Ancient Rome has spoken to the imagination of many artists. The fine arts as well as the popular arts. With films filled with brave warriors, great battles and the grandeur and decadence of old. The theme has been sorely under exposed in metal though with rare bands like ExDeo (featuring Kataklysm members) or the mild influence on others Alea Jacta Est (a French hardcore band).
Ade is a breath of fresh air in this little niche with a death metal album that will rattle the Collosseum. Think Nile or Behemoth, but definitely also a bit of that approach of Ex Deo and you have an inkling of the sheer brutallity of this technically endowed band. The group puts the sheer grandeur of the Roman empire in their sound and like with others, it really works.
Ofcourse the result is a bit theatrical and reeks of Bolt Thrower, but how else can you make a song about the most warlike nation ever? That must have been what this group from the eternal city of Rome thought themselves too. The trick is putting those female vocals and strange sounds into your music, but it works smoothy and balanced on this record that features a lot of Carthaginian themes. The title tells you enough, but a song like ‘Annibalem’ obviously refers to the famed general.
The music is complex, but clean sounding and therefor a lot of fun to listen to. It carries the vibe of battle, of intensity and frantic riffing. The vocals are brutal, either deep grunts or guttural barks, even more so setting the vibe that you want on a record like this. The stop-go bursts of guitar work are razor sharp, but so is the build up in some songs, all praising Mars. Blistering and dazzling, but always heavy as fuck, with those martial pounding rhythms and mighty horns. You can imagine the stamped of the war elephants, atleast I can.
You really don’t need to be a tech-head to set your teeth into this recording of fine, catchy death metal. Sure, it packs a punch, but due to the clean production and highly entertaining variety, it’s a fun record to really get into for pretty much anyone who digs the heavy hitters.
Label: Seasons of Mist Band: Numenorean Origin: Canada
The whole post-blackmetal thing hasn’t got the best rep, but that is really a shame if you look at the larger thing. The genre is pushing the boundaries of black metal to a more poppy sound, thus allowing the genre some more connection, thus input and growth. Now, if every label needs some post BM bands to bolster their roster (and sales), that’s a different question. Not everything is as good as you’d hope, but these guys really are some fine song smiths.
Canadians Numenorean are one of those bands, pushing the sound into that more blackgaze direction of smooth sonic tapestries and emotional vocals. In 2014 the band dropped demo and now there’s the full lenght from the duo. Byron Lemley and BrandonLemley are the guys responsible for the music of Numenorean. The name is a fleeting reference to the Atlantis-like myth of the island of Numenor and its inhabitants in Middle-Earth, in Tolkien’s mythology.
Filled with long, emotional sounding songs with strange, unnerving samples, like on opener ‘Home’, the band evokes an instant reaction. Blistering speed and hyperfast guitar riffs, that create a feeling of static standstill are exchanged with languid passages of mild, reverberating playfulness. Roaring vocals and eerie screams are woven into the complete tapestry, which is much akin to a warm sonic blanket that smoothly enters your ears.
No raw bludgeoning assaults and piercing screams, this is a production that is ment to please. There’s a deep melancholy or despair to the songs. ‘Devour’ for example is a song that touches something, stirs long lost feelings and memories, thanks to that right tone and timbre of the music.
Now and then the music feels very postrocky, innocent and blissful. The continuous cycle of building up and then exploding into frenziend bursts of guitarplay and blast beats is also akin to the genre. It makes for a rather pleasant listen to this pleasant and strirring record.
I’ve had the pleasure of encountering quite some of the people who make the music I love. One of them was Ice Dale, legendary guitarist for Enslaved and AudreyHorne. Also known for the project I with Abbath, Demonaz, Ov Hell and many, many more.
I ran into Arve Isdal, which is the real name, after Dynamo Metal Fest 2016 at the Blue Collar Hotel and for the very first time in a long while I bravely asked for a photo. Later I got in touch and asked if he’d answer some questions for on here.
Now, Ice Dale is an interesting guitar player, coming from the black metal scene. He’s also a producer and works with many smaller bands. His stage presentation is unlike most black metal musicians and much more inspired by the great rock guitar gods. Legs spread, hair waving in the air and just chugging out mighty riffs. It was very esciting for me to do this article and to have it on here.
