UFOMAMMUT
Urlo:
2004 has been a great year for the band as we've arisen from a 4 years hiatus in which we had
to battle our problems with diferent synth-players.
At the beginning of the year, we finally found LeGof, a friend of HendrixR and he has givin'
Ufomammut a new psychedelic engine -it kick starts our wall of sound that we love
to create with our music.
In May "Snailking" was released and we've got tons of great reviews from all over the
world and in September we finally had the opportunity to do a
short European tour -thanks to Bidi, Stefan and Orange Factory.
Now Dr Noise has joined the band as well and he will be our live-man in the centuries to come, while HendrixR has
gone to the cold and windy Norway.
We are currently pouring new stuff out of our Green Amps, and hope that 2005 will be
a great year for us.
Malleus:
Malleus means hammer, a tool for breaking different things, from walls to balls...
Being an artistic collective we've started 2004 by discovering the idea
of working together and joining a studio -then we started to
create amazing silkscreened posters which are currently conquering the world.
We have done poster-art for the likes of Iggy and the Stooges, Motorpsycho, Mouse on
Mars, Mark Lanegan and The Cure, and many, many more. We are really proud of what we have achived
'til now and feel like superstars -we have plenty of money and very big trucks.
We got mentioned in 'Art of Modern Rock', the bible of poster-art, and this is so cool that
we actually couldn't believe it was true -but now life has turned back to normal.
We're doing expositions all over the place and people love us. It's a wonderful world, we're sex symbols
and one of us has cut his hair, while the other has bought a black tie and a third one
got a red jacket.
All the funny stuff aside, sometimes it's really difficult to explain our joy in a couple of paragraphs,
but it's been a great year for us, thanks to everybody. It's Fucking crazy and we feel just damn proud!!!
UNEARTHLY TRACE
Jay:
2004. The trident is stronger than ever As a band we have evolved.
Individual we have grown. The Cerebral Flame Still Burns.... and
basically we try to not let the destruction of the world
get to us to much.
2004 provided further proof that we are indeed in the
last days of the dead aeon... approaching maat.
I stand in complete resistance to the future of 'so
called' America...
Jay:
- Wrangler Brutes - "Zulu"
- Witchcraft - "S/T"
- UFO - "Flying"
Ryan:
- Year Future - "The Hidden Hand"
- Darkthrone - "Sardonic Wrath"
- Old Man Gloom - "Christmas"
UNIDA
John Garcia:
2004 was very un-eventful for Unida as Arthur was on the road with Slipknot for the majority of
the year. I wouldn't say that Unida is dead, but I wouldn't say that Unida is full blown
alive as well. We'll see what happens.
2004 was very good on a personal level though. Madison, my baby girl, is almost two now, and her
first year was just unbeliveable -I spent alot of time with her. It's just a fantastic feelin'
to be a father and I couldn't be more happy.
- Audioslave - "S/T"
- Franz Ferdinand - "S/T"
- Monster Magnet - "Monolithic Baby"
VALIS
Van Conner:
Spring Tour: Our year started out with a half completed record and a
new deal with Small Stone Records. Small Stone wanted us to play at
the SXSW showcase to seal the deal and sign the contracts in person. Our booking
agents at Tone Deaf put together a West Coast, Texas to Kansas to
Denver tour, which was grueling, but a good time.
At SXWS moments before we were to go on stage and after several
demands for more drink and drugs added to the contract Scott and his lawyer
locked the door in the 90 + degree room [after bringing more of the above requested] and
demanded we sign the contract. I don't think they understood that we
wanted it in writing, [the drink and drug] but in our blasted out brains
they guided our hands to the pen and we signed our souls away.
Studio: When we got home we realized that in order to get the record
out in October of 2004 we needed to do some emergency sessions. We actually
went and re-arranged and rehearsed some of the songs that we were not
sure of before heading to the studio.
We laid down the tracks and spent a lost weekend mixing. Wes slept
for about 3 hours that weekend. It ended with me discovering
that my Crown Victoria has a speed limiter chip in it when
on the way to the airport to ship the cd out for next day delivery
[DHL has a 9:00PM deadline for next day] the car wouldn't go over
110 mph.
This still pisses me off to this day. I have since found out
that you can buy high performance chips and I plan to install one soon.
At any rate I made it in time and Scott sent it off for mastering.
They did a great job.
Artwork: We asked James Bender of Thrill Industries, the multi-media
master who did our last CD to do this one. After giving him a title and a few
very limited ideas he came up with that cover. Mind you, those
are real, the skulls, made of glass by a friend of his in molds
that he created. When he showed me the first mock up
I was amazed. I just said go man.
What we got is one of the best CD covers I have ever had on anything I
have released. Including the record from the voyager space ship, a pez
pillz dispenser, skulls, pills and for the first time, I added the lyrics.
A great package that related the idea of how everyone in today's America is on
some kind of pill to get them through the day, night, work, sex, and
so on. Thanks again James.
"Head Full Of Pills" release -the CD was released on Oct 12, 2004.
