Posts Tagged ‘The Sleeping Shaman’

Album of the day: Fellwoods – Wulfram

Posted on Tuesday, February 7th, 2012

Lovingly pinched from The Sleeping Shaman: In music as with cinema, there has been a resurgence over the last few years, of art that gets labeled as “retro”. Al Mabon of At War With False Noise even went so far as to label this superb release as “retro rock”, but to take such categorization seriously would be to miss the point completely. You see, I believe most art that is self-consciously retro falls flat on its arse.

The reason is that the artists in question are merely ape-ing that which came before them, and thus the album / film falls into irrelevance quicker than the latest PR-exercise being pimped out courtesy of your television and radio. Which doesn’t mean these “retro rock” bands don’t enjoy considerable success (quite the contrary really!), I just get very bored of them very quickly (whilst, it must be said, not really finding them in any way disagreeable).

The fact of the matter is that the bands that stick out are the ones who hark back to the Seventies merely in the sense that they use the simplest formula in the book: write good songs. Cinema and music are two art forms that (for me) were perfected in the Seventies, and the crest continued until the late 80s, when the flow of jaw-droppingly good releases became more of a trickle as art and popular culture became more and more the weapon of virulent consumerism that we now know.

Production and the art of the riff was perfected many years ago, and it could be considered a mere coincidence that this wonderful album sounds as if it could have been recorded back then. The influence of Sir Lord Baltimore looms heavily over this record, but not for an instant does it feel forced, as this very talented bunch of people (formerly known as “The Moss”) have welded their talents into a beast very recognizably their own.

Wulfram starts off with a bang, no build up or samples, just a unified clash of noise and blues that grabs your neck and gets you nodding your head quick as can be – interestingly enough, Orchid’s fabulous Capricorn used a similarly no-holds-barred, stripped down approach to starting their record. As the opening track (“Mercenary”) rolls on, the grin on my face simply broadened, as shades of early Priest begin to show through the soaring vocals! Fucking RIGHT ON!

And as the album progresses, you’re treated to more of the same, through the ultra catchy ‘Widow Trakk’ (“…everywhere I go/The widows follow…”) that carries on where MC5 left off, killer drum breaks and gorgeous solos abound! There is the obligatory mellow lull in the proceedings for ‘It Would Come To Pass’, with its mellotron and vibraphone keeping a dark, otherworldy atmosphere before you’re grabbed by the bollocks and thrust into “Crown”, a track that Deep Purple would have been proud to have penned.

But the interesting thing is (and this is what makes Fellwoods so much more than another bunch of hippies living in the past) that there is just a tad of dissonance to the chords on occasion (a characteristic that colours the whole album) and although I’m probably way off the mark with this, it’s almost as if they were trying to channel the spirit of Voivod through 70s proto punk! As if to reaffirm this, the listener’s ears are subjected to ambient weirdness in the form of ‘Horsemeat’!

Continue reading: Fellwoods ‘Wulfram’ CD/LP/DD 2012 review | The Sleeping Shaman.

Tags: Album of the day, At War With False Noise, Fellwoods, heavy 70's, Saúl Do Caixão, The Moss, The Sleeping Shaman, Wulfram
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BONG: Out Of Print Releases Now Streaming Online (The Sleeping Shaman)

Posted on Thursday, February 2nd, 2012

UK Psyche Droners Bong have posted a series of the band’s out of print releases online via Bandcamp. Check out Bethmoora, Bong Live January 2008, the Bong/Sex Wound Split and  Live at Tyneside Cinema 2009 along with their latest offer January Jams, which is also available as a seperate download via ...read more

Album of the day: Jucifer – Nadir (Reissue)

Posted on Friday, January 20th, 2012

Lovingly pinched from The Sleeping Shaman: Whether or not the liner notes that accompany Nadir are just another case of self-mythologising from the nomadic Jucifer front-woman Gazelle Amber Valentine, they paint a charming picture of a young band, destitute of anything but the pleasure of playing music among the junkies ...read more

Album of the day: Loincloth – Iron Balls Of Steel

Posted on Wednesday, January 18th, 2012

Lovingly pinched from The Sleeping Shaman: This, my fine feathered friends, is IT. The album of 2012 already. Some EIGHT YEARS after their tantalising Southern Lord 2003 seven-inch and self-released demo, instrumental Fancy Tech-Doom behemoth Loincloth have returned to to crush you, to see you driven before them, and to ...read more

Album of the day: Earth – Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light II

Posted on Tuesday, January 17th, 2012

Lovingly pinched from The Sleeping Shaman: Let’s start by stating the obvious: Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light II is a world away from Earth’s pivotal album Earth 2; we are, after all, experiencing the second-coming of Earth. However this new incarnation shares many similarities with the version of the ...read more

Ritual Productions To Release New Bong Album Album In 2012 (The Sleeping Shaman)

Posted on Tuesday, January 10th, 2012

Ritual Productions are pleased to announce that Bong, England’s mystical masters of raga-inspired drone metal, have been busy in the studio and have recorded a brand new album which will be called Mana Yood Sushai. Greg Chandler of Esoteric and owner of Priory Studio where the album was recorded states:“It was ...read more

Album of the day: White Hills – Live at Roadburn 2011

Posted on Sunday, January 8th, 2012

Lovingly pinched from The Sleeping Shaman: Watching KISS dominate the Download Festival in 2009 in all their tickertape-drenched glory is the greatest show I’ve ever seen. After watching their mammoth 2-hour set on the Saturday night, I returned to the arena for the Sunday action unfazed by the to-be-expected throngs ...read more

Album of the day: Samsara Blues Experiment – Revelation And Mystery

Posted on Wednesday, December 21st, 2011

Lovingly pinched from The Sleeping Shaman: When I reviewed Samsara Blues Experiment’s previous album, Long Distance Trip in 2010 I wasn’t fully convinced I have to admit. I could sense that here was a band with genuine talent but had yet to fully harness their skills. It was a decent ...read more

The Sleeping Shaman: An Interview With Dave W From Psychedelic Warlords White Hills

Posted on Thursday, December 15th, 2011

Lee Edwards of  The Sleeping Shaman recently conducted an interview with Dave W from Psychedelic Warlords White Hills. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below. LE: You’re currently working on your new album, can you tell us a little bit about this, where it’s being recorded, who’s engineering ...read more

Album of the day: Wino & Conny Ochs – Heavy Kingdom

Posted on Tuesday, December 6th, 2011

Lovingly pinched from The Sleeping Shaman: You have to wonder if  Wino wakes up in the morning confused as to which hat he should be wearing on any given day. The man is a human dynamo, a non-stop workhorse of creativity and performance. From the straight up doom of St ...read more