Interview with Arve Isdal
Since you are involved in quite some projects, what are the bands you’re currently working with and what is happening there?
I´m only involved in 2 bands now and that is Enslaved and AudreyHorne. Both bands are working on new albums at the moment and playing gigs in between. Enslaved will do a European tour starting late September and also Australia and a festival in Japan this autumn. Audrey Horne will play some shows in Norway and focus on writing new material.
How do you decide what projects to say yes to and which to say no to. In other words, what are you looking for in a new musical project in order to join it?
-As a musician I haven’t really had time to do much else then Audrey Horne and Enslaved for the last years. Both bands are touring and putting out albums every other year so it keeps me busy. As a producer it of course has to be a band or music I like for some reason or something I feel I can contribute to. I haven’t really produced recently but I have been teaching about music production at a school here in Bergen and that’s a lot of fun.
Arve performing with Audrey Horne at Dynamo Metal Fest 2016 @Paul Verhagen
Next to being a musician, you’re also a producer. Do you find that you’re a diffferent producer than a musician outputwise? Or how has it influenced your musicianship?
You always learn things from every session you do in the studio cause they are all different. What works in some sessions might not work at all on the next one, so that keeps it interesting and you cant just do the same every time. You learn a lot from working with other musicians and also producers and sometimes they are doing something that just sounds really cool and you can adopt that into your own playing and producing.
I also have recorded a lot of demos with younger, local bands and that’s very inspiring too. They got the spirit and enthusiasm you had when you started playing and its such a big deal for them to get their own demo and you can see how proud they are when its done. That makes me appreciate more what i´m doing and to remember that in the end this is all about having fun and the love of music in between all the hard work.
What is the most rewarding to do for you nowadays? Producing or making music?
Definitely making music! Its fun to record other bands and artist too and be a part of making and maybe forming their albums, but it will always be more personal to write your own music. At least for me. I like to do both though cause if you have been writing a lot for a period, its nice to just be the “ears” to someone´s songs and help them get where they want musically and production wise.
Enslaved has been your band for a long time, all the way from the pagan black metal days to the more progressive times now. How did you get into black metal in the first place? What did you listen to?
I grew up listening to more Rock n roll/ Hard rock and progressive music and bands like Kiss, LedZeppelin, DeepPurple, Metallica, Black Sabbath, Guns n Roses, FaithNoMore, King Crimson, Yes, PinkFloyd and those kind of bands. I didn’t play extreme metal before I started playing with some friends of mine in a band called MalignantEternal in the mid 90´s and it went on from there.
Arve Isdal performing with Enslaved at Roadburn 2016 @013, Tilburg @Paul Verhagen
Nowadays you combine work in Enslaved with Audrey Horne, two completely different bands. Are you experiencing a difference as a member and in the way you perform?
I have always played a lot of different music and in different bands, so I´m used to changing my playing and feeling a bit. Its more like a psychological thing I think. In extreme metal you usually have a more aggressive approach and that attitude and that “feeling” musically can be just as important as what you play technically. If you play for example punk and are supposed to have a chaotic and “fuck off” attitude, you cant all play in perfect time and play all the notes and chords perfect cause that wouldn’t sound chaotic at all. That said I have always had a more rock n roll approach to my playing in Enslaved and other metal bands I played with, so its really not that different. Its another style and another way of riffing and building up the arrangement but both bands are practicing a lot and try to play as good together as possible so its kind of the same only a little different;) Sometimes the most straightforward riffs and music can be the hardest to play cause then all the notes you play count more and there are no room for mistakes or being a little of rhythmically.
What was it like to play in the band I and how did you get involved with it? Will there ever be more work from that group of people joined?
