Having just released one of the best albums of 2016, Subrosa has embarked on a furious set of tour dates world-wide. The Salt Lake City chamber-doom band is riding high with For This We Fought the Battle of Ages released via Profound Lore. Ghost cult scribe Paul Quinn wrote in his glowing review of the album “SubRosa continues to breathe and grow, and its ability to stir passion and heart-rending sadness is only further proven with surely the most fluid, emotive, engaging and downright magnificent set of its career. “, and it hard to find a flaw in that assessment.Continue reading →
What exactly is going on in New York? The city has a long musical history, of course, but in recent years it seems to have become a focus point for challenging, original and distinctive Heavy Metal. We’re not talking about some forced “scene” with three or four decent bands setting the tone for a horde of bland followers, either – though Psalm Zero share a certain spirit with their neighbours in Pyrrhon, Krallice and Artificial Brain, musically they’re as distinctive as those bands are from each other.
Not that the music on Stranger To Violence (Profound Lore) is especially easy to describe. The label blurb makes much of their Pop influence, but this is hardly the chorus-heavy cheese-fest that word may suggest – the song-writing somehow marries catchiness to a genuine sense of unease and strangeness. The Metal elements shouldn’t be overlooked, either – the use of synths often calls to mind the darker side of eighties Pop, but just when you think you’ve got them in a box they’ll shift to a surging bombast that has more in common with Emperor than Depeche Mode. The extremely sparse use of harsh vocals in the most aggressive sections create a real sense of dislocation, too, hitting with an impact that they lack in music which uses them more regularly. It’s Pop Metal, but nothing like any other band that’s been given that name before.
If the music is hard to describe, the aesthetic behind it is no less so. The artwork suggests urban dystopia, and though that is certainly present on tracks like ‘Real Rain’ and ‘Stolen By Night’, there’s also an undercurrent of dark fantasy and strangeness to it that can’t be described easily. It’s frequently as uplifting as it is sinister, as dark as it is catchy.
In a genre with so many offshoots and sub-types that it seems as though every possibility has been thoroughly explored, Psalm Zero have genuinely succeeded in carving their own little niche – and it’s a strange, fascinating little place indeed.
Adrian Guerra with Bell Witch, photo by Suzanne A. Maathuis
Sad news to pass on as former Bell Witch vocalist and drummer Adrian Guerra has died at age 36. His untimely death was announced via Bell Witch’s label, Profound Lore yesterday. The band has released a statement via Facebook:
It’s with great sadness that I’m writing to inform you all of the passing of our former drummer, Adrian Guerra. Adrian recorded and helped compose the music on all of our releases to date, as well as drawing the cover art on the demo. He played drums on every tour we’d done up until July of 2015. He was an incredible and visionary musician. He was also a great friend, always excited to help and entertain anyone he’d meet. The world has lost a wonderful person. Forever in your honor, RIP brother.
Bell Witch continues to soldier on, with Guerra having quit last year, despite the success and critical acclaim of their debut, Longing and their 2015 album Four Phantoms. In his 10/10 review of Four Phantoms, Ghost Cult’s Paul Quinn singled out Guerra’s talents, as well as the duo collective skills at songcraft and remarked it was “arguably, the album of this century.”
We send our condolences to Adrian’s family, friends, and fans at this time.
Underground cult hip-hop trio Dälek have created a new album due out this April from Profound Lore onApril 22nd. Asphalt For Edenwill be their first full-length album since 2009s Gutter Tactics (Ipecac). They have released 5 other albums and performed withKRS One, Tomahawk, The Melvins, TOOL, Grandmaster Flash, Jesu, Dillinger Escape Plan, Pharcyde, RJD2, DeLa Soul, Prince Paul, Lovage, ZU, Black Heart Procession, Gaslamp Killer, Earth, Flying Lotus, The Bug, Mastodon, Fantomas among others.
Dälek – Asphalt For Eden track listing:
1. Shattered
2. Guaranteed Struggle
3. Masked Laughter (Nothing’s Left)
4. Critical
5. 6dB
6. Control
7. It Just Is
They have booked a record release show in Brooklyn on April 22nd. Support will come from Dreamcrusher and Psalm Zero.
Dälek record release party, with Dreamcrusher and Psalm Zero
USBM leaders Krieg, fronted by Neill Jameson have signed with Profound Lore Records for their new album entitled Guilt, due later in 2016. In an exclusive interview with Ghost Cult, Jameson told Hillarie Jason about signing their new deal, another release long in the works, and the process of writing the new full length:
On signing their new deal:
“Jef Whitehead brought up that we were about to be released from our Candlelight contract to Chris Bruni and it went from there. I’ve had contact with Chris since he wrote for Metal Maniacs and I’m a big fan of some of the bands on his label, and also just how he has built an empire with his own two hands in the image of exactly how he wants it to go. I look forward to causing the label to lose a lot of money and respect worldwide with this next record.”
