Victhor The Viking

This is a great article on black metal from Brooklyn Vegan.  The article includes an interview with Hupogrammos from Dordeduh.  Hupogrammos and Sol Faur are both former members of Negura Bunget.

Greetings and a happy new year! Looks like a very promising one for Dordeduh by the way: first live appearance, first EP later to be followed by a debut album, and both to be released by a very respected German label at that, maybe even a European tour to promote all of this. 2010 doesn’t look so bad…could we speak of an abundance of optimism?

Hupogrammos: Happy new year to you as well, and may it be a revealing one for us all. Well, optimism takes its shape from the way you create your path. In Dordeduh’s case, lots of work still remains to be done to achieve the things you speak of. Our first live date should be known to the interested public by now, the EP will be ready by March, then we’ll announce the debut album’s release, to be followed by the supporting live dates.

2009 has been an extremely agitating year for you, one of severe disappointment. Following Negura Bunget’s split we see two camps having formed, each being eager to see what the other has to offer, not only structurally, but also conceptually. Do you think that what didn’t kill you made you stronger? What does the future hold for Dordeduh, from the prism of NB’s formation to its split, both ? Or perhaps we should see everything from a completely different point of view, unrelated to the past?

Throughout our personal history there’s always been a natural continuity with our past; we’re not going to make a secret out of the fact that the split from Negura Bunget has not only been the most difficult moment in our musician-related lives (and I mean Sol Faur and I), but in fact, the greatest disappointment in our personal lives. It just shouldn’t have ended this way. It’s what hurts us the most, the way it was handled. Of course these events speak volumes about how much we have to learn about ourselves from our own personal experiences, and I’m also speaking about the modesty needed to approach such teachings with, so that they can be integrated in the best way. But these events surround our personal lives. Yes there is a lot to be learned but I’d rather the listeners saw Dordeduh as a new and definite entity, capable of seeing the future and learn from the past without being neither of their captive.

read the rest of the interview at BrooklynVegan.

Positiva is an incredible bad from Spain.  Their new album Prodigal Songs is an incredible musical masterpiece.  From start to finish it is nonstop rock ‘n’ roll.  Below is a excerpt of a review of the album at the Obelisk:

For the most part, Prodigal Songs stays well within the realm of revivalist ‘70s-style guitar-led rock. Guitarist/vocalist Miguel Moral is a former member of Bilbao crushers Rhino, though if anyone comes into Positiva expecting that same kind of metal destruction, they’re going to be in for a big surprise. The vibes are immediately, well, positive, with opening cuts “Brother Eagle” and “Undying Shore” losing none of their rock edge for the good times they incite. When the band delves into Grand Funkery, they earn a comparison to Blood of the Sun or Firebird, but the double guitars of Moral and guitarist/vocalist Julio Ruiz set them apart from their American and British sonic compatriots. Still, there’s a good amount of rock and roll shuffling going on through “Waiting in Vain,” “Catch the Fire,” and “Groupiedom,” and that’s got to come from somewhere.

Read the rest at The Obelisk.

Enslaved is another band that came out of the second wave of black metal that has gone beyond the standard black metal riffs and add something more to their music.  If you listen to a their older albums, there has been an evolution to a more progressive song structure and sound and lyrical content.  Where the songs on their earlier albums were straight forward telling of the Norse mythology, the later albums are a more inner search and understanding of it’s meaning of the mythology.

2001’s Monumension in my opinion is one of Enslaved’s finest albums to date.  I feel that this one was the first of there albums that is straight ahead prog metal.  The mellotron is one of the highpoints to this album.  The sound on this album could have easily come from a Led Zeppelin/King Crimson era band.  The first song, Convoys to Nothingness starts with a rockin’ and ends with a 4 minute meditation in time and space.  I have had to pleasure of hearing track 2, The Voices, live and I would have to say it is one of my favorite songs of all time.  Three major highlights of this album are Hollow Inside and the bonus track Sigmundskvadet.  Hollow inside is just a spaced out truely unique song that takes you on a trip across the cosmos.  Hollow Inside along with Sigmundskvadet feature vocals by Norwegian punk rock pioneer Trygve Mathisesen.  Sigmundskvadet is an actually old Norse chant that Trygve learned word for word from a Norse tribe that live on an island off the cost of Norway.   What a way to start of a decade of metal for Enslaved.

