlier Nadja release, but it was produced in very limited quantity and this gives us all a chance to experience the greatness of this record. "Bliss Torn From Emptiness" is highly textural, slowly-evolving post-doom at it's finest. It is crammed full of spacy and psychedelic wonder, mystical bliss, and oh yeah, some heavy riffs. The heaviness is implicit rather than overt most of the time, but the end result should satisfy anyone with a wide open mind and an ear for doom. drew 
ROSETTA - "WAKE/ LIFT" [12" - Translation Loss Records] Rosetta has created a monstrously dense album with "Wake / Lift", the second full-length from this U.S. 'space metal' band. Each track features roaring, incoherent vocals and strong, splashy druming. With concurrent reverb soaked guitars and clean, high chords over strong bass support, several of the lengthy tracks also feature violin. Atmospheric fuzz laden breakdowns give way to lengthy instrumentals on several tracks, but is no more effective than on "Lift [part 3]", a highlight of the fantastic disc. Fans of swirling, multi-textured soundscapes look no further -this album is sure to please the most discriminatory of tastes. sarah kitteringham 
SEID - "CREATURES OF THE UNDERWORLD" [CD - Sulatron Records] Seid's "Creatures of the Underworld" is the latest, and sadly last [for the moment, at least], album from the Swedish experimentalists. Initial listens of this record were a bit confusing to say the least, with a multitude of influences and sounds coming to the fore, ranging from off-kilter Balkan-sounding folk to very laid-back Gong-esque space rock. The opening track "Cafe Lola" is a good example of Seid's various sounds in a single track opening with Gong-like ambitions [think "Prostitute Poem"] before blasting off halfway through into woodwind-driven folk-like space rock before emerging into territory mapped by the likes of the Ozric Tentacles and Hidria Spacefolk. All in 5 minutes. Challenging! Standout tracks are many on this record including the afore-mentioned opener "Cafe Lola", the swirling, cyclic, pulsing riff of "Swamp Doom", epic prog of "Dragons and Demons" and, my personal favourite, the laid-back trippiness of "Moonprobe". Fans of Hawkwind, Gong, Ozric Tentacles, Hidria Spacefolk and anything Steve Hillage has played on need look no further for an superb eclectic hour of quality spacerock. alligator 
SONS OF OTIS | QUEEN ELEPHANTINE - "SPLIT" [CD - Concrete Lo-Fi Records] This split is an interesting mixture of the dense, blues-heavy Sons of Otis and more experimental, tribal-sounding Queen Elephantine. Both bands succeed in creating a similarly trippy vibe, just in radically different ways. The two Otis tracks are a fairly good introduction to the band's main styles. Opener "Tales of Otis" represents their dark, ambient and disturbing side with a droning bass riff and minimal drumming augmented by echoing guitar shrieks and wails drifting in and out of earshot. The second Otis track "Oxazejam" is a scorching example of the finest electric blues playing this side of Robin Trower saturated with Baluke's heavy and warm tones and soulful playing. "Oxazejam" is a seamless mesh of halcyon Otis solos flowing together into a heady 9 minute whole. Queen Elephantine's single 25-minute monster rounds out the EP with mantra-like drumming and bass slowly propelling the tribal vibes of the track along. The drumming is what really keeps this soundscape moving through its different sequences of minimal bass and ambient space through to chanted vocal sequences and odd guitar interludes. Very satisfying and an excellent counterpart to Otis' heaviness. alligator 
WILDILDLIFE - "PEAS FEAST" [CD - Self Released] Imagine, if you will, a small rock club in a gritty urban warehouse district. It's an overcast day and you wander in, blink the cold from your eyes, acclimate to the din... and hear the sounds of "Exile"-era Stones channelling The Stooges. The band is white-hot... all spasmodic, hoarse vocals; tumbling, rolling, crashing riffs; and frenetic drums. Then in an instant they switch gears to languid lo-fi psychedelia -- David Gilmour as recorded by Billy Childish. An undeniable pop sensibility underlies their unhinged clamor -- a jagged, jarring pendulum swinging wildly left and right. Gorgeous and riveting. Grating and harsh. Epic grandiosity on a tiny sonic scale. If you liked their debut CD on crucial blast, consider this one fucking essential. If you haven't heard that one, you really should. This is exciting, inventive music that deserves to be heard. drew Staffwriter Aural-Innovations & Øresund Space Collective 