– I met Olve (Abbath) at a local pub called Garage, which was the bar all the musicians hang out in Bergen at that time. We started hanging out and became friends. I had a homestudio and after Immortal took a break, he asked if I could help him record and work on some ideas he had. We didn’t have a band or album in mind at that time so we just hung out and played and recorded stuff for a year or two before we decided to put together a band and make an album. I already played with King in Audrey Horne so I suggested him on the Bass and Abbath wanted to try Armagedda, who was the first drummer in Immortal, on drums and it worked out great. Of course Demonaz had to write the lyrics so suddenly we had a band. We all became close friends and we had a lot of fun making the album. I don’t think there will be another “I” album, or at least I cant see that happening right now.
Of all the music you’ve made, what would you like to be the production or album to be remembered for?
I hope that album is yet to come! I´m proud of everything I have done cause it reflects the time and period in my life when I did it. After every album you do, it always feels like the best you have done so far. Its natural cause its fresh and you have worked on making it as good as you can for a long time. When the album is finished and “borned”, you are very proud and its impossible to have an objective opinion on it. Its supposed to be that way. After a while you start getting inspired again and think that you can make even better songs and an even better sounding album and the circle continues. I think that the day you feel that you have made the perfect album and cant possibly do it any better, that’s the day you should find something else to do.
I’ve heard you mention in an interview that you need a guitar that feels right. What makes a guitar the right one for you?
I found my guitar a long time ago and it’s the “Black beauty” Gibson Les Paul Custom. I use a lot of different guitars in the studio and for writing but live that will always be my main guitar. Its more about the shape and the way it looks and feels than the sound really.
What does the future hold for you and what plans do you have?
Writing more songs, playing more gigs and making more albums. Basically doing more of the same
All pictures provided by Paul Verhagen, check out his website.
Label: Graven Earth Records/Anvileater Records Band: Possessor Origin: United Kingdom
London always has some great bands brewing something unique and fun. I stumbled across the new Possessor album, number two from the three piece and I tell you, this is awesome! The album is right now only available through bandcamp and well worth your moneys.
Oh, check out the interview here too.
Call it doom, stoner, sludge or as I’ve read somewhere ‘thrash boogie’ and you get the message. It’s fun, dirty and has that jacked up feel of energy, speed and kick-ass riffing. The band seems to be mostly about the fun and just having good times, while lacing their music with some horror themes and grimy distortion.
Opener ‘Afterburner’ has the screaming guitars and the bad-ass bass lines to make you want to start moving (or put that pedal down while driving in your car). It overall has the groove and swagger of a Kyuss but more grungy. The guys like to spice things up with some horror movie samples, like on ‘Scorpion Swamp’, which has these characteristic high paced drums that keep you sharp.
The sound of these guys is heavy and full of groove, with vocals seemingly far away under a sonic blanket. They know how to create that carpet of woolly distortion, but sharp and catchy riffing is also in the book for Possessor. They remind you a little of ElectricWizard playing in the desert with JohnGarcia on vocals, but there’s something more to it here thanks to that southern swagger. It still feels remarkably British.
For some reason this band makes me think of Motörhead, because of that obvious lack of care for sticking to one genre and just bringing you something that is rock’n’roll as fuck, but just a lot more heavy. Check for example the punked out ‘Terror Tripping’ or the wild ride that is ‘The Curse of the Hearse’, there’s no way to put this band in one corner apart from that. The raw, unpolished sound is fun and catchy, that’s why I make that comparison. This might be one of the coolest things I’ve heard in months.
I’m just taking the liberty to write a bit of a personal thing here now and then. Though I’m super excited about this blog, I’m also very aware that my busy schedule will not be to its advantage.
Today I went back to school again. Yes, again, after four years I’m back to studying to get my masters in teaching Dutch. It really is quite a big step to take and I have to admit it feels rather scary too. The worst part of it is that you think everyone looks at you.
Most students are young and in the days where you live on a can of energy drink and a bun with ham and cheese and rage on for hours. I feel insecure being older, do they think I failed at life? Do people look at me as some weirdo? All that you have to put aside, but it’s weird not to have that bonding experience and excitement, but I’m here for me now. I’m not here to taste life and enjoy, I’m here to study hard and get ahead with my life.