Vertebrae is a perfect way to close out a decade worth of music.  The production alone is incredible!  Cato Bekkevold’s drumming is superb.  It adds so much dimension to each track.  Vertebrae has a great balance between Herbrand Larsen’s clean vocals and Grutle Kjellson’s growl.  Herbrand has a Eric Woolfson (Alan Parsons Project) feel to it.  Vertebrae also takes the listener on a journey.  But this journey is more of an adventure.  From the start the listener travels on fast pasted romp through the elements. My favorite song on the album is New Dawn.  Cato’s ride on that is spastic and unique.

What a way to begin a decade and end it.  Thank you Enslaved!

Two members of the Witchcraft performing at Roadburn this year.  Roadburn sez…

We are very pleased to announce that Witchcraft vocalist Magnus Pelander will be part of the Roadburn festival lineup on Thursday, 15 April 2010.

Magnus will perform some very personal songs on acoustic guitar that will be recorded sometime next year for a full-length record. According to Magnus, “the record will include a lot of different instrumentation but the whole idea is that the songs can be perfomed solo as well as with 4 or even more people.”

Also look for Witchcraft members John Hoyles and Ola Henriksson at  Roadburn 2010, as they are teaming up with Örebro legend and rocker Martin Heppich to play in his band Troubled Horse. The band sports a distinctive, sinister, 60’s sounding garage rock vibe, combined with a taste of 70’s psych-doom, creating music that evokes The Kinks, Pentagram and Roky Erickson.

via Witchcraft’s Magnus Pelander to perform acoustic set at Roadburn 2010. |.

This is too awesome!  The first 3 bands have been announced for Hole in the Sky and it is already looking full on righteous; Cathedral, The Devil’s Blood, and Dead Congregation.  I am not a fan of Dead Congregation, but Cathedral and The Devil’s Blood incrediable!  If you are planning on going you better get your tickets now!  They go on sail December 4th, this Friday!  Here is what the HITS website says about Cathedral:

We’ve been eager to book the mighty hard hitters Cathedral for quite some time and this time we finally made the schedule work.

Cathedral have been pioneers within the legendary British doom scene for almost 20 years now, never afraid to explore new territories and always coming across as fresh and revitalizing.

Tickets goes on sale today, Friday, the 4th of December, 2009.This includes a limited number of 4-day passes only available until the 24th of December, 2009.

via Hole In The Sky – Bergen Metal Festival XI – Impending Doom.

Salvador is force to be reckoned with.   Their new 10 inch EP “Cleansed Through Fire and Blood” is incredible!  Some of the Heaviest Shit to come out of the Pacific Northwest since, dare I say, the YOB. The only negitive thing I can say about the EP is that it is only 3 songs.

The opening riff of “Shaman of UR” is thunderous and doom crushing.  But about 4 minutes guitarist Aaron Lum hits you with this melancholy solo that is behind Singer/Bassist Kirk Evans’ epic screams that made me feel that the 4 horsemen were at my door.  Throughout all three songs Ryan McPhaill’s drumming drives the sonic powerhouse that is Salvador.

I highly recommend you taking a cosmic trip to Salvador.

Great Interview with Scott Kelly and Wino of doom supergroup Shrinebuilder.

Shrinebuilder interview

This past Wednesday I witnessed the first ever live gig by Shrinebuilder, the heavy metal supergroup featuring Scott Kelly of Neurosis, Wino of St. Vitus/The Obsessed, Dale Crover of The Melvins and Al Cisneros of Om/Sleep. As if we doubted the integrity of any of those guys, they played a nearly hour-long set at the tiny Viper Room in Hollywood for a way over capacity crowd, then did it again fifteen minutes later for whomever didn’t believe they would really begin at 10:45pm. Their self-titled debut, out now on Neurot, nearly fulfills Shrinebuilder’s astronomic promise. But live’s where it matters. We all know these four can play — they’re each musical figureheads in their other bands. But do they have chemistry? Hell yes. On stage they’re four bandmates, riffing off each other, following one another’s grooves, soaking it all in. Dale Crover reminded me that he’s one of the best drummers in rock music. If I had only been able to hear his cymbal work, it still would have been a great night. He should record an album with just cymbals.

I had the opportunity to interview Scott Kelly and Wino about Shrinebuilder for a short piece in Decibel magazine, published here. Here’s the full transcript of what they had to say.

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SCOTT KELLY

Rumors have been floating around since ‘07 about Shrinebuilder’s existence. Did the expectation ever get to you? Did you think about how mammoth this band could possibly be?