North East Tour: Small Stone suggested we play CMJ so once
again Tone Deaf put together a great tour for us. We shipped out the gear
and flew into Detroit. Scott picked up the gear for us and stowed
it away with some help from Phil Durst.
We went out that same night and watch Dixie Witch and Five Horse Johnson
play a great rock show. A great start to a great tour. Everything went
well, no one got hurt, died and we got to play with a lot of
great bands and met a lot of great people.
My favorite memory is the Canadian border patrol looking at all of us
and saying "How do I know you are not all Pakistani?" We shared the stage
with a lot of the Small Stone bands. Thanks to all you guys for helping us out
when we needed it.
On the nights we didn't have a Small Stone band to play
with we discovered a bunch of new great bands that we had never heard of but
we are now rocking their CD's in our cars and homes. One of the best tours
I have ever been on.
Finally:
Well, that was 2004. 2005 will bring more recording, more touring [Europe included this time] and
more days and nights of total and complete damage and debauchery.
We hope you can join us for some of it. So shoot us some emails and show up at our
shows and of course buy our fucking CD's.
- Halfway to Gone - "S/T"
- Orange Goblin - "Thieving From The House of God"
- Sasquatch - "S/T"
VOODOO SHOCK
Uwe:
We haven't been doing alot in 2004 as we're all very occupied with
our days jobs and our families. We played the Belgian Doom Night though, and
did a gig in Berlin with Penance which was a real honour. Further we played a show
in eastern Germany -plus that we had only one rehearsal to prepare for this show. That
was all.
On the other hand, we continued writing songs and started to
rehearse in January for a new album due out on Exile on Mainstream Records.
Uwe:
- Confessor - "Demo 2004"
- Isis - "Panopticon"
- The Hidden Hand - "Mother Teacher Destroyer"
Ryan's Top 3:
- Blood Farmers – "Permanent Brain Damage"
- Starchild/Rebreather – "Split"
- Unearthly Trance – "In The Red"
WALL OF SLEEP
Gabor :
2004 was very important for Wall of Sleep coz' our first full length
"Slow But Not Dead" came out in February on Psychedoomelic Records. It fulfilled
our hopes and we gained lots of critical acclaim from fans
and press alike. We'd like to thank our label for their support, and our
friends and fans...
It was a privilege for us to play the 'Doom Shall Rise Festival' in Germany in April. It was
our best gig ever!!! Another great event for us was 'Flag of Doom Vol 3' in Budapest were we
played with Orodruin and Bearfood.
We are currently working on new material for "Magmaeater", our forthcoming album
slated for a May-release, and we will play some shows in Europe after the release.
- The Hidden Hand - "Mother, Teacher, Destroyer"
- Exodus - "Tempo of The Damned"
- Mastodon - "Leviathan"
WE
Thomas:
2004 started off with mixing our forthcoming album -we went to
Music A Matic Studios in Gothenburg to mix the Chris Goss co-produced album, "Smugglers", with TSOOL
producer Johan Forsman. "Smugglers" was recorded in We's 'Hangaroundsounds' studio downtown
Oslo during the Autumn of 2003.
After that we did a European tour and then got back to Norway for some
glorious shows with Gluecifer. All the while we were finishing the details
for the Norwegian release of "Smugglers", and after putting
down several offers we decided to release the album ourselves through Nun Music,
it's our own label.
Summer came and we played every major festival here in Norway -gettin' rave
reviews in all the major papers accros the country, and a massive, glorious feeling of
something happening. It seemed that more and more people were getting into the
sounds of WE, and the 'Quart Festival' gig was even broadcasted on TV.
We also composed and played the soundtrack [and dialogue] for a
Swedish silent film "The Phantom Carriage/Korkarlen" by Victor Sjostrom, and
played live in front of the movie while the cinema was packed. What a thrill.
After finishing the festival-season with a very successful gig at
the wonderful 'Oya Festival' in Oslo, we released "Smugglers" in Norway
on the 13th of September -we got stellar reviews and a massive hype
was surrounding the album.
"Smugglers" got 6 out of 6 by fourteen different Norwegian papers and by some
cosmic intervention the record buying public started to believe the hype.
The album landed at the Nr. 1 spot in the national Norwegian album charts [VG Lista] in
the first week of it's release and stayed in the charts for 5 weeks.
We were gobsmacked and ready to space every face. Then we got on the
biggest and most successful tour We has ever done in Norway -sold out gigs
and smiling faces all over our beloved country, man!!!
We also shot two videos, featuring two of Norway's most talked
about sexbombs; actress Ane Dahl Torp and exotic model Aylar. Who said
rock 'n roll wasn't fun anymore?!
We also came into notoriety after a gig in Sogndal in October when a girl was
killed -strangled in her room by a jealous boyfriend after she had attended a
WE concert earlier that evening at the local club. This had nothing
to do with us and WE were shocked when we got the news. This was not
what it was supposed to be like. A feeling of
Altamont spread in the camp. What did WE actually sign at the
crossroads all those years ago?"