Concerning a long in the works split release with Integrity:
“...The split’s been recorded for about a year and is the best song we’ve ever recorded and the general basis for the next record so they tie in nicely with each other.”
On the forthcoming album:
“Yeah, we’re going to get together to start putting it together after the new year. There’s been less time between the two so I imagine there’s going to be more similarities between those two than there was between Isolationist and Transient. But I’m more inspired this time around by hardcore and crust than even the last one so there’s probably going to be a strong emphasis on that, without the shitty tough guy posturing.”
Neill Jameson of Krieg is one of the more fascinating people you will ever come across. Outspoken, articulate, philosophical, funny, and mild-mannered could all describe the man based on meeting him say, if you bumped into him at the bookstore or record shop. However, anyone witnessing him perform or create music, has a very different image in their mind. As one of the most important figures in the USBM scene, he clearly is more about “the work” and not about the accolades. In an exclusive interview with Ghost Cult’sHillarie Jason, Neill discusses some changes going on in his life, the next Krieg album due in 2016, his thoughts on coping with mental illness, and other topics.
Neill recently moved to Virginia from southern New Jersey, and we opened things up by discussing how that is affecting the creation of a next Krieg album.
“Virginia is a nice change from Jersey in a lot of ways but mostly it’s just been a much needed change in my life that I’m hoping continues to stay positive. Plus I’m fortunate to live in a city that has a good music scene so there’s always something to look forward to.”
“Having a different place to work through ideas always helps. I have a lot of different places I haven’t explored yet but I’m able to take long walks that ease my mind and let me think through the ideas I want to convey with this next record, both sonically and lyrically.”
Krieg, by Hillarie Jason
The forthcoming new Krieg album, entitled Guilt is due in 2016. It promisesthe progression of Krieg’s growth from Transient (Candlelight), which was definitely a different animal sonically than Isolationist (also Candlelight) was. So should we assume that Guilt will be just as different? “Yeah, we’re going to get together to start putting it together after the new year. There’s been less time between the two so I imagine there’s going to be more similarities between those two than there was between Isolationist and Transient. But I’m more inspired this time around by hardcore and crust than even the last one so there’s probably going to be a strong emphasis on that, without the shitty tough guy posturing.”
Speaking of shitty tough guys, Neill has commentated on the foibles of such men in the metal scene in his occasional op-ed series for Decibel Magazine. He was equally praised and condemned by keyboard warriors regarding his past observations on bigotry, chauvinism, and elitism in metal. We asked how he dealt with the praise and backlash:
“I’m happy to have some kind of platform to speak out about stupidity in general, be it about stupid shit like horse masks and chicken costumes or the heavier stuff I’ve dealt with the last few columns. I’m also very used to people talking shit about me on the internet so this isn’t anything new nor will it be something that goes away. So I don’t particularly care one way or the other. I’m not interested in being a social justice warrior nor do I think censorship in case someone’s fucking feelings get hurt is a good idea. I’m all in favor of freedom of speech and expression but I’m also aware those come with consequences, an idea not a lot of these dry dicks hollering at me while their mothers are upstairs drinking away the memory of having a failure of a child can seem to grasp. But I’ve spent long enough being a shithead myself so now’s my chance to atone a bit I guess.”
Neill has been candid about his struggles with mental illness publicly and in past interviews. So much so that it may have paved the way for a public discussion in the music community on these topics, since a lot of heavy music imagery and lyrics focuses on madness. We asked what, if anything if the underground music community can do to break the stigmas attached to mental illness, bipolar disorder, etc.?
“Odd you bring that up right now. Yesterday I made the decision after five years off to go back on meds to treat my bi-polar depression and anxiety. I was going to try to use my writing to document the experience and try to follow in a lot of people’s footsteps and keep the dialogue about mental illness in music and art in general open and flowing. There’s less of a stigma to it now than ten years ago, but also everyone’s doctor has them on something for shit they probably don’t even need treatment for and that’s what kept me from being on them for so long, it had stopped making a difference and I felt the whole thing was a fucking sham, I still do for the most part, but I’m also at a place in my life where I know I need help otherwise I’m going to fucking ruin things for myself which I almost did when I did Blue Miasma and again after The Isolationist and I want to see if exploring this will somehow be beneficial to myself and maybe others through sharing the experience.”
Neil is well known for a slew of collaborative projects and split releases. We wondered if it’s easier to run your own band with no interference: “I don’t just have myself to think about anymore, that’s a big part of it. A lot of people who suffer from these conditions aren’t aware how it affects those close to them, I have been aware for a long time and that’s where the “guilt complex” comes in but it’s been recently that I’ve decided it’s not a cycle I want to keep reliving. It doesn’t add to my “creativity” or anything positive.”