The upside is that I’m spending quite some time studying by myself, so today I had a good listen to some excellent records. Listener has done a great job on ‘Wooden Heart’. I never tire of hearing that one. ‘To Ride, Shoot straight and Speak the Truth’ by Entombed is a super motivational record in a way, it really helps you getting through a boring text. That ‘Magma’ record by Gojira was especially helpful in getting through the train ride there and The Hellacopters ‘By The Grace of God’ is an absolute masterpiece!
I did something new today, that I haven’t done since my first week at uni, about 10 years ago. I went to sit on the grass in the sun with my book and just enjoyed the day. I know I’m on the right path and I’ve already got a wealth of life experience. It’ll all be fine.
It’s been a ride for Caïna with their special kind of black metal. The band has bene active for a good decade now and seems to blend together different sounds into their own production. Their latest album is a testament to a unique sound.
No two albums bij Caïna have been the same and so this record is a welcome change. Though heavily connected to the punk scene, a testament of that may be their recent split release with Esotheric Youth, this record appears to take on more of that old black metal vibe… but that´s only if you sample some tracks.
Towards the end of track 3, ´Fumes of God´, we start hearing the strange synths. Were they there all the time? If you listen closely, maybe they were because the post black metal elements are clearly somewhere hidden. The song following, titled ‘Throat of the World’, is a track full of harrowing ambient-like efforts. The band received support by Belgian horror soundtrackers Vermapyre for this effort. It’s a highly effective in setting the mood with its banging, clanging haunted house effects.
It’s not the only time the band incorporates noise elements, on ‘Pillars of Salt’ the noise artist Warren Schoenbright is added to the club to create a wild, almost jazzy like track. A bit KingCrimson playing freejazz on a cemetary I suppose. When the gentlemen of Caïna are not frolicking about with these intermezzo’s, the sound is thunderous, overwhelming and bleak. It’s music that feels like an icy blaze of sonic hail. Add to that a flavor of gothy new wave elements, because there’s stuff happening all the time on this album. It reminds me of Taake and Nihill alike, complete chaos!
There’s plenty of influences on this album that allows the group to tell its story. Industrial and noise are part of the modern day wasteland that seems to be expressed in their work. Add to that wild vocals that range from guttural to piercing, always unnerving the listeners. This is one hell of a record and I don’t think I’ll tire of this one anytime soon.
I’am still lookin for shrines and altars
Mind’s ignoring, what eyes have shown
– ‘Photon Lander’, Spaceslug
If you like surfing on those astral waves, than you need the right soundtrack for being weightlessly floating and slowly wobbling along. Polish stoner titans… wait, that sounded way to solid… Polish massive space slugs Spaceslug (it’s not perfect, but kinda cool sounding) from Wroclaw have exactly the sountrack for you.
The sound of these gentleman is somewhere in between My Sleeping Karma, Radar Men From The Moon en Earth or Sleep (not sure yet). The group has released with Lemanis their very first album and it’s a homerun. The cover is already epic, depicting a snail or slug facing the enormity of the galaxy, depicted in its full awesomeness.
Opener ‘Proton Lander’ is like one of those hypnotic clouds in space you sometimes see depicted, you get lost in a swirling mass of riffs and repetition that feel so loose and relaxed that you just soar away with them. When the cool guitar lines start to build up the vocals kick in, with a repetitive line being chanted: “I know the space, I know the haze”. It says a bit about the imbibed inspiration I suppose.
It also works to connect the band to the more spaced out stoner scene, though apart from the heavy foundations, there’s something way more spacy in the music of these guys. Meandering guitar tones, wavery bass lines and drums that keep it all together to create slowly cascading tones of the infinite. A track like ‘Hypermountain’ illustrates this well.
The vocals offer the aura of mystery and being in a sort of cultish environment. As if the vocalist has secrets to offer that no one knows of. In the mean time the music just warbles on in a manner that displays little care for things like gravity, which is interesting to listen to. I absolutely dig this record full of space stoner. “I know the space, I know the haze, alright!”
Did you hear that awesome album by Possessor yet? You should, because it blends all styles into a potent cocktail of gritty, grimy horrorcore sludge.