At the end of 2004 WE are gazing back at a strange, but also very beautifull year -so much
has happened, and we worked very hard. Now we're ready to kickstart our cosmic bikes
and conquer Europe, the USA and the rest of the world; "Smugglers" will be released
worldwide in 2005, and more info will follow. Please check www.werock.org for
updates.
- Silverbullit - "Arclight"
- Gluecifer - "Automatic Thrill"
- The Soundtrack Of Our Lives - "Origin Phase 1"
WELLWATER CONSPIRACY
John McBain:
My Life In The Bush Of Idiots. A Look Back At 2004.
2004 was a bad year to be an American. Emperor Bush
won again. We're all doomed. I want to live on the
moon.
Wellwater spent this past year doing what we do best;
sitting around at the studio reading the paper,
recording endless Germanic instrumentals and
rehearsing for the once yearly WWC live appearance.
Wait a second... we played two shows! What were we
thinking? First one was a local gig with the Seattle
punk rock band, Old Man Smithers and the right honorable Tad
Doyle. Second one was in Northern Spain at the 2004
Musicaniza Festival.
Then we rested.
Then my wife and I moved to San Francisco.
Then we rested. And unpacked.
- The re-issues of "Here Come The Warm Jets", "Taking
Tiger Mountain", "Another Green World" and "Before And After Science"
by Brian Eno.
These four LPs are still light years ahead of everyone
and everything everywhere. Music as art. Art as trash. Pointy guitars and squiggly synths. Crisp remastering
too. And the mini gatefolds are perfect for preparing medicinal cigarettes.
- Pink Floyd - "Live At Pompeii DVD"
This one is on every best of list that I've ever
compiled. It still makes me want to drop acid and take a quick dip in some bubbling lava.
The quintessential versions of "Echoes" and "Saucerful Of Secrets", Nick Mason playing in slow motion, David
Gilmour out-Barreting Barrett and oodles and oodles of magma. I don't even mind the 'new footage.'
- The Can re-issues
Where would we be without Can? Best band ever?
Maybe. Coolest band ever? Yep. The first 4 Can LPs are as important and influential as The Beatles, The
Ramones and cable television and "Tago Mago" just might be the best album ever. Clapton is a pussy. Michael
Karoli is king.
WITCHCRAFT
Ola:
2004 has been a very eventful year for Withcraft. It started off in March with the
release of our debut album on Rise Above Records. Then in June we went on
a European tour with label-mates Orange Goblin and Grand Magus. We played the annual
Roadburn Festival with Orange Goblin and later with Cathedral at
The Garage. Thanks to everybody who came to see our gigs and bought
our debut-album! We're looking forward to 2005
- Patti Smith - "Trampin'"
- Pentagram - "Show 'Em How"
- Old Crow Medicine Show - "S/T"
WOOLY MAMMOTH
Zac:
2004 has been an amazing year for Wooly Mammoth The
release of "Night Letters" to much critical acclaim [sold
out within three weeks in Europe]; a bunch of excellent shows
here in D.C. with some great bands like Brant Bjork and the
Bros, Earthride, Stinking Lizaveta, and Darediablo among
others; a mid-west tour including a stop at the SHoD 6 Fest;
an east coast tour with The Hidden Hand and our most
exciting live performance of the year, opening for one of the
best bands on the planet, Clutch.
Wooly Mammoth also has a new home, a brand new and
much improved rehearsal space that is proving to be a big
inspiration.
We have written a lot of new material, probably close to twenty songs
and several instrumental themes that continue to develop. We're
confident that it is the best work any of us has ever accomplished
and are gearing up to record demos for what we believe will be one
hell of a debut full-length album.
We plan on once again entering Phase Recording with Bruce
Falkinburg [The Hidden Hand] sometime after our next tour
in the spring of 2005, to make it all come together.
Thanks to everyone that gave us a show, spent their hard
earned dough on our records and performances, gave us a floor
to crash on, fed us, and helped us to have a good time. We appreciate
the opportunity to do what we love and live for.
- Mark Lanegan - "Bubblegum"
- The Hidden Hand - "Mother Teacher Destroyer"
- Melvins/Lustmord - "Pigs of the Roman Empire"
YOB
Mike:
2004 was an amazing year for YOB. We did our first US Tour, recorded
an album, signed with Metal Blade, and had our album released worldwide
all in the same year via said label.
Our US Tour was particualrly incredible. We met lots of fantastic bent DOOM fans l
ike us and were able to share the stage on that trip with Graves At Sea, Orange
Goblin, Lamont, Tummler, Unorthodox, Origin, Jumbo's Killcrane, Dove, Unearthly Trance, Solace, and
many more.
In addition to all of this we were able to play Emissions From The Monolith 6 and
The Three days Of Darkness festivals. It couldn't have been a better year."
- Asunder - "A Clarion Call"
- Watain - "Casius Luciferi"
- VON - "Satanic Blood Angel"
|
|
