"Hailing from the southern Lowlands, this Dutch 6-piece is out to make
the universe trip on their hypnotic, droning and monotonous grooves.
Using three bassguitars to pile up low, distorted frequencies as rarely
heard these days, analog soundscapes, subsonic drums and intoxicated
vocals.
Self-released debut double album 'Toybox' (2009) sold
out 200 copies in no time.In 2012 Bitcho lets itself drown deeper
into the ooze to unleash a new chapter of inertness."
I know this could surely sound easy again but if a band describes its style concisely and almost perfectly without too many exagerated superlatives or pompous words, why not just make a copy/paste to let you get the point in the most faithful way possible ?!!! Moreover we speak here about some very special type of music, not the kind to listen at breakfast time after a short sleep following a night full of any sort of abuses : some of the darkest and most repetitive DRONE you can ever imagine...
Ronan From HUATA described them as something between SUMA and OCEAN CHIEF, well certainly but I can not honestly attest, not having a great knowledge of the genre, neither enough time and envy to listen them to just make comparisons, but one thing I know is that I like BITCHO, they made my recent days and that's enough !!!
Someone also wrote this about them : "Bitcho is definitely one of the most repetitive bands from the Northern
hemisphere"...Well, I don't know if the guy thought there was a more repetitive act in the southern hemisphere or just made the distinction to avoid any possible mistake, but he must be right for some parts that will hipnotize and eventually deviate your soul !
Believe me, no need to test any other method, medical or guruesque, this "toybox" could be definitely a real experience for your soul and whole body ! This double album lasts 80 minutes for just 4 songs., but nothing seems too long really, just forget the intro of the first song that is long and dispensable for the most part...
As the cover suggests it, we're drowned in a dark journey; not particularly painful, but without hope, devoided of any positive sense, mournful and if not totally, it's just by the "grace" of some spacey effects which induce a little breath of life in an environment that remains constantly menacing and contained.
This is indeed very monotonous and extremely heavy with those hammering basses and sluggish huge drums but the nice ambient / experimental soundscapes enrich considerably the overall and can be even conducive to some felt-like spiritual/introspective moments that make time passing in fact quickly without yawning or impatience (the 35 minutes long "Guttkill"). Most of the vocals on the album are kind of complaintive, they sound great but are too much in back in my opinion, even if the resonance fits well with the amazing heaviness.
This album was recorded more than 2 years ago and even if it's gonna be re-released soon, I'm sure the sophomore album (that will come out this year) will show more maturity and an emphasis on thickness... And when Ronan from HUATA tells that BITCHO on stage is highly massive and impressive, I do trust him willingly, cause this "horde of Batavian giants" has really something striking and believe me he knows what does LOUD (and great) stuff means !
One of Sweden’s finest Stoner Rock bands, Stockholm’s PONAMERO SUNDOWN will kick off a tour later this spring. The band has already confirmed several dates and one of the venues will be the London’s Camden, where these rockers will play the Desertfest. Check the dates on the poster shown below. More dates to come...
A little bit of presentation/history now through their biography : Memorable hooks, tons of groove, a free spirit and enough riffs to fill a canyon! That is the recipe behind this band who started their journey in mid-November 2005 in Stockholm, Sweden. The idea was to write music influenced by a favoured decade in hard rock – the 70´s together with the warm fuzz of the stoner rock scene. The members come from different backgrounds but have been in the music scene for years, playing in different constellations and outfits.
After a few rounds of self-released demos and landing gigs locally and abroad, Ponamero Sundown released their debut full length aptly named “Stonerized” through Transubstans Records in July 2009. The album popped up at a very respectable 39th spot on the Swedish sales charts. Several gigs followed during the fall to promote the album and soon a short tour followed, taking the boys through Denmark, Germany and Poland. No time for rest though as new material surfaced during winter 2009/10 and soon the band entered the studio in spring 2010 to record their ambitious follow up. Finally released after gruelling hard work in March 2011, Rodeo Eléctrica appeared at no 21 on the Swedish sales charts. The album displayed a huge step forward, blending a broad range of musical influences but keeping the trademark Ponamero sound. The album received many great reviews and top scores in several webzines and got radio airplay across the Atlantic in Argentina and the US. Ponamero Sundown have in these past years since their inception built up a great reputation and spread their music across the borders taking them out on the road to play to audiences and fans in Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Belgium, Poland and the UK. Wherever You´re located – Ponamero Sundown delivers!
Discography:Maximum Groove (Self released, 2006) We Shall Triumph (Self released, 2006) High Fuelled leftovers (Self released, 2006) Heavy Rock (Self released, 2007) Stonerized (Trans048, 2009) Rodeo Electrica (Trans078, 2011)
Oh shit, what a fantastic cover ! The bull is such a powerful beast, worthy, raced and valorous ; unfortunately or not (this isn't the place for such debate) the smell of death often reigns around him, so I think that's a pretty singular and well-thought cover , morevoer if it kind of reflects the content of the album, which is in my opinion the case, that's even better...
Just as LURK, another recent release from TOTAL RUST rds, TORT is mixing different styles too, but this time we've got here a raw blend of Sludge, Thrash and Doom with I would say an old-school approach, means no special refinement, rare melodies... Yes, Thrash, which is not that current these days but considering the crudeness and straigthness from this style of music, when it's not the fastest type , it has some common caracters with Sludge that fit pretty well all together, especially if like here there's a doomy and misery-like atmosphere surrounding the whole.
As you've guessed, we don't speak here about Bay Area Thrash, but more of an HELLHAMMER or eventually old VOIVOD, no ultra fast parts even if a song like "cannibals of Ma'arat' is pretty brutal, TORT is far more at ease in hypnotic distorted riffing, filthy and harsh mid-tempos with vicious Sludgey vocals reminding then more than slightly some memorable moments of EYE HATE GOD.
Don't expect here some technical efffects or twisted experimentations, TORT's purpose is not there at all, the band wants it unholy, authentic and crushing, occasionally slow and apocalyptic like a BOLT THROWER meets SLEEP and ST VITUS !!!
The guys are experimented and knew exactly where they wanted to go with this new project (guitarist Sergio was for example previously playing in Lords Of Bukkake), sure I would reproach the too extensive lenght of a song like "gnosis the dead" (14 minutes) and a few too obvious parts here and there, but I've heard a bunch of other first albums that were not as homogeneous and catchy , so the bull is well alive and has certainly not finished drawing blood...