You can probably rant on about the Sabbath-esque influences and noisey southern swagger, but these Londoners sound unique and awesome, so I thinought it would be a good thing to get in touch with them and get into it with these gentlemen.
Graham Bywater, Matthew ‘Bean’ Radford and Marc Brereton were keen to answer some questions about their music, horror films and their new album.
How did Possessor get started? Were you guys involved with other bands before?
Marc: I was in quite a few bands before Possessor and I still am, but this is definitely the most fun. I’ve known Graham for years as we met back in college and used to record stuff in his bedroom. We always talked about playing together, but it took until now to come into fruition but when Graham asked me to be a part of Possessor it didn’t take long to commit when I heard what he was pumping out.
Graham: Marc was the only person I met at college who didn’t really have strict guidelines and restrictions to what he was into. He wasn’t ashamed to say he loved Green Jelly. The dude had literally no pretensions. He also immediately reminded me of Sasquatch so that was good.
Bean: I know that Graham and Marc have known each other since they were very young, but my personal involvement with Possessor began shortly after Electric Hell was released. I met Graham by complete coincidence. We were both on our way to a Fu Manchu gig in London and had stopped at the same pub before the show for a few pints. My Iron Monkey T shirt was enough for Graham to start a conversation and we soon started talking about music. Graham mentioned Possessor. I’d actually heard of them and had really liked them; they were also looking for a permanent drummer so I offered my services.
My “audition” consisted of a night together, drinking beer and talking about Guns n’ Roses. By the end of the evening Graham had gone missing and Marc had seen my girlfriend naked. This pretty much set the benchmark we have followed ever since!
So what bands do you guys like and influenced your sound?
Graham: It varies greatly depending on the mood. We drove through a rain storm listening to ‘Canadian Metal’ by Darkthrone on the way to a gig recently. That was a very heavy and inspiring moment and has kinda stuck with me. That album, ‘F.O.A.D’ seeped its way into the sound of Dead by Dawn. Other bands that have been on repeat recently are Midnight, Pentagram, Enslaved, Death Evocation, Misfits and some band called Metallica. The Shrine and Bongzilla have been on my iPod a fair bit and that new Kvelertak album is crazy. I normally aim to discover a band a day if possible. Even if they suck.
Marc: Everything.
Bean : I feel really passionate about music. I listen to blues, classical and jazz but at the center of it all is a love for heavy metal. Black Sabbath are the beginning, middle and end for me and they are a huge influence on my playing. From there my tastes go in a lot of different directions. All the way from LA Glam to Death Metal. Classic stuff really. Obituary, Priest, Black Flag, Iron Maiden, Love/Hate, Entombed; I could go on and on.
In terms of influence on Possessor: For me it’s about those bands who can capture an energy and put that on tape. Motorhead’s Overkill comes to mind as does Charles Mingus’ Blues and Roots. On the Mingus album you can hear the band whooping and howling as they play. It’s such a live, un-tampered, vibrant sound. It’s an odd comparison but it’s exactly how I’d like Possessor records to sound.
I understood that you guys are not originally London folk from an interview with Doomed and Stoned. Where do you guys hail from and is how would you say it impacts your sound?
Bean : I’m originally from a small village in Kent. It’s fair to say that it was a fairly isolated place without easy access to town. As a result my childhood was spent reading and writing stories and playing in the nearby woods, close to churches and graveyards! All of this helped me to develop a good imagination which in turn guided my interest towards fantasy tales and horror stories. Ever since I’ve had a disposition towards the occult as an aesthetic, which is why I find Possessor so appealing. It’s also why I’d love people to experience the band in the same way as they would a ghost story or slasher movie!
Graham: Kent. Staplehurst via Sevenoaks. I’ve always been more inspired by nothing than everything.
Horror flick are as I understood an inspiration too. How do you know you’re catching that vibe when writing a song?
Graham: Possessor are basically a horror film disguised as a band. It’s just a natural part of our sound and is effortless. I guess it has a lot to do with the decade we were born in and to this day I don’t really know anyone who isn’t totally nerdy about cinema. I got into bands like Maiden and Helloween around the same time I discovered films like The Terminator and Re-Animator and I knew from a very young age that music and film go hand in hand. People seem to pick up on that with Possessor which is good.