WE - "TENSION AND RELEASE" [CD - NunMusic] Ok folks… prepare yourself. The new WE record has been unleashed and it is a monster. It took the band some years after "Smugglers and some new children before "Tension and Release" could be born but here it is. WE have made a great sounding record that mixes the acclaimed aspects of "Smugglers" with some of the ideas the band used on the tracks on the split LP with Gas Giant, thrown together with a very intense, dark and heavy guitar sound. Don Don did a masterful job in the mixing of this record. Killer sound. The CD starts off with "Lotus Rising" with a dark atmposphere before the intense guitar riffing hits you. This gives you a taste of the heavy, nasty guitars that will follow. "Free Behind Bars" is an intense song! "That's Why [You're So Fine]" was the single released in the summer in Norway, and despite being made for radio pop chorus it is a real hard rocking number and Don lays down a killer guitar solo at the end! "For Love For Life" has a very intense slide guitar and is a more spacey track like stuff on Dinosauric... "Popul Vuh" will remind people of "Smugglers", the title track of the last album, but it is quite a different animal. This one is dark, psychedelic and has some great keyboards from Tariq. "Appreciation" is an 8½ minute journey with a killer [but too short] jam with Don and Tariq trading keyboard and guitar licks back and forth. This is a heavy one! "Hurdy Gurdy" is the most recent single and the only filler track. The song just doesn't do anything. "Post Millennium Tension Blues", one they played live in December 2006 when they opened for Motorhead, is a intense slide guitar track that just runs straight out the gates. Killer guitar by Don. "Thorns" is a strange little 2½ minute track with a garagy feel to it but intense in your face guitar... "No End" will remind you of "Last Stronghold of the Freaks" from the Split LP with Gas Giant or The Trip.. It has that cool, stoned, spaced vibe... "Freaks in the Streets [continuing the saga?] is a cool psychedelic rock track to end this. Amazing CD. It takes some time to grow on you but it is a piece of art. The double Digipack with a DVD is cool but if you are lucky enough try to find the rare triple LP box made in only 666 copies for the Norwegian market. Expensive but amazing! 
ELEKTRUM - "IN THE FAR FIELD" [CD - OHM] It has taken the Danish- UK band Elektrum featuring Claus Bøhling [Hurdy Gurdy, Secret Oyster] over 10 years to finally make this studio CD. The album is basically the band setting up in the studio in Aalborg, Denmark in April 2005 and playing their live set and recorded it. I think the other days were spent mixing. We get some of the songs they were playing in the late 90's as well as one old Hurdy Gurdy song, "Lost in the Jungle", one of the few songs with vocals. The songs are all basically a bit of riffing but mostly Claus playing solo lead guitar. Amazing stuff. "Crystal" begins the CD and is a slowly bluesy piece with Claus playing a great guitar solo. "Silence" is next and has a bit of an eastern feel and you can really hear the great bass playing of Ian MacDonald as well. His soloing at the end of this song is amazing as the while band just kicks it up to high gear. "Chakra" is a more laid back track and almost dub at times. Claus plays a beautiful solo at the end. "Lost in the Jungle", the old Hurdy Gurdy number is next. "Dark Meet" is one I have never heard before and begins with a bass line and then the drums, and then finally Claus kicks in with some spacey whammy bar guitar and hammer ons as the track builds. Another great 70s hard rock solo at the end of this track. "Skies Limit", another old song is next. This is a more laid back blues number until the middle when it totally takes off and gets funky and he rips off some more killer guitar. "Platin" has also been played for a long time and is another funky jammer and in the middle Ian and Claus put on djembes and have a little drum jam in the middle... Yes... they also do it here. "New Land" was one of the new songs they played a few years ago when Jeff King was playing drums in the band. He sadly passed away recently. Excellent song. "Solid Underground" is another old one and this has a great riff and the band rocks it hard as Claus rips it up on the guitar. The CD ends with "Nearly There", the shortest track at 3 minutes. A great CD but the sound production is really dry sounding but the songs and the music are fresh and alive. If you like to hear some great guitar playing with a bit of a spacey edge at times, check out Elektrum. Great and solid playing by the rest of the band as well.. Can't forget them... 