RITUAL TEMPLE is a very young band, and once more you can go figure, but
yeah that's the plain truth... The band originates from BRITANNY, just
like HUATA and STANGALA; they must have something special in the wine
they give to babies over there! ha!
Anyway, if you like it
raw, solid and ballsy as fuck, while crawling in the sludge of
occultism. I bet RITUAL TEMPLE is shaped for your damaged ears of
doom...Enjoy the words of singer Fabius
Paulus and their twisted clamor!
Hi Fabien, nice to feature another french band in the realms of TEMPLE
OF PERDITION. Lately it seems that our national scene is very active
when it comes to doom, stoner and sludge. Do you feel a good connection
with other french acts when it comes to RITUAL TEMPLE. Even if the band
is pretty young (founded in 2010), you're no newcomers to the scene. In
what bands are/were all of you involved prior to RITUAL TEMPLE. What is
your aim with that classic doom outfit? Hi Nathaniel.
That's our pleasure to get an opportunity of talking about RIUAL TEMPLE
in such a entity as TEMPLE OF PERDITION mate. We have quite good
connections here in Rennes with some other French acts because we mainly
get involved in different projects. But as for Doom, Stoner and Sludge,
I don't have much to tell you about. There are promoters here in our
city that is called BLOOD RITES (officiates in Paris as well) and
organize Doom/ Stoner shows, I guess there is a good response regarding
what they do and that's great in my opinion. We are mostly in touch with
HUATA... I am explaining why... Reido, our guitar player is friend with
Ronan their singer and also used to play in a band a few years ago with
some HUATA members. I also have been involved in projects with Alexis,
their drummer. Indeed, I used to have a tape label with him back then,
the thing was called NEKROBLOOD RECORDS and we decided to stop it around
6 months ago now, and finally Max Abomination and I are also playing in
a Speed Thrash Metal band called GULAG with Alexis as well on drums.
So, that's pretty much it as far as our connections in the Doom/ Stoner
scene within France are concerned. We know the guys from CHILDREN OF
DOOM a bit, they are crazy guys and play awesome music, but beside that,
we are not very much in touch with other bands! We know the BOTTLE DOOM
LAZY BAND but never got in touch with them unfortunately though. We
are good touch with the MANZER crew and also NECROBLOOD. So, as I said,
Reido (guitars) had old bands that were Doom influenced. I used to sing
in a band called THERAPHIM (Black/ Death Metal) and recorded only one
tape actually. There, also played Infernal Ritualist (our drummer) and
Max Abomination, who is also still active in PERVERSIFIER, NUCLEAR
ABOMINATION and GULAG. Our aim is to bring Death and perform the
darkest form of traditional Doom. We play the music we want and like,
but need to keep this ritualistic and occult themes that are very
important to us.
You're also working with a brand new label,
handled by Thomas (who used to have a little distro called FROST AND
FIRE some years ago). What did interest you in working with him in the
first place? It looks like his promotionnal work was pretty good, as you
start to create a little buzz around your music... I mean you were
aired on shows like THE SOGGY BOG and got some cool review from Germany.
Not too bad for a beginning... Yes, Thomas will release our
demo Tape on his brand new label MAGISTER DIXIT! That's a great
opportunity for us, and we can't thank him enough for trusting. Once
again, things are not so easy or complicated. Still opportunities and
contacts worked for us here. We are not close with the Parisian Metal
scene at all, but we know the dudes in NECROBLOOD and they are friends
of ours, to Reido and I, so by knowing then, I met Thomas (even if I saw
him many times in the past, as I was a friend of Yves from Banged or be
Banged and so he was) and so kept in touch, but Reido knows him better
and probably for a longer time. I learned that he moved to Belgium where
he is a relative to my old friend Jerry from Detest Records... Enough
talked about me though. So, Thomas is a real Doom fan and so is Reido,
so one day, Reido said that he had started a band here in Rennes and
Thomas was curious about that. Then, we did record some tunes and Thomas
got enthusiastic about what we did, which is great. He has killer taste
in music and proposed to release our first demo tape quite immediately
and decided to start the label with our demo tape. He has balls doing
it! We are nobody, I am not sure that there is any buzz around us (I
hope not, and also I wish people will not consider us as a "buzz" band,
we don't mean it, just do what we like, no more). I mean, this may
happen (or not) when the tape will be out, you know, at the moment, we
are pretty ignored I would say, and we don't give a shit. Just hope
there won't be a big deal around RITUAL TEMPLE (if you see what I mean
on a specific forum where wanking is a full-time job). Actually, I think
the promotion has not really started and so we are quite surprised that
already a Greek blog, a US radio show and a German blog (all held by
people we don't know) get interested into what we do. We did not expect
it at all because as mentioned earlier, the label already did not start
promotion I guess, Thomas is waiting for the tape to be out...
Indeed RITUAL TEMPLE is
rooted in the most traditionnal ways
of playing doom metal, and also wraps itself in a drape of occultism.
Good, but what makes you stand out from the mass/trend of late then?
It's no secret that since THE DEVIL'S BLOOD calibrated occult rock for
metalheads took the scene by storm, bands in your vein start to pop up
like mushrooms... Your comments on that please. Yes,
RITUAL TEMPLE is wrapped into Occultism. Reido and I got very much
interested and involved into it. This was an important thing for us. He
is into Doom to the bones and gets fascinated by it all, so did I. This
was the main direction we wanted to go to when we both started the band,
I mean except for music, this direction was natural and obvious for us.
Yes, there probably is a trend around it at the moment, but I
personally don't care about it. To me, the two first THE DEVIL'S BLOOD
albums are good, but as you say, that is Occult Rock for Metal fans. We,
in RITUAL TEMPLE are Hard rockers fan of Metal music, Max Abomination
and Infernal Ritualist are big Thrash, Black/ Thrash Metal fans, I enjoy
many Metal bands and Reido is at the same time a big Doom and Extreme
Metal fan (Doom is Metal too, of course, but to me not as extreme as
what we currently listen to). Yeah, there might be more bands in the
vein we are evolving at the moment, but we are not interested into it,
we do what we do, the way we intend to and what people may think about
us or our imagery remains insignificant, we play our music for us
firstly and then, if some people enjoy it too, that's ok. We do it all
for ourselves and we have no other band in mind, we are RITUAL TEMPLE
(our name says it all) and we need no comparison to any other band
regarding our aesthetics, we are not falses...