When we younger me and Marc used to spend our Sunday afternoons watching Hills Have Eyes and Evil Dead and the natural instinct was to follow it up with a beer and a jam.
Maybe we should write a musical. I reckon we could do a gig within a film, like in the woods with the Blair Witch or in the kid’s dreams in Nightmare on Elm Street. Bean : For me, a good example of this would be The Creeps (from Dead by Dawn). It started as a jam on some percussive ideas for another song, but hearing the drum played back in isolation was so evocative of all things voodoo. It put an image in my mind of cannibals dancing under a volcano while their cooking pot boiled. I think the best Possessor songs can make a direct connection to the mind’s eye.
How do you guys pick your artwork? Because it instantly gives off that film vibe. Is it created from scratch or do you use existing images?
Graham: This album took a bit longer as we wanted to outdo our previous concepts without losing the originality. We always go for simple and mysterious imagery but the idea of the faceless character of past releases has become something else with this design as it reveals slightly more.
We often use really old public domain photos that just jump out at us. I normally edit and rework the image until it looks like something new and creepy but always surreptitiously empowering. We don’t talk about the art much as it really should just speak for itself. We like mysterious figures and forms, not blood and gore.
If Possessor was allowed to do a live soundtrack to a film, like bands have been doing on Roadburn Festival for example. Which film(s) would you love to do the score to and why? (and how would it sound)
Marc: Lord of The Rings!! (needs no explanation)
Bean : Something thrilling, visceral and brutal. Texas Chainsaw Massacre would suit us perfectly. That, or a compilation of machete attacks from Friday the 13th.
Graham: The Lost Boys or perhaps Motel Hell? Something trashy and eye catching. Or perhaps it would be even more insane if we played a heavy set to something like Open Water or even a collection of bits from Jurassic Park. Dinosaurs stomping and sharks chomping to the riffs!
A festive gig set to Christmas Evil could be good too.
How would you describe the writing and recording trajectory for your latest album (which is so awesome)?
Graham: Pretty natural. There’s a certain sound, style and spirit to Possessor that writes itself. Having said that this album is definitely edging more towards being filmic and the end result certainly feels more like a group effort this time round. We took a while creating this album because of time restrictions and work but the actual performances themselves were done live and on the spot. One take on most tracks.
Bean : It was recorded really quickly. The drum tracks were done in a single afternoon and in the majority of cases they are first takes. We really wanted to retain the energy and spontaneity of those fresh takes so we deliberately moved through the process quickly without poring over the details or refining them. We wanted this to be a brutally real album with imperfections and accidental highlights. I’m proud to say I think we really achieved that.
If I say that you guys sound like Black Sabbath and Kyuss meeting at a Danzig show, how does that score on the chart of interesting comparisons you’ve heard?
Graham: Well I love Kyuss and Sabbath so that’s fine with me. I’ve noticed we have been compared to Venom and Therapy? a fair bit, and to be honest I don’t get that at all. One review said we sounded like early ElectricWizard crossed with Bathory (?) I think I prefer your description mate but to be honest I don’t really think much about comparisons. We sound like Possessor.
Bean : One of things I really value about Possessor is the wide variety of comparisons that have been applied to us.
People have said we sound like Metallica, L7, Prong, Ministry, Slayer, Pantera and RobZombie too. I love that it is difficult to pin us down. The best bands always have something unique about them which is exactly what I think Possessor are striving for
What is a Possessor live show like and are you guys planning to hit the continent soon?
Bean : The Possessor live experience is a heavy one. Our hope is the audience gets on board in the same way we are; basically to celebrate heavy music and have a good time.
We would LOVE to play future shows on the continent. Our recent show at Sonic Blast in Portugal was a huge success. European metal fans made us feel so welcome and really seemed to “get” what we do. I’d be happy to experience some more of that.