I don’t know what you mean by “get to me.” Not really. I knew before I was a part of it that it was going to be something great. When they asked me to be a part of it, I felt confident that my input would be significant. There’s a real belief and trust in the visions in this band, you know? We’ve all known each other, and known who each other were, forever. And been big fans of each other’s work. So there was never any doubt in my mind that what we would do would be exactly what we wanted to do. And therefore fine, whether people like it or not. I don’t care. Never been a concern of mine whether people like what I do. I just gotta feel satisfied with it, you know? Not to say it’s not nice when people like it, but it doesn’t affect the bottom line at all.

On the blog you kept during the album’s recording process, you described the first night of playing with Shrinebuilder as “immediate thunder.” Can you describe in a little more detail what it was like to all jam in the same room at the same time for the first time?

Well, the expectation and the anticipation of the whole event was pretty strong amongst the four of us. Al and Wino and I had jammed together, Al and Wino and Dale had jammed together, but we hadn’t all four been in the same room. We were wondering, “is this gonna gel? Is the chemistry gonna be there naturally? Is that gonna take time, ‘cuz often times things like that take time?” And it just blew up. The first song that we played was “Solar Benediction,” the first song on the record. And it just…instantly was right there, you know? I dunno man! Water, man. Just flow. Perfect. No hitch. It just happens. And it was strong, you know? It was like we were able to step right into it.

On a personal level, playing with Jason (Roeder, Neurosis drummer) for 25 years, I’ve been basically ruined for playing with any other drummers. I mean every time I play with another drummer I’m sorely missing him. Dale’s really the only guy in the world other than…maybe Dave Lombardo that I would really want to play with. Because I knew that he had that same fire, that same reckless drive that Jason has. So I was really excited about that. In fact I remember calling Jason right before and being like “I get to play with Dale Crover tomorrow.” That was really great, you know?

I’ve always found – I’ve found so much between the three of those guys, over the years. I mean it’s really like – I can’t tell you how many hours I’ve spent listening to Wino’s music. His guitars, the tones and textures, and his really unique voice. I can’t tell you the hours that I’ve spent listening to Al’s music. Om is one of my very favorite bands ever. If I had to choose one, that might be it. It just works with every part of my being. And the Melvins changed the face of everything. They’re one of the deepest, most inspirational influences in music in my life. It’s fucking amazing! I don’t think I could pick three other guys that I’d rather play with than those three.

Read the Rest of the Interview At Cerebral Metalhead

For those of you who think that the New Om album God is Good is going to be much like their previous albums you are correct…but also incorrect. God is Good is the 4th studio album from the Om and the first full length album with new drummer Emil Amos. It is also their first album on Chicago-based indie record label Drag City.

Om sprang from the ashes of doom pioneers Sleep. When Matt Pike went on to form High on Fire, Al Cisneros and Chris Hakius went on to form Om. From their first album to their lasted masterpiece, you can hear the musical direction they are heading in.

This is a meditative soundscape. The feel of this album reminds me of an Indian raga [maybe it I the sitar at the beginning of the album]. This Steve Albini [Big Black, Rapeman] produced album is hypnotic. The vocals are a lot clearer than the previous albums and Amos’ drumming brings so much more dimension to the music. Don’t get me wrong, Hakius is an awesome drummer but I can hear the difference between Hakius’ playing and Amos’ playing. Amos brings almost a jazz quality to his playing that adds fullness to the songs.

The album starts off with the close to 20 minute long song Thebes. Halfway through the song the bass distortion kicks in. Unlike the 2004’s Variations on a Theme, the distortion on God is Good is not earth shattering. For those who like the low-fi bass distortion, you may find the distortion lacking the oomph that the early albums had. But I feel it adds an ambiance to the whole album that takes on a journey through death [which is the common theme on the album].

Meditation is the Practice of Death brings something that we normally do not hear on an Om record; Flute. The flute solo, by Lorraine Rath, is superb. Very cool. Cremation Gnat I and II is a change of pace from the normal Om opuses. They are both kinda funky and automatically make you tap you feet.

The only negative I have to say about the album is that the last 2 songs are two short. They are groovy and I wish they lasted longer. Other than that I think it is an awesome album and all card-carrying doomster should have it in their arsenal.

Rating: 9.5/10

Get it At Drag City

Great interview of Fenriz from Darkthrone. I really like his view on underground metal today, Darkthrone not playing live shows, and bands defacing the value of black metal.

Black metal is thinking for yourself. That can be done with or without computer. Most importantly is to stay away from copying 90’s bm. I don’t play bm anymore because of all the trendys defacing the value of bm, and all the arty people into emperor and such… I didn’t sign up for that. I signed up for rebellion, and I do that the best with my own songs since 2005 which is a mix of NWOBHM-punk and speed metal.

via New Interview of Fenriz of Darkthrone Faithcraft Productions.