The
sound of the demo is raw, dirty, yet doesn't lack a single second of
groove or dynamic! Well done dudes! I understood that Kev from
PERVERSIFIER was responsible for the recording and mix/mastering of the
whole thing. Why did you want to work with him, and what do you think
you can improve on your next recordings? Thanks for the
words Nathaniel, it means a lot to us, really. This is exactly how we
wanted the tape to sound like. Not too clean, not too modern, with some
70's elements. Reido and I agreed with the other members of what we
wanted for this tape. We talked to Kev and as he is a great musician and
listens to some Doom and 70's rock bands, he knew what we meant, and so
that was very easy. That was so obvious for us to work with him. He is
in Brittany (Bretagne) first, and so do we, that was a very easy choice
to make. Also, Max Abomination plays with him in PERVERSIFIER, and he
has turned to a very good friend of ours, it is always lots of good
moments we have together. And finally, he has some sort of a studio in
his basement, so it was so easy to make it this way and we are totally
satisfied of the final result and his awesome job on the tape. We
recommend him to any band that wishes to have a quality engineer and a
good moment recording their piece of dedicated Metal.
The voice is also pretty personal on this demo. Deep, and melodic,
without sounding cheesy at all. Sometimes I get reminded of Luce from
HOODED PRIEST when I listen to your voice. Were you singing before
joining RITUAL TEMPLE? What are your influences when it comes to
singing? I tried my best finding a way of making good
vocals. To tell the truth, I am not very influenced by someone
particularly. I was more influenced by liquid substances when I recorded
my vocals actually. Thanks for saying this about HOODED PRIEST, they
are a good band, but they did not influence me at all, neither by
MINAUTORI as far as I am concerned. I have been singing in THERAPHIM
prior to RITUAL TEMPLE, but that is a totally different kind of vocals
(more Death Metal inspired), I invite you to throw an ear about it.
It looks like the future of the band is pretty uncertain, as
you're supposed to move abroad for your job, and if I am not mistaken,
some other members of RITUAL TEMPLE shall not be available for a couple
of months either. It must feel strange to release a demo and not to be
able to support it with some gigs or simply to keep on working on new
tracks altogether. But maybe I am wrong, and thanks to the modern days
technology you'll be able to maintain a regular working schedule for the
band... You are right Nathaniel! The future of RITUAL TEMPLE
is unfortunately quite uncertain. Indeed, I am moving to Canada for a
maximum of 6 months and then, I will come back to Europe and will
probably relocate in the East of France or Germany. Infernal Ritualist
is going to Ireland himself at the same time that I will move, and I
don't really know if he will be coming back (as I have been told that
people who move to Ireland rarely come back to their home country).
Finally, Reido will head to Paris because circumstances in his private
life have changed and he needs to breath another air. We are very proud
of what we have done and what will be on the tape. We would prefer
keeping the band active but it is impossible to make for easy reasons I
previously mentioned. Technology can make it more easily but we stay
undetermined as for the status of the band and our demo might be the
only release by the band, really to bad, but that's the way it is so
far. Concerts were planned and cancelled for different reasons, we would
have liked to play, but here again, so it is.
I
remember that we were talking about the stereotypical metalheads of our
sinister today. Don't you sometimes feel trapped between tradition and
innovation? I mean, metal and rock are now old and established enough
for everybody to pick up things of their liking. But nowadays, I feel a
rather excessive conservatism that suffocates the scene, and on another
hand there are plenty of people thinking they break some boundaries,
whereas they just drown their creativity behind the facilities of
technology. Where do you stand? Hum, I feel trapped
between the two you mention, but I really prefer dying strangled by
Tradition than Innovation, that is for sure. There are so many things
that I don't understand anymore regarding codes, rules, attitudes. I am
not a nostalgic at all, I just feel so obsolete and distant to it right
now. You are right, I am not sure that some people act like they do by
listening to this or that for the good reasons, I mean this is not so
cool to "like everything the consortium said to like". It is not so cool
to listen to that band because they are the precursors of this or that
and say: "Look, I know it as well, oh yeah". People should just enjoy
what they want, no one cares if that's an old band or not, how much
recognition they get... Something has changed, but I don't think that
music itself changed, only our society and individuals have and here is
the result in the so called Metal ground... Same for musicians who
prefer to "sound like" than creating decent things. Yeah, there are many
people who think they break the law and boundaries but are more stuck
in a fucking straitjacket. I just can't understand this. Good luck for
being more Evil than Evil Ladies and Gentlemen.
Alright, that's it for the moment, I just wanted to shade some light
upon your unholy tunes of doom. I await eagerly for some more dark
chants from your side. Feel free to shamefully promote yourself now... Thanks Nathaniel for giving us a chance to talk
about RITUAL TEMPLE a bit. That's very much appreciated. We'll try to
give birth to a few more tracks, but it looks like it will be hard.
Well, support our label MAGISTER DIXIT and if anyone has any inquiry
regarding our music: ritual.temple@gmail.com MORS OMNIA VINCIT
(Death will always prevail) We know who are the respectable people,
others can fuck Off! All hails Temple of Perdition!
Brrrrr.... the Finnish scene is currently blooming amazingly, and after HEREM, GRAVE SIESTA and DEMONIC DEATH JUDGE, it reveals with LURK another seriously competitive new band.
This debut album contains 6 songs of crushing downtempos, not especially innovative but assembling again different styles in a rather personnal way... Which styles ? Doom, Death and Sludgy Black Metal; maybe not as terrifiying as this kind of alien from the cover but enough ugly and filthy to rip your soul during 40 (too short) minutes !
From the bands which Total Rust music (from Israël) refers to when describing LURK, I would agree mainly about AUTOPSY with that pretty remarkable vocal performance and some of the heaviest shredding tempos (though not as gore and horrifying, but that's logical considering LURK is more of a beast lurking in darkness than an eviscerated one bathed in blood !!!) and CELTIC FROST for a great part of those eerie and crushing riffs...