Graham: Yeah, that was great fun. I think our live performance often depends on how well we are rehearsed. We like to keep it raw and exciting and ever so slightly theatrical. Depending on the night and the beer intake we may wear a form of war-paint or corpse paint purely because it amuses us and brings to mind the old school craziness of AliceCooper or Gwar. Other shows can be pretty slick with heads down and feet on the monitors. I think that sometimes a sloppy gig with shit loads of passion and energy is more memorable than being a predictable and routinely structured one. I don’t know why anyone would want to see the same exact performance twice.
We would love to travel and play more outside of the UK, so…
Marc :..Set us up with some dates.
What are the future plans for the band?
Graham: Have some fun and try not to go insane in the meantime. We will be releasing a special something for Halloween this year so keep an ear out for that. One thing we really want to do and have discussed in depth is put out a covers EP. That would be fun, but it could go either way. The songs would have to be weird enough to be worthwhile. We wouldn’t just be covering Ace of Spades and War Pigs.
Bean : In the immediate future? Hopefully more shows. I’d really like to take Dead by Dawn on the road and see people react to these songs. We’re at a stage now where we’re trying to build the profile of the band and that means getting out there and showing people what we’re all about. Beyond that… Write. Record. Do it all again, only bigger and better!
Marc: Burn stuff!
Finally, if you had to describe Possessor as a dish, what would it be (and why)?
Marc: Spicy shepherd’s pie, it’s heavy and hot. Graham: Fajitas. Loads of heavy flavors with some added cheese. Bean : Old fish heads and beer – because our food budget will ALWAYS be weighted towards beer.
For anyone who believes Canadians to be peace loving and timid, there’s some news for you and it’s called Gilded Lily. The group hails from Barrie, Ontario and has thus far only released a demo. This full length is a statement to say the least.
Something must be stirring in the northern regions, because bad-ass genre defying bands seem to emerge from Canada a lot in recent years. Bands with a disposition to stand outside of the outsider art in a way, which is emphasized by the peculiar neo-realism artwork by Quinn Henderson on the cover. It really defies expectations in its cocktail of genres and folky riffs.
The record clocks around 32 minutes of furious, unrelenting fury that seems to combine black metal with grindcore and more. Most noteworthy and possibly overlooked are the lyrics, which are poetic and speak of a desolate place where only the lowest of the low is present.
The romantic sense of longing you clung to
Is beaten into the cement of the curb
Anointed with a mixture of alcohol
And piss and spit and cum
Where the carnal is holy
This is packed up in guttural vocals, cascading guitars and bludgeoning blast beats. It’s a big noisey composition of dissonance and blaring reverb. Whirlwinds of guitar shredding and dense atmospheric passages, sometimes all hammering at the listener at once. Never relenting and always brilliant, it gives the true feeling of inescapably to the listener. Though notoriously filled with blackened elements, sometimes there’s just the cold hardcore vibe present as well, like on the beating intro of ‘Yellow Dog’s Song’, which turns into a dirty, gritty ride.
Most tangible is the urban despair of Gilded Lilly on ‘A Sparse Room’, where over a buzzing noise vocals are screamed in what, played out in your imagination, feels like an empty factory hall. After that opening rant, the track kicks of with an almost tribal rhythm and industrial drones. The whole album is a show of force to me, but there’s that remaining feeling of gritty squats and the rawest, bleakest hardcore shows ingrained in the sound of this band. Why? Because that’s exactly the feeling these gentlemen are trying to evoke with this record, which I think they succeeded in with flying colors.
I read some more books, so I guess it’s time to share those with you, with works by R.A. Salvatore, JJ Koczan, Ace Frehley and the mighty HenryRollins! Enjoy and pick them up if you can.
R.A. Salvatore – Paths of Darkness ( The Silent Blade, The Spine of the World, Servant of the Shard, Sea of Swords)
source: bandcamp
Ok, one more serial for now, since right now I had my fill for a while of the saga, but Paths of Darkness is indeed something else. The focus is less on the character of Drizzt, but more on others like the barbarian Wulfgar. After the traumatizing events in the previous books, people have been damaged, broken even. The collateral needs to be resolved before the band will be able to join together once again. It’s a welcome new thing in an otherwise endless string of group adventures, which I think is an interesting switch, though also showing you that nothing lasts really.
