Let’s get one thing out of the way, Roadburn is still the premier underground fest that it has always been. I know so many people who went into this year’s fest expecting it to be their last, saying the lineup wasn’t for them, or that they didn’t like this change or that change. But I can tell you, they have all already booked rooms and bought tickets for next year. Change isn’t bad.
The first bands have been announced for Roadburn 2023! Among the first bands announced are Deafheaven, Julie Christmas, Wolves In The Throne Room, Brutus, Giles Corey, Chat Pile, Burst, KEN Mode, Big ‡ Brave, and more! The first commissioned project for 2023 is JOHN CXNNOR performing All My Future’s Past. Tickets go on sale on November 15th, at the link below.
Common wisdom would have you believe that most bands approaching their third decade, and / or seventh album, will have found either a comfortable groove, or a furrow that they like to plough, and that the desire to challenge themselves and their supporters, to expand or revitalise their sound, has probably been dissipated to some degree. The cycle begats the (album) cycle and the artist, conscious of the desired output, sates the audience even if they do make token refinements to keep their own creative beasts content. For while there may be tweaks and tinkerings, there are, deep-down, a forest path of a woodland much explored, not often adventures anew.
So I was talking with my friend A&R legend Rayshele Teige today and I was picking her brain for an idea for this article. She suggested I talk about the notion of your band having a concept, a clear distinctive “thing” that makes them interesting and differentiates them. She stated that “the concept has to feed the purpose” and without a clear concept you aren’t going to get anywhere. Then I looked up at the KISS poster in my living room with Gene, Paul, Ace, and Peter staring down at me and I realized she was completely right. So many bands just want to play music but don’t have a clear idea of what the basic concept behind the band is. I’m not talking about your concept in terms of “Oh we play black metal fused with folk” that’s cool and all but it’s not enough to differentiate. The entire focus of marketing band should be around your concept, be that lyrical, visual or whatever. You want people to say, “Oh that’s the band who do X” and X can’t be a genre because that isn’t memorable for people most of the time. Continue reading
Ready to kick off another leg of their world tour this week, Behemoth has shared a brand new music video for their track ‘Ecclesia Diabolica Catholica’, directed by Grupa 13. The song comes from their acclaimed 2018 album I Loved You At Your Darkest (Metal Blade). Watch the clip below. Behemoth begins new tour dates tomorrow night with direct support once again from At the Gates and Wolves in the Throne Room.
I’m looking at Spirit Crusher (Prosthetic) the latest release from Sweden’s Dödsrit and I’m getting a feeling. Not super familiar with the band but judging by the font and the presence of umlauts we know extreme music is on the way, particularly of the Black Metal persuasion. And these song lengths certainly suggest experimentation and a non-commercial nature. Dödsrit is a one-man project isn’t it?
Those one man acts always have the most to say.Continue reading
Synth-driven funeral doom band Vouna has signed with Wolves In the Throne Room’s Artemisia Records. They are the first band chosen specifically by WITTR to release music on their label, besides themselves. If that is not enough endorsement for you, the music is killer. Their self-titled debut comes out in November, but you can listen to the first single, ‘Drowning City’, right now. Continue reading
Behemoth has been having a great 2018 so far. They released a new DVD, are readying a new album and spent time opening for Slayer on the first leg of their farewell tour. Now they have announced that their next North American headlining tour will kick off in October with direct support from At The Gates and Wolves in the Throne Room. Continue reading
Whether we like to dwell on it too much or not, hype is always going to be a sticking point with any band, and when you consider the enormous cult following a band like Wolves In The Throne Room have amassed over the years, the weight of expectation may have been almost too much to bear. Thankfully, Washington’s favourite black metal visionaries have never been lacking in ambition, and Thrice Woven (Artemisia) proves this as one of their most dense and captivating works yet.Continue reading
On a brisk fall evening we arrive at SPACE Gallery in down town Portland and await the avant-garde Black Metal explosion that was set to begin. Emma Parsons and my self make a home stage left where we can sit comfortably and still see the bands. All around the room are the banners that have been closed while all the other bands play as not to ruin the experience that Wolves In The Throne Room delivers.Continue reading