This is already more than rewarding to rely on those both cult acts, but LURK goes further with that Sludgy Black Metal emphasis, discordant and filthy, massive and rough... I think that LURK can appeal to a large part of people used to massively dark and crushing stuff but to avoid a possible linearity, they should certainly improve in the developpment of extreme parts, could it be the more refined and airy ones (not clearly melodic but occasionally subtly melancholic à la M.D.B.) or on the contrary the most scariest and discordant (the great keyboards on "pitch beneath eternity" could show a way to follow). These guys have talent, so I feel it's normal to expect some more daring for next effort, but as for now this self-titled debut is definitely a nice introduction to the gloomy world of LURK...
Can't get enough of Psychedelic stuff and don't know yet this Spanish band from Alicante ? Then, you really should pay attention to this "dawn in space" composed of 7 excellent songs, making it a nice journey of about an hour, cosmic and punchy at the same time !
Basically the musical style of PYRAMIDAL is psychedelic/space rock with classic influences from HAWKWIND, CAN, CAPTAIN BEYOND, etc... but what is very interesting is their pretty unique blend with doomier references, mostly from BLACK SABBATH (amazing on the title track especially) and ST VITUS ("kosmik blizzard") but some hints from the most mystical and progressive elements of NEUROSIS and MASTODON can be heard too ...
This gives of course the usual space moods but with those different and more recent references, they have a slight massive edge and definitely an interesting heaviness that make them sound very original and extremely compact too. We don't have here some music that is too unrestrained, going confusedly in many directions...
Most of the album is instrumental, there's some rare vocals here and there by Oscar, one of the both guitarists, which is in fact implying another impredictable caracter to PYRAMIDAL and let some more doors opened for a future that should be bright for them !
I'm from a natural curious, especially when it comes to music, and the name of SNAKE DANCE has raised several interrogations in my mind these past few weeks... This took origin in the appearance of this amazing name in the line-up of the next DAYS OF THE DOOMED Festival, then Mike Smith never stoped praising them in our recent interview, finally the regular listening of their top-notch song ("born of the fire") of groovy stoner with 70's heavy rock burning touches on their FB page... the kind of song you can easily listen 3 or 4 times in a row ! yes, just one is short and kind of frustrating, that's why, in order to calm my impatience for some more good stuff from them, I felt the urgent need to ask some more infos to Scott Natas about his killer band, which this cool dude willingly agreed for !
Hey Scott, so how did you choose this amazing name of SNAKE DANCE ?
The name came from the first line in the song " Born of the Fire "
of course it's also a Monster Magnet song and they're one of our
favorite bands!
Could you tell some things about your previous bands experiences ?
The first band I was in was DeathMetal
Pioneers MASTER in the 80's, then I started my own DeathCore band NATAS
in the mid 1980's we played hundreds of shows with bands from around the
world! NATAS has a limited edtion double CD coming out in a few months
on Area Death Productions Record Label from China.
I remember the band was known as NOT-US or NOTUS here in Europe (not as NATAS) and released stuff on Wild Rags but it seems I didn't follow everything, why that 2 different names ?
The band switched from playing DeathMetal to more of a HardCore Punk
style, that's when we changed the name! The upcoming release on ADP will
include songs from both periods of the bands career. But it will be
released as NATAS " Deathcore 1985-1993".
Did Mike Smith decide to include you on the DOTD fest after having seen
you live or at rehearsal, or maybe did he already know you through a
previous band ?
As for Days of the Doomed I sent mike an Email about playing he checked
out our page, and offered us the openning slot on Friday! Not really
sure if he's aware of my past bands history or not.
We are really Honored to be playing for Mike on Days Of the doomed II
in June with such great bands like Earthen Grave, and Blackfinger.
What's the actual line-up of SNAKE DANCE ?
Scott Natas
Vocals, Guitars / Willie Meyer Lead and Acoustic Guitars / Tom Manning
Drums.
The song "born of the fire" is one of a 3 songs ep you released a little while ago, can't we listen both other songs elsewhere ? What about some new stuff, how do sound the new songs ?
The other 2 songs are not available on the internet at this time sorry!
I know one song is a tease, we really expected to have some new
material ready by now. But we've been having problems keeping a Bass
player the last few months, and are once again looking for someone to
join us on Bass! Things have been moving forward with writing the album
between myself and willie our Lead Guitarist. We've had to push back
recording the LP till at least spring when we've had time to break in a
Bassist! For playing LIVE we don't have anything booked till May, and if
we need to we'll be using a friend to fill in on Bass. If that goes
well we may have our friend play Bass on the LP but we're hoping to find
someone who actually wants to be in the band! You would think there
would be a lot of players into the Stoner / Doom thing around Chicago,
but it's Cover Band Hell!!! We plan on Recording and releasing an EP at
this point to get something out as soon as possible. Our sound has
evolved a lot from what it was when the old EP was recorded. We still
have up tempo Stonerrock songs like the song you heard on our page. But
also some very Heavy Doom songs with layers of electric, and acoustic
guitars. We've been recording our rehearsals, and are very excited about
how the songs sound! I promise you that you'll be one of the first
people that we send our New Music to when it's ready to be heard.
You seem to be very much into "muscle cars", could you precise something about this passion and do you see any connection between this and your music ?
The Classic
Muscle Cars are something we all love, along with music from the same
era. They are a subject that comes up a lot in our songs, along with
other things from the 1970's!
some news given by Wayne (voc/guit) just a few hours ago :
"First, we're still looking for labels to release our album "Interzone" : it advances slowly but surely. We've got some serious clues but one thing is certain : "Interzone" will be available in several formats including a very-limited killer alternative version !! We do our best to find a deal to release the album as soon as possible, stay ...tuned !
Concerning our split album, it's just a matter of time... some details now :
This split album with A Very Old Ghost Behind The Farm (sludge/doom metal band from Toulouse) was composed in November 2011 - that is 4 mounth after the recording of our album "Interzone" - and recorded in December 2011 at Far Beyond Studio with Gorgor again (for us).
We considered this split album as an opportunity to upset Wheelfall's routine, a very interesting exercise : we tried a lot of things, notably in the way to compose and IN the compositions themselves, in the the sounds, mix and the mastering of course which is currently handled by Collin Jordan at The Boiler Room LLC - Music Mastering (Ministry, Unearthly Trane, Rwake, Bongripper, Yob etc.)... You'll be surprised !"