Though I wouldn’t want to pin that responsibility on the author, I think in a way the topic of trauma is very present in this book. The effect on a person and the intense fase of trying to work your way through it. The struggle the character Wulfgar goes through is heavy, complex and confusing to all surrounding him. The turmoil is well described by Salvatore and really given context and explanation. This is something that made this series of books very powerful, and worth reading. The following set is also exploring a similar side road, so thatś something that’ll come up in another series of books.
JJ Koczan – Electroprofen
source: twitter (author)
JJ Koczan is an immensely productive guy who manages to keep up the blog ‘The Obelisk’ all by himself. To me, that’s amazing and inspiring at the same time and I’ve had the pleasure to meet JJ on Roadburn and found out he’s a humble and friendly guy, totally in it for the music, nothing else. That is something you see in his book too. I don’t know too much about JJ’s experience as a writer, but there’s something about his style that speaks to me as a music fan as well. In a way the form of this book can describe as a collection of songs too. Short, losely connected stories and poems work together to create a whole.
I enjoyed reading this short novel, as a bit of a dark exploration of humankind. I have the sense that there’s a personal vibe to the stories as well, which I think makes it so much more connecting and powerful, striking the right notes with the reader. JJ demonstrates his skill for putting down a good story here and I hope he keeps at it. I would love to read a doom laced full story of him one day. The book is out on War Crime Recordings, not sure if they still have any… It would be worth your money to pick this up to support this talented gentleman in his writing, because I’m keen to read more. Check out his website on music for more of his writing, which follows a similar personal expression.
Ace Frehley – No Regrets
source: goodreads
I have to admit something to you, my dear reader. I’m a fan of the band Kiss. It started gradually, but I definitely would have to refer you to the podcast where Danko Jones interviews Abbath about Kiss for the spark that ignited my interest. Now, you can appreciate Kiss as a whole, but delve into the four individuals and that is one crazy journey. My first Kiss bio this far was none other than the oe of Ace Frehley, who played guitar in Kiss three times and left each one. Ace is a likable guy in the media, but was also a troubled person for years with substance abuse. His take on things is a bit different and I’m tempted to believe he missed the point on some topics, but hey…
Ace is quit laid back and proud of his troubled past, but also likes to inform you around the end of the book how he believes in Aliens and has met them. The weird supersticions he has take all sense of truth away for me, but his perception of the history of Kiss is in general plagued by little consideration for there being another side to the story. Ace is mild and understanding for most of the book, but at some point keeps going on at Gene SImmons and Paul Stanley in a way that is hard to validate or check anywhere, but makes them the bad guys. I have not read all the others, but in the bio of Gene SImmons there’s atleast an attempt to paint a complete picture. Ace sees himself as a victim and his victory on alcohol not too long ago is his biggest victory. It’s still a great book full of saucy material. Read it if you can! Because for all his weird stories, Ace Frehley tells it like a true storyteller.
Henry Rollins – LA Weekly Articles 2011-2012
source: goodreads
Though Henry can spin a yarn, his ability to offer short and to the point stories on stage is reflected in his columns for the LA Weekly. In this book he offers a collection of those from a certain period of time between 2011-2012 that he wrote, but before any editor touched them. It’s some typical Henry material that you’lll easily get into if you like his ideas, and also will inspire you to read more of his work and check out the music he encourages… nay, urges you to check out. Old jazz and blues all the way up to metal, every week another good bit of advice for the ears. It’s really some added value that you’re getting right there from the man who fronted Black Flag and Rollins Band.
If you don’t feel affinity with the opinions of mr. Rollins, then there’s always some room for debate on most topics. The door is always half open, except when it comes to hatred, homophobia, racism and such, those are very clear and so is the opinion of Henry about you if you think such things are fine (usually thats pretty much the issue). The book serves well as a continuous read, but also just to take one item at the time. It’s immersive, personal and filled with the typical wit you find in the work of Henry Rollins. Specially his bits on the Bush administration are usually hilarious. His fandom of Rush Limbaugh (sarcasm) is a recurring theme, that makes Limbaugh look exactly the way he should. It’s just great stuff, read this!