GRAVEYARD - "S/T" [CD - TeePee Records] Graveyard is a new Swedish band born out of the ashes of the cool band, Albatros. The band put out a really cool two track demo and this was now followed up by this great new CD. The album begins with the stunning track "Evil Ways." This one will really remind you of Witchcraft unitl the lead guitar kicks in, that sports the psychedelic flavour from the Albatros days. "Thin Line"is a cool 70's rock song. A true retro sound. "Lost in Confusion" continues the line of melodic heavy groove rock. "Don't take us for Fools" has a really cool bluesy riff and groove. This is one they should really jam out live. "Blue Soul" starts off quite spacey and has some piano and really highlights the cool and unique vocals. This is a killer moody track. "Submarine Blues" follows and picks up the pace but is a really short track. "As the Years" pass by is another one of my favourite tracks on the CD with a spacey guitar, nice smooth bluesy and psychedelic feel to it. "Right is Wrong" is another one of these bluesy smooth groove tracks with a cool psych rock part in the middle. Great stuff. The CD ends with "Satan's Finest" and is another Witchcraft like track. Yes... these guys will remind you a lot of the great Swedish band, Witchcraft, but they have a more psychedelic vibe. This is quite an impressive debut. I hope to catch these guys live soon as I have heard they kick some ass live! 
ERIK BARON | D-ZAKORD - "DE FUTURA [Hiroshima]" [CD - Musea Records] This is a very special CD arranged by Erik Baron but originally the pieces were composed by Magma bassist Jannick Top. Six bass players and 6 guitar players take place in creating this very adventurous CD. Only one drummer [Thierry Jardinier]. The first piece is a short 3 minute track with violin like guitars and a very dark feel. This leads into "La Misique des Sphéres." There is a lot of looping, a real spaciness and a bit of industrial drones as the band tries to create the music for Top's myth about the people of Ork, a race trying to fight against overwhelming machines! "De Futura #1" is a 13 minute piece starting off with just drums before the guitars [Fripp like] kick in and some really cool bass parts as well. Here the music becomes a bit symphonic like and the Magma influence is heard. Later the track becomes very dark and heavy. "Le Drone du Milieu" is 4½ minutes and like the title it's a laid back spacey drone piece before the 15½ minute "De Futura #2." It starts slowly with mostly just bass and some percussion but then really picks up speed. No real guitar solos just a lot of intense repetitive riffing and emotions. Intense stuff... The CD ends with "De Profundis", another short spacey dark drone number. Pretty amazing CD. I loved it! 
SKOTT | RASMUSSEN | MUNK - "SEPTEMBER" [ CD - Benbecula Records] This is two of the guys from the Danish rock band Causa Sui doing old school electronica stuff with their friend Rasmus. It's released on the Scotish Label Benbecula, and has a really cool and unique packaging, released in only 500 copies. This is not techno or shoegazer, this is going straight back to the early days of Cluster, Tangerine Dream and Terry Riley. Analog synths and drum machines, mostly improvised but some parts sketched out. Jonas plays some very cool highly effected guitar drones and effects as well as some of the pieces that build up "Zenith." "Open Plains" is a short piece that leads right into "Zenith", which is a totally killer track. It has some great spaced out sounds and a killer hypnotic groove and it is totally fast and spaced out at the end of the 12 minutes. Amazing stuff. Next is another 3 mins spacey ambient piece of music that leads into "September in Silver" with a cool bass line over which the layers begin, but this one really takes off into almost stuff like space rock with some real melodic elements. After the short ambient synth overture, the real major work of the CD, "September in Blue" takes off for 24 minutes. It is based on some very repetitive synth and guitar loops as the track slowly gains momentum. A stunning album. |