Coming from Berlin, ATOMIC CRIES is a duo consisting in Saúl Do Caixão and Andy Lippoldt (of Persistence In Mourning), they qualify their music as "primitive doom metal exclusively" which you can attest on their just released demo entitled "for those who came out before"... I'm not necessarily aware about all types of darkened sounds that actually exist, but , without taking major risks, I can say that these both guys play indeed music that sounds rather unlike anything else you've ever heard before ! "Primitive" and "slow donner", yes certainly... Extremely dark, lamentful and incantatory too ! even if the band guarantee "no flares, God, Jesus, Satan, occult cobblers, aliens or dragons", which make it even more mystical and captivating...
Sure you don't necessarily need to speak about Satan to display such menacing climates, neither nothing let suppose that we're into some kind of concept
dedicated to the power of nature's elements like the magnificent WARDRUNA... so I really wonder what the lyrics are dealing about in the 4 songs ("like sheep to slaughter", "jealous hands", "point blank" and "the parasite") !!??
Guitar + bass + vocals, no drums, just despaired and menacing
ambiances... Something best to listen with headphones, eventually with
just a few candles around you enlightening this special journey of about
20 minutes.
First song could let suppose that the band is in fact pretty much into Drone but in fact not, the more we get into the heart of this demo, the more we find it rich and diverse with some medieval hints, some dissonant psychedelism too..
Sure this is a demo, with a (very) limited production and some ideas needs better finalized arrangments but that let nicely suppose that this is just a (great) beginning and it's cool to know that the duo has already recorded 2 new songs (in better conditions) which they hope to release soon as an EP; so labels, be warned that there's really something interesting awaiting you with ATOMIC CRIES...
The physical TAPE format should be out next week but the digital version can already be purchased for a minimum of $1 on Bandcamp, where the whole thing is currently streaming....
Well, are you still there reading this ?!!! So, check them out, you should not regret the experience !
SHOD is back! The
first and only Italian doom and heavy psychedelic festival returns after
a year
of silence and lysergic meditation.
For his seventh
edition, STONED HAND OF DOOM will celebrate a dark and psychotronic
sacrifice
in a one-day ritual. The best heavy and massive music for hungry brains.
For this special
event, the staff is proud to announce the headliner for STONED HAND OF
DOOM
2012: from London, ORANGE GOBLIN! A Eulogy for the Damned
is the new
record: their seventh album. Seven, as the capital sins and the SHOD
editions. 15
years have passed since the debut Frequencies
from Planet Ten and Orange Goblin are happy to announce this special
show
in Italy! Inspired by the gods of hard rock, heavy metal, punk rock and
underground extremity, from Black Sabbath, Motörhead, Lynyrd Skynyrd and
Thin
Lizzy through to Celtic Frost and Black Flag, Orange Goblin are an
ass-shakin’
mix of vintage and modern heavy music. Heavy
Metal is not just about music: it’s a way of life, a motivating
mind-set, a
positive force and an inspirational belief system!
This is just the
start, more bands to be announced very soon! So stay tuned for updates!
Behind this rather punkish name (but no problem about that !) and strange album title, we've got here a surprising trio from North Carolina that displays some original Stoner/Doom with various references to SLEEP, THE MELVINS EARTH and BLACK SABBATH but also SOUNDGARDEN, PINK FLOYD and certainly a few proto-psychedelic 70's acts .
This eclectic blend gives sometimes an amazing kind of carelless feeling, something nice in a major mood reflecting solemnity...
This is just my opinion, but before continuing, I would like to precise that contrary to what I've read here and there about this album, I don't feel at all that the production is a complete mess... Its rawness fits pretty well with the sound and guideline of the trio (extreme heaviness in a free and thick retro-style) and if anyone has a problem with it but still likes the band's identity, I feel there's like a strange divergence on that point !
This said, let's insist on the fact that this album is particularly marked by some intense and rumbling heaviness with an emphasis on harsh and gloomy vocals; each one handles tightly his weapon, starting by Lauren on drums who's hitting hard and surgically, while guitars are mainly fuzzy but also sometimes bluesy or spacey with ripping solos.
I've the feeling that this band is very comfortable towards what they want to achieve and how they intend to do it with sincerity and simple pleasure, that's something palpable which gives very solid and homogeneous songs like "an arch that spans regret", "a day without fairies", "large hadron collider" or "we must build an atomic blaster" !
I would be really curious to read some of the lyrics, especially after having had a look on their FB page and found some cool posts on astronomy and aurora borealis... They certainly imply a little pagan and mystical dimension slighlty developped in some moods, great ...
Well, why not thinking quickly about an interview if you agree guys ?!!!
As for now,enjoy this carefully without any again forget about what you have eventually previously read concerning the productionand enjoy
KING GIANT come from the Amercian State of Virginia and self-released two albums so far. Their second record “Dismal Hollow” is causing quite a stir in the last month or so and I would say that all the praise given is absolutely justified. This is some real rock, the headbanging kind of rock, captivating and raw, that will make you forget about neighbors while turning up the volume to the max and scream your lungs out on a show. Apart from being great musicians and caring immense power with their music (have I mentioned that Hammerly’s vocals are some of the best rock/ metal vocals around nowadays?), KING GIANT work very hard and know how to do things. If this is not the right and working formula for success this world is definitely fucked-up...
These guys also have a lot of interesting things to say, so you'd better find some time to read while listening to the tunes – both their albums are streaming through Bandcamp for our enjoyment.
First of all, thank you for agreeing to do this interview! Now, who is “King Giant” and does the original idea of forming the band comply with what the band is now? And who are KING GIANT when not making music?
KING GIANT is:
David Kowalski - Rhythm Guitar
Todd Ingram - Lead Guitar Dave Hammerly - Vocals
Floyd Lee Walter III - Bass
Brooks - Drums
DK - The original intent of the band was for a bunch of friends to get together and jam and have fun. So yes, the intention is still true today. We all have full time jobs, and various interests outside of KING GIANT, but most importantly we are all music fans. We get excited about discovering new bands or listening to a classic album just like everyone else.
It took you quite a while to get the new record done but I must say it is receiving very positive feedback. What was the biggest challenge for you while making the “Dismal Hollow”?
