digital delights with COLLIGNON, SENYAWA, SUBSCUM and THE LORD

Yeah, this combination of artworks looks weird. And no, I'm not exactly looking for coherence when I'm putting together quadruple reviews like this. These are just four of the most recent digital additions to my collection.

SENYAWA - Samudera (2025)

The Indonesian Experimental duo has started a series of releases containing previously unreased tracks, And that's really all the information we get about this EP. No backround about when and where "Samudera 01" to "Samudera 04" were recorded, just the pure music.

And that music is a bit atypical, since the insane vocal shenanigans of Rully Shabara are absent for half of the tracks, where instead we get a chaotic backdrop of Ambient sounds and samples, above which the Industrial or soft acoustic instrumentation of Wukir Suryadi.
The third track however is a slow Drone which heavily relies on multiple layer of vocals, before we go back to a rhythmic sound collage closer to the beginning again.

Even for Senyawa's standards this EP feels very unconventional, more like a collection of aural sketches than actual songs, and at times surely closer to Suryadi's solo stuff than what we're used to from the band. This material frankly isn't as strong as their albums, but it certainly is interesting and expands the context of their creative work.

THE LORD - (like) Christ Naked Ice (2025)

Inspired by French composer Olivier Maessiaen comes a new eleven-minute track by Sunn O)))) member Greg Anderson aka The Lord.

The rich Drone Metal tone of his crawling guitar is paired with a clerical atmosphere and... not really a really big melody, but a very pronounced sense of it. There is a curve, a build-up, as if the song was reaching for a mountain ridge it never quite reaches. A suspenseful piece of Drone goodness from one of the prime masters.

COLLIGNON - Bicicleta (2025)

Ok, I hear you! Let's get some happier, easier digestable stuff! Collignon from Portugal are a musically colourful, Progressive but very danceable Instrumental World Psych trio. Incorporating influences from all over the globe (Latin, Afro-Beat, Asian Disco) into their very percussive upbeat Rock they sound somehow like a halfway stop between Yīn Yīn and Mohama Saz with a strong focus on a wide array of keyboard sounds.

Written on tour "Bicicleta" exudes a lot of positive travelling vibes, making this a perfect summer party album. So maybe the release in February is a little early? Nah, I guess people have to be made addicted to this before the outdoor chillaxation season begins. This is just fun - and prove that party music definitely doesn't have to be stupid.

So far "Bicicleta" is the only release of this bunch, which is not exclusively digital, but also available on vinyl.

SUBSCUM - Massgrave Summit (2025)

The name of the band in connection with the cover artwork strongly suggests an inspiration by Napalm Death's classic "Scum" and that this is not for the (always right-wing) Keep-poltics-out-of-music! crowd.

And how could a Grindcore / Extreme Punk quartet from Kiew of all places possible not be political and vocal against the authoritarian powers which now seemingly want to divide Ukraine among themselves?

The language of Subscum's outcry is a pure heavily grooving and explosively blasting brutal Grind attack of five tracks in ten minutes with titles loke "Genosiege", "Radical Infantilism" or "Cognitive Massacre". So don't expect any reiventions of the wheel here; you'll get exactly what the cover promises, which is absolutely fine.

And since all proceeds are forwarded to victims of Putin's war, you're also supporting a good cause.

WYATT E. - zamāru ultu qereb ziqquratu Part 1 / WYATT E. - Live at Roadburn 2022

Belgian Mystic Drone Doom entity Wyatt E. is back with a new work so biblically epic, it cannot be finished on just one album.

(If you order that album directly from the band however, you might get a free live recording on top of it.)

WYATT E. - Zamāru Ultu Qereb Ziqquratu Part 1 (gold vinyl LP) (2025)

Where "Āl Bēlūti Dārû" consisted of just two mammoth tracks, the trio now spreads its ideas on five songs. And since each one explores a different direction - with some being garnished with guest viola or stunning vocal performances by Nina Saedi and Tomer Damsky - the overall impression is that the familiar epochal vibe may be chopped into smaller pieces, but with the album certainly being more versatile that makes the story it tells even bigger.

Even without the guest appearences Wyatt E. use their regular instrumentation, which besides drums, bass and guitar includes a lot of further percussion, synth and saz, in manifold ways, expanding their own cosmos. It's a sonic Holy Land of Near and Middle Eastern sounds and melodies, fantastic Dead Can Dance and Post Rock atmospheres embedded into a base of droning ritualistic Doom.

Yes, Bong worshippers - yet not only them - should naturally love this band. Beyond that I'm really struggling to explain this album and what makes it special. Maybe it has something to do with its incompleteness. The album title as well as the opener "Qaqqari Lā Târi" are both markes as a Part 1, so how can I possibly judge the whole picture with confidence?

What I can say is that again this music is criminally good and that once the picture will be completed we will hopefully able to affirm that Wyatt E. have outdone themselves. At least the signs are pointing into that direction. The artwork with the golden vinyl of course looks great, together with a multilingual lyric sheet adding up to a beautiful total impression.

And then there's of course the little extra if you order from the right source...

WYATT E. - Live at Roadburn 2022 (CD) (2025)

As a free surprise giveaway my Bandcamp order also included this live CD from a Roadburn show I missed even though I actually was in the front row of the temporary tent version of the Hall of Fame for a moment. How the hell that happened can be looked up in my live report, between the paragraphs about Sólstafir and Zaäar. Luckily I had the chance to see the band in Copenhagen a year later - and I will see them later this year as well, so that pain has eased. (Plus I did see the Atonia show, on which Wyatt E. collaborated with Five The Hierophant at the same Roadburn edition!)