“The collaborations I do have each been so entirely different that I focus on them more as a way to learn new methods and techniques from other artists and how to incorporate them into my own music. So they’re entirely different experiences to me so I can’t say if one is necessarily easier than the other.”
Krieg, by Hillarie Jason
On working with working with Thurston Moore (in Twilight):
“One of the most valuable learning experiences I’ve ever had. Plus he’s such an open and excited collaborator that it made what we were doing all the more vivid and dynamic. I would love for the chance to work with him again on something.”
“As opposed to other previous Twilight members, two in particular, who just dialed it in and sat back to collect praise and whatever money was available.”
Krieg, by Hillarie Jason
Krieg recently left Candlelight Records and signed with Profound Lore Records: “Jef Whitehead brought up that we were about to be released from our Candlelight contract to Chris Bruni and it went from there. I’ve had contact with Chris since he wrote for Metal Maniacs and I’m a big fan of some of the bands on his label, and also just how he has built an empire with his own two hands in the image of exactly how he wants it to go. I look forward to causing the label to lose a lot of money and respect worldwide with this next record.”
In general Neill has had a fairly prolific couple of years. What is his regular creative process like or does he prefer to work project to project?
“It’s sporadic. For most of this year I barely picked up a guitar or wrote any lyrics. Other times it’s like I can’t turn it off. I don’t know what causes this to happen, it’s like the seasons change. It’s always been like this.”
“I could sit and force it but you can tell when I do that. I’d rather just let it come naturally.”
Commenting further on the release date: “Sometime next year. Same with the split with Integrity. The split’s been recorded for about a year and is the best song we’ve ever recorded and the general basis for the next record so they tie in nicely with each other.”
West coast doom maestros Bell Witch kickoff their final dates of 2015 tonight at Barboza in Seattle, WA. The run of dates reaches from the west coast to the mid-west and back again, lasting until December 21st . The band has also announced a spring tour of the US in 2016 with Wrekmeister Harmonies, including a series of dates opening for Pallbearer. All dates are below. The band is still on the road supporting their acclaimed album Four Phantoms (Profound Lore), which is out now.
Bell Witch 2015 final tour dates
Dec 02: Barboza – Seattle, WA
Dec 03: The Cobalt – Vancouver, BC
Dec 04: Obsidian – Olympia, WA
Dec 06: Obsidian – Portland, OR : Ash Street Saloon
Dec 07: The Metro – SF/Oakland –
Dec 08: Starlight Lounge – Sacramento, CA
Dec 09: Complex – Los Angeles, CA
Dec 10: Alex’s Bar – Long Beach, CA
Dec 11: Flycatcher – Tuscon, AZ
Dec 13: Mohawk – Austin, TX
Dec 14: Double Wide – Dallas, TX
Dec 15: Record Bar – Kansas City/Lawrence
Dec 16 : 7th St Entry – Minneapolis, MN
Dec 17: Empty Bottle – Chicago, IL
Dec 18: Vaudeville Mews – Des Moines, IA
Dec 20: Marquis – Denver, CO
Dec 21: Diabolical Records – Salt Lake City, UT
Bell Witch East Coast 2016 Dates, with Wrekmeister Harmonies and Pallbearer where noted
Feb 23 : St. Vitus – Brooklyn, NY
Feb 24: Side Bar – Baltimore, MD
Feb 25 : King’s Barcade – Raleigh, NC
Feb 26 :The Earl – Atlanta, GA (w/Pallbearer)
Feb 27: The End – Nashville, TN (w/Pallberer)
Feb 28: Zanzabar – Louisville, KY (w/Pallbearer)
Mar 01: Club Café – Pittsburg, PA
Mar 02 : Kng Fu Necktie – Philadelphia, PA
Mar 04 : O’Briens – Allston, MA
Mar 05: Turbo Haus – Montreal, QC
Mar 06: Soybomb HQ – Toronto, ON
Mar 07: Nectar – Burlington, VT
Sometimes a band shifts out from under you when your back is turned. The last time I really paid attention to Krallice – on their 2009 second album Dimensional Bleedthrough (Profound Lore) – they played a style of modern, distinctly un-necro Black Metal characterised by vast, otherworldly ambience and broken, alien riffing; fiercely technical, but also rooted firmly in atmospherics and the desire to transport the listener somewhere different.