DK - The biggest challenge was staying focused and staying on schedule. As I stated earlier, we all have full-time day jobs, so the making of the album took up all our free time.
However, we actually had the album done in the spring of 2011. We spent 4 months trying to shop the album to a label, with no avail, so we decided not to wait anymore and put it out ourselves. Sean at The Path Less Traveled Records graciously offered to partner with us via a distribution deal.
Is the sounding of this record the result you wanted, musically and production wise?
DK - Production wise, it ultimately got to where it needed to be. Early on, I experimented with certain mixing techniques that I wasn’t happy with so I had to re-mix half the album. But the final product, I’m very happy with. As for musically, we didn’t have any set idea or “sound” in mind when we started, we took each song one at a time and made sure that we were happy with it. In the end, we are very proud of “Dismal Hollow”.
TI – We are very lucky to have production, engineering, and mixing skills within the band. It provides us the flexibility to capture the raw tracks in a studio and then refine and experiment without a meter ticking away and running up the bill.
The vocals are one of the most remarkable things on your records, without underestimating the rest of the band of course. But having a good singer really matters. And when you add another good singer, like you did with Alexia Church in “Tale of Mathias”, the result is just stunning. You should seriously consider adding her to the band.....Tell me something more about Alexia, where else can she be heard?
DK - Well, this was her first recording experience. She sings in a band that a couple of my old high school friends play in. I asked one of them if she would be interested in lending her voice to doing backups, and she agreed, without ever having heard the song, or KING GIANT for that matter! She was definitely a good sport about it!
Cool, hope to hear more from her soon! To be honest I wasn’t very impressed with “Southern Darkness”, it is not bad but there is something missing. I think you’ve found it in “Dismal Hollow”. What do you think that “thing” might be?
DK - Alexia Church? I don’t know, it’s too hard to say, I’m too close to the music. Besides, musical taste is so subjective. But if I were to hazard a guess, the new album is a little more melodic than the last one.
TI – In some regions “Southern Darkness” received a lukewarm response; in others people went crazy for it. As David says we’re too close to it. But I was talking with Victor Griffin before Dismal was released and he told me that while he was touring with PENTAGRAM they listened to “Southern Darkness” quite a few times while on the road. That made me happy. I figure if they’re listening to it more than once, it doesn’t suck.
Not impressed for me means that I don’t feel the need to get back to listen over and over again. There is something very catchy and haunting in “Dismal Hollow” that invokes such need......... Could you describe the way you write your music? Do you have one person that comes with the main idea for a song and the others build around it or you write as a collective?
DK - It all depends on the song..... But Todd and I usually are the ones that come up with initial ideas and then we all build from there. Hammerly for the most part comes up with all the lyrics himself. In the past, we’ve encouraged him to write more narrative lyrics, and he’s really found his voice, his style in writing that way.
TI- David set up a full mixing board and microphones in our rehearsal room so as we are writing we are able to record everything and mix it appropriately. We can take the core track and work on things on our own. For example I can work on harmony lines or solo ideas, Hammerly can work on vocal patterns etc. Additionally, it also captures the accidental jams that may fly by unnoticed until playback. “Road to Eleusis” started out like that. If we hadn’t been recording our writing sessions in their entirety that song may never have happened.
Southern or northern? I get the feeling that you don’t like much that ‘southern’ label....
DK - We’re a Hard Rock / Metal band with Americana overtones.
Fair enough. What is it that you want to achieve with KING GIANT, short and long term? Is there ambition to become “big” and do you think you can make a living out of music?
DK - For starters, a short term goal would be to simply break even financially! Everything has been paid out of our pockets. Recording, Manufacturing, Video, Advertising, etc... Playing in a band is expensive! Don’t let anyone tell you different. But it’s all a labour of love. We do it because we love playing and making music.
Sure, getting “Big” would be wonderful, but I think mainly for the financial independence more than anything else. But really, if we can still have as much fun playing and writing 10 years down the road, even if it’s just for ourselves, that would be great!
TI- We dig the response “Dismal Hollow” is receiving. So our most immediate goal is to increase the number of people around the world that know the name KING GIANT and say “Those guys f**king rock!” And as David said, it would be very nice to break even financially.
And if the Gods will it, someday a label will find us to be a good fit for them. I think anyone that looks at the sum of what KING GIANT brings to the table can tell that we are very passionate and professional about our approach to song writing, recording, and production, videos, packaging, and marketing. We are used to doing it all ourselves, but it would be nice to have a partner in this to help with some of the expenses related to manufacturing and distribution and access to new marketing channels. On the other hand we don’t want to be just another band on the roster with a quick press release and then forgotten about.
KING GIANT is our priority. And you wonder, “Would anyone would put as much passion into to pushing King Giant as we do?” Just about every waking hour someone in this band is thinking of ways to improve what we are as a band or ways to get KING GIANT to the next level. For example, very few artists make videos anymore, not even bands much bigger than us with label support, full page ads, tour buses, roadies and all the trimmings. But we do and those videos make us look like we are on a major label because that is the only way we know how to do it. So what if I have to sell an amp or guitar every now and then to make it happen. Just looking at the end product lets me know we’re doing it right.
And regardless of whether or not we make it “big,” it is a privilege to be in a band with these guys. There are no attitudes in this band, just the constant goal of pushing it just that much further. Everyone is focused on what serves KING GIANT. It’s a beautiful thing.
I think people are really excited seeing new videos. I saw the video for “Appomattox” reposted about one million times on Facebook. Could you tell me something more about this video, you asked fans to help with the funding and it was obviously a successful move?
TI - It’s all about timing and sequence. You have to have the video come out first to create the buzz and the demand for the actual album. But paying for recording, mastering, manufacturing, promotion, distribution, and a video on the scale of “Appomattox” is very expensive. We recognized we couldn’t fund all of this at the same time yet it still needed to happen in close sequence.
So we decided to hold a presale of sorts for the new album using a Kickstarter page. The fans that participated in the presale were able to download a few songs from the album before it was released and they were the first ones to have the finished product. Additionally, we created limited edition shirts and hoodies specifically for this effort. The amazing amount of support that followed allowed us to take the video from concept to reality. Also many of our fans volunteered their time and talents during the video shoot. Some were zombie makeup artists, some were actual zombies and still others helped out in any way they could. The bottom line is, KING GIANT fans rule and we are very lucky to have them.
Without me being closely related to music except as a listener, what you said above is my idea of how the music should happen. Recently I talked to another band whose members have exactly the same attitude and all the skills to produce music, videos, etc. by themselves but for a long time they had exactly the same problems getting a good record deal. I can name a few more such bands actually. (WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU, LABEL PEOPLE!!)What do you think might be the reason? Looks like being self sufficient can be an obstacle?
TI: -The reason? I don’t know. Many of labels you know of had a chance to hear “Dismal Hollow” before it was released. But they decided it wasn’t for them. Perhaps the great reviews we’re getting from all over will cause them to take a second look, then again, maybe not.
What is more important for you as a band – making more albums or playing more live shows? Are you a touring or a studio band?
DK - Ultimately, albums are more important because the music is there captured, timeless, it’s your work of art and it will outlive you, whereas a performance is fleeting, gone after the last note has rang.
TI - I agree with David, those LPs are going to hang on my wall at home and be blasting through my stereo when I’m an old man, so they better stand the test of time. That said, nothing will replace looking someone in the eyes and seeing them so into the music you are playing that they are screaming it back at you. Given our schedules we have to be smart about when and where we tour. I know we’d love to play some shows in Europe. We’ve been getting lots of new fans from across the pond since the release of “Dismal Hollow.” It would be great to play for them someday.
It would be great to catch you in Europe anytime soon. Some European crowd may even change your opinion whether albums or playing live is more important ;)
DK – We’re trying! We’re in the process of contacting a few booking agents to see if they want to help bring KING GIANT over to Europe.
Fingers crossed! Is there anything I didn’t ask about and you think people should really know?
TI – The first pressing of “Dismal Hollow” has been moving quickly. We are almost sold out in our online store. So if you want to pick up a copy in LP and CD formats please visit the following websites: Best Buy, FYE, Amazon, Music Direct, Barnes and Noble, Newbury Comics, Soundstage Direct, CD Universe and many others.
For those of you in Europe please visit: HMV.com and Plastic Head.
DK – I’m having some issues with my leg right now that’s keeping me from being able to play live at the moment. So in lieu of playing live, we’re going to starting writing new material for the next album. Thank you very much for the opportunity to talk to you and get the word out on KING GIANT!!
The awaiting has been pretty long since last August when the band had puted on streaming 4 songs of that 1st album; it's not that I was expecting daily the 5 other songs, like my grandfather was waiting for his newspaper each morning, but a bit like with love preliminaries, after a while, you know the excitement.... Now it's fully available and it's nicely confirmed : "consulting the bones" is a killer masterpiece !!!! SLUDGE can be used in quite many situations, often accompanied by STONER and/or DOOM, but concerning WITCHDEN the best additional terms would be Doomed PUNK'n'ROLL and believe me that gives something pretty unique and totally blasting !!!Those 4 guys have created here a very personnal debut release with a sound that is as thick as a mammoth skin just before winter, based on viciously doomed mid-tempos with some of the sickest vocals you can ever expect... Jason Micah is indeed a very impressive growler, he screams like just a few can do it (Michael Williams, Dave Collins), with such anger, force and conviction that you could imagine him being tortured at the gates of hell. I think he's the most distinctive asset to the band but the musical qualities are pretty interesting too, straight and pretty easy to get into, always doomed with throbbing rythmics and hammering drums by Jeff Moen (also actually playing in the mighty SOURVEIN).
The band doesn't look for useless refinement or blackened moods as the actual tendencies suggest. If this has an obvious Punk'n'roll edge, this doesn't mean at all we've got something repetitive or technically limited, no this is more in terms of rawness and straightness that WITCHDEN take ressources here ...
"captive man", "ossuary", "if hell awaits", "sharpsword" or "kill at will" are real hightlights full of vicious crudeness and filthy authenticity, I'm maybe wrong but I doubt indeed that teenagers could have played with such tightness and those described caracters at the same time. I often write it after an enthusiastic review, but more than ever I would be really curious to see WITCHDEN live cause it must be something awesomely brutal... Let's hope this could happen someday aorund here in Europe, while waiting for this pleasure "consulting the bones" will be played very very regularly !
I've presented you CROWN about a week ago with their impressive debut "The One" (if you wish to come back on this, here's the link !) A band that can immerse you so easily in a very personnal world full of darkness and apocalyptic feelings, deserves an immediate attention to be revealed to the doomed hordes of the Temple !!! Yesterday I had a very cool tchat with Stéphane (guit/voc) on FB, the occasion to introduce them more in depth and speak about the immediate plans from a future that presents some real nice perspectives... Read this and please don't find any more shitty excuse not to buy "the one" right after !!!
Hi Stéphane, first thing I'd like to talk to you about is your logo, pretty eye-catching and captivating with the W and N assembled that can represent a symbol, free to interpret or imagine, how did came the idea and what did you want to mean behind it ?
In fact my colleague Pascal is very good in computering graphic design, he honestly always has catchy and pretty original design ideas, we choose this logo because it's easily identifiable and indeed rather symbolical... We wanted something that would be unusual, far from the Metal standards, etc... I don't know if we succeeded but, as I said, it has at least one thing to its credit : being easily recognizable !
About the fact to play as a duo, with a drum-machine... a deliberate choice or forced ? Was it maybe a way to be quickly operationnal, without having to look for the right drummer during months and months, like it's too often the case ?
The fact to play as a duo is indeed a deliberate and assumed choice, a bit like Godflesh in their early days. It's obvious that on stage we're quickly installed and don't take too much space ! The absence of drummer can maybe cool off some people, we were a bit anxious towards this at the beginning but we have had very good responses from the first gigs... We feel good being just two, there's more place in the van, more alcohol to share ! I don't have anything against drummers though, we just wanted an ultra-minimalist formula...
From which school are you coming exactly : Metal, HC, or ... ? Do you think that the future of Metal and Doom in particular will stand out through the mixing of different heavy styles like Doom, HC, Sludge, post HC and even sometimes Industrial, Grunge and Black metal... ?
Basically I'm a big fan of METAL but I've wide musical tastes, just like Pascal, I can listen the most extreme Black Metal and then right after some Mötley, Kickback, Jefferson Airplane or Mark Lanegan and finally end with Die Antwoord or Mondkopf. I listen lots of various stuff.