Six years later, they’ve somehow managed to shift sideways while remaining broadly in the same place. The basic components of their sound – yelped vocals, broken dissonant riffs and rapid-fire picking – are still recognisable, but used to achieve a very different effect. The transcendent, other-worldly qualities of their first two albums has been replaced by something much more mundane and earthly. Their musical links to Black Metal (always somewhat controversial among the panda-faced orthodox) are now almost completely absent, their song-writing now rooted more firmly in Noisecore, or whatever it calls itself these days. Fellow New Yorkers Pyrrhon come to mind on several occasions, but the comparison is not a favourable one – where Pyrrhon rage and howl and storm against the urban madness of modern culture, Krallice don’t seem to conjure any emotional response beyond Look How Many Different Notes I Can Play.
At its best Ygg Hurr (Independent) can coalesce into something that combines both technical complexity and savage groove, but more often than not it collapses into a swarm of dissonant riffing with very little behind it. The vocals, perfectly effective when Krallice were searching the stars for alien worlds, also seem ill-suited to the bands more compact, technical style. Where someone like Doug Moore takes his voice on a trip every bit as convoluted and challenging as the music, Krallice’s vocals just screech along regardless of what’s happening around them.
Though in every meaningful way a hugely impressive achievement, Ygg Hurr feels like a triumph of technicality over character, a band who left behind who they used to be and haven’t yet decided who they’re going to be next. The playing is, of course, absolutely beyond fault, and those seeking technicality and virtuosity for its own sake will definitely find something worth listening to, but anyone else will find it hard to shake the feeling of a wasted opportunity.
If you visit their Facebook page, this London, England set of rabble-rousers’ bio simply states: “Tune it down, turn it up.” And now that I’ve given Limb’s new album Terminal (New Heavy Sounds) a few spins I have to wholeheartedly endorse that mantra.
For a band that’s only been around since 2011 the rattling guitar tone and stellar production sure sounds confident. Rob Hoey’s throaty barks serve as the perfect complement to Pat Pask’s downtuned blues and Tom Mowforth’s forceful but controlled work on the drums. In terms of sonic quality, these Londoners sound on par with most doom acts on imprints like Relapse or Profound Lore. It’s groovy enough to show to your dad, but has enough impact to satisfy the younger heshers.
Terminal starts off with ‘Three Snake Leaves’ and at a running time of 1:45 it sets the stage for the headbanging to come, but it also drove me to a realization. Compared to typical Doom or Sludge offerings the songs on Terminal tend to come and go very quickly. There are four tracks that are done and over with in or less than three minutes. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing as it won’t wear out its welcome, but it makes you wonder how numbers like ‘Mortuary Teeth’ would’ve turned out given a little more room to grow. Truth be told the best songs here like ‘Spoils of a Portrait King’ and ‘Cocytus’ happen to be the longest in terms of length and for slowing the tempos down to Jimmy Bower levels of guitar crunch. And I’m not saying that playing slower is the key either as ‘Down by the Banks’ has a Clutch level of self-assured heavy rock swagger.
I don’t want to make it seem like this is a bad record by any stretch of the imagination. Hell, there’s only one moment on Terminal that feels uninspired and it’s the appropriately titled ‘Sleepwalkers.’ It’s all just a matter of these young Brits adding some tweaks to the songwriting.
England started it all with Black Sabbath and kept that momentum going over the years with legendary noise merchants like Cathedral and Electric Wizard. Only time will tell if Limb are up to that task, but I like their chances.
Don’t look now, but I think Profound Lore are starting to resent being thought of as the home of abstract, pretentious “artistic” Death Metal. Though Cruciamentum may lack the ludicrous-beyond-all-reason extremity of labelmates Pissgrave, they open their debut full-length with a thunderous assault of the kind of crusty, punishing Death Metal that can cause your hands to lock permanently into claws if you’re not careful.
Which is not to suggest that Charnel Passages (Profound Lore) is wilfully stupid or simplistic. There’s some very effective use of atmospherics going on beneath the pummelling assault, and the seven tracks all make good use of their extended running time, not outstaying their welcome over eight or nine minute stretches. The core elements of Cruciamentum’s musical alphabet, however, are as crude and unsophisticated as their name would make you hope – ugly, Celtic Frost tinged riffing; unrelenting beats; grimly indecipherable vocals.
The price for Death Metal’s recent renaissance is a pressure on every band to fit neatly into a particular category and not get in each other’s way. Old School Death Metal? Sit over there, please. Brutal Slamming Death Metal? Sit in the corner and try not to drool on the floor. Pretentious Arty Tentacles Death Metal? On the ceiling, by the man with the clock on his head. On Charnel Passages, Cruciamentum remind us that Death Metal can be atmospheric, brutal and cavernous at the same time without having to buy into a particular aesthetic.
A decisive, unrepentant statement of intent from a young band with a clear sense of identity already, Charnel Passages is not only bound to be one of the genre’s high points in 2015, it’s a fitting reminder that Profound Lore’s reputation for quality is not built on anticipating any one trend.
8.0/10
(which is also the number of times I’ve said “Death Metal” in this review)