Indeed, I think that the mix of different styles is the most interesting way to follow, the fact to break some boundaries helps a style to evolute and get over new horizons, but that's something true for every style of music I guess...
The scene is more and more active in the Alsace/Lorraine area with you, THE PLEDGE OF CAIN, RESISTANCE, WHEELFALL, NUMBER NINE EXPERIMENT (and all the various projects of Arnaud Schmitz)... do you know any of them in particular ? there's also JIZZ LOBER that will soon release something on your label (SuperStrong), could you tell something about this new band ?
I'm a big fan of THE PLEDGE OF CAIN, I also know a bit Nathaniel from RESISTANCE and really like what they do too... As for the others, I don't know their music in fact but from what I know, each one is into DIY stuff like us, being rather autonomous. Otherwise, we do trade gig plans with switz bands like ZATOKREV and PALMER, Switzerland realy seems to like us which is pretty cool !
JIZZ LOBER is composed by ex-members of HOLLOW CORP (guitarist, bassist and drummer) with the ex-singer from NEDGEVA. I really like them, they do play a skilful mix of thick Stoner, with great Sludge parts and some Psyche moments too; a strong personnality really, that should find quickly a positive echo. They have autoproduced their ep too and are completely autonomous; in fact SuperStrong is more of a common structure between bands that take care about everything concerning all the administrative tasks a band needs to face...
Is it then just for a local vocation ? If I'm not wrong you're also distributing their stuff and another band called SIX IN LINE (plus CROWN of course !) ?
In fact it's really our first days, the beginning... As I said superstrong is above all here to help for administrative shit, like finding subsidies, take care of various contracts, royalties, etc... We don't have a distribution as usually organized, ok we're going to distribute the 3 eps but each band is fully independant; I think it's mostly a great bunch of friends that told themselves it would be better to work together, help each other, rather than each one doing his shit on his side....
SIX IN LINE is another very good band too, their ep should be release within the next months, they play some Stoner Rock, but hard to classify exactly because they blend many influences, the result is very classy.
Coming back to the proximity of Switzerland and Germany, do you feel it's easier to be reckoned there than in the inner parts of France, including PAris of course... for the moment at least ? After a recent gig with ZATOKREV in Bâle, you'll be soon back in Switzerland taking part at the Impietus Festival with MONKEY 3, great perspective ...!?
Fuck yeah, Switzerland is more opened to these kind of heavy scenes than France, french promotors are often too conventional, contrary to Switz or German ones... ZATOKREV are one of my fave bands, they're totally apocalyptic on stage, I'm so impatient to listen their new album. We're great friends with their singer Freddy, just like with another band from there PALMER.
We're deeply honoured to be a part of the Impietus Fest line-up and share the stage with the excellent MONKEY 3.
About the diversity of your sound, the song "orthodox" includes some ambient parts which (at least to my ears) sound almost oriental, even in the vocals, while being always ethereal... How did you manage to introduce those refined sounds in a context that remains very apocalyptical ?
We enjoy so many types of stuff (Pascal and myself) that this comes out just naturally, we like to imagine the listener having a great journey with our music... "orthodox" is epic while remaining minimalist and psychedelic at the same time, we like contrasts.
What is the song "the one" dealing about ? Why did you choose it as the album's title ? By the way, for you is that an EP, a mini album, a full length ... ?
"The One" deals about an obscure ritual, just like all the other songs, inspired by imaginery rituals but which always have as guiding line : our friend "the devil", be it through a human, animal or any other form of existence. I'm very much attracted by darkness, he he !
In fact, it was also an idea from Pascal, basically this is an EP but generally eps don't have a title or rarely and as the length is more of an album than an ep, we thought to give it a title ! "the one" imposed itself quickly as it's our first release.
What's your opinion about the french scene ? Do you also feel some positive evolution that starts to find an echo abroad ?
The Sludge/Doom scene in France is competitive with MONARCH!, LOVE SEX MACHINE, CELESTE, MARS RED SKY, our friends from THE PLEDGE OF CAIN, etc... and indeed it starts to gain recognition from aborad which proves its quality and better than ever health !!
You're going to the next Roadburn in April, pleased at the idea to meet you there ! Which bands are you the most impatient to see playing ? Which have been your highlights of 2011 ?
It's just the best Festival of the universe ! For me it's the Montreux of the avant-garde musics with horns, he he ! I'm impatient to see KILLING JOKE, YOB, OM, SLEEP, CORONER, CHELSEA WOLVES, TOMBES and VOIVOD. About last year : JESSE SYKES, SUNN O))), WEEDEATER, RWAKE, TRAP THEM, ALUK TODDOLO and above all SWANS !!!
Coming back to gigs, you're soon gonna take part in the regional selections for the big festival LEZ ARTS SCENIQUES, how many bands will be selected to share the stage with some very big international names ? Even if unfortunately the result isn't positive, that'll be a great occasion to reveal your sound to professionnals from other musical horizons ... ?
I don't know exactly how many bands will be selected, one per day logically, so certainly 3 in all. It's really an excellent festival, with each year a very good METAL line-up (among others). We hope to be a part of it this year, moreover as MINISTRY will be there and I'm a huge fan of them. It would be a fantastic opportunity to play there and share our love for heavy sounds on a big stage !
Well, thanx a lot Stéphane for those enlightenments on the obscure world of CROWN, please remind us how we can find and buy "the one" and add anything you feel important that we might have forgotten ... now I let you enjoy your Saturday evening and "bon appétit "with your tasty raclette !!! (meal with cheese spread and cooked pork meats)
Hey Thanx to you Stéphane ! It's been a pleasure, thanx for this interview, thanx for your great review, thanx to support and believe in our CROWN !!! We definitely have more to come in our quest to darken the sky with CROWN, I think an album will be ready for 2013. As for now, we expect to give many gigs and share our stuff with as much people as possible... The best way to get "the one" is to go on our Bandcamp page, it's already availalbe on digital format for 4€. The CD version will come out by March 06 for the price of 5€... When you buy the CD, you can download immediately the stuff for free, time will then pass more quickly until it arrives in your mailbox... Ok, now indeed I'm gonna put my destiny in the hand of the God "raclette", we'll see what happens !!!