But of course it's still great to experience the Roadburn show now on this official bootleg, which the band intentionally left simple: no elaborate cover artwork, all three (or four if you count the intro) pieces are crammed into one forty-minute track and maybe one or two further steps could have been done production-wise to boost the sound. That being said, the album does not sound bad! It's very listenable on the high and of good bootleg quality.

With the music being the two halfs of "Āl Bēlūti Dārû" bridged by an instrumental version of the hit single "Kol Badai", which features Tomer Damsky in the studio version, there naturally isn't anything to complain about in that regard. As this was an early show in the tour cycle the band claims that their improvisations didn't go as far as later on, but that's ok. Wyatt E. just know how to create a magical, heavy yet meditative atmosphere.

And "Live at Roadburn 2022" captures that perfectly.

EJECT NOISE FIX live im Freiraum Itzehoe (14. Februar 2025)

Spontanes letztes Konzert bevor der dunkle blaunschwarze Merz beginnt. Angemessen, dass es mich dazu in einen ausdrücklich linksversifften, also menschlichen Laden zog. Tatsächlich mein erster Besuch im Freiraum Itzehoe. Ganz klar mein Verlust, ich bin einfach zu wenig in lokalen Krachmacherkreisen unterwegs.

Es spielten gestern Kevin und Roman aka das hyperaktive Spazzcore Duo - oder auch Eject Noise Fix.

Alter! Was? 2017? Manchmal erschrickt man sich ja schon, wenn man in seinem eigenen Blog nachschaut, wann man die Band, bei deren Konzert man gerade gewesen ist, das letzte Mal live gesehen hat. Krass.

Also machen die beiden inzwischen fahrstuhltaugliche Rentnermusik? Nö. Die "Zehn Jahre Proberaum"-Komplettreise durchs Repertoire bestätigte, dass nach wie vor Riffs und Licks aus Noise Rock, Hardcore, Punk etc. mit wilden Bowlingkugel-schmeißt-Mülltonnenpyramide-um-Rhythmen kollidieren und unterhaltsamen arschtighten Instrumentalradau fabrizieren. Geil.

Auch ohne eine neue Pandemie zwischendurch sollte ich nicht noch einmal so lange bis zur nächsten Hirnschüttelrunde warten. Am 15. März kann ich allerdings leider nicht. Da spielen Eject Noise Fix zusammen mit You Guitarprayer und fucking Valborg in der Lauschbar. Geht für mich da hin, Leute!

AVATARIUM - Between You, God, The Devil and The Dead

Mit Sigmund Freud kenne ich mich ja nicht so super aus. Und so war ich tatsächlich Ich-lese-zum-ersten-Mal-die-Texte-von-Avatariums-neuem-Album Jahre alt, als ich die deutsche Vokabel "Nachträglichkeit" lernte. (Möglicherweise kannte ich sie auch schon einmal, habe sie aber zwischenzeitlich wieder vergessen.)

Reim dich oder ich schlag dich ist Jennie-Ann Smiths poetischer Imperativ, womit die Schwedin erfahrungsgemäß auch gut fährt. Berücksichtigt man zusätzlich noch, dass sie einen beruflichen Hintergrund als psychosoziale Beraterin hat, überrascht es bereits  weniger, dass sie inmitten sprachlich sehr klar gehaltener englischer Texte auf einmal diesen Fachterminus als Reim auf "black and white" raushaut.

Und was habe ich durch "Between You, God, The Devil and The Dead" sonst noch gelernt?

AVATARIUM - Between You, God, The Devil and The Dead (Silver vinyl LP) (2025)

Zunächst einmal bekräftigt sich für mich die jüngst bereits mit Oceans Of Slumber aufgefrischte Lektion, eine großartige Band nicht ohne zweimaliges Nachhören from Radar ziehen zu lassen.
Ich weiß gar nicht woran es lag, vielleicht war es die vergleichsweise geringe sozialmediale Reichweite des Labels AFM Records, vielleicht hatte ich 2022 nur die ein, zwei mir tatsächlich etwas zu süßlichen Songs von "Death, Where Is Your Sting" gehört und die Beschäftigung mit dem insgesamt durchaus lohnenswerten Album auf irgendwann später verschoben.

Wie auch immer, nun habe ich mir beide Alben gleichzeitig zugelegt - eines als 2CD-Earbook, dieses auf silbernem Vinyl mit Textblatt, signiertem Fotokärtchen und schickem, aber schwer abbildbarem, weil stark reflektierendem Stanzcover. Sehr schön!

Musikalisch ist festzustellen, dass es zwar durchaus balladeskes Material gibt, diesmal aber das kritische Maß an Kitsch nicht überschritten wird. Tatsächlich sind z.B. "Lovers Give A Kingdom To Each Other" und der Titeltrack sogar echte Highlights einer Sammlung von acht Stücken ohne Ausfälle. Avatarium spielen alle ihre Stärken aus - und das sind eine ganze Menge.

Wie gewohnt lässt sich die Band stilistisch leicht in der Mitte des schwedischen Dreiecks aus Lucifer, Blues Pills und Candlemass verorten. Das ist sicherlich kein vollständiger Vergleich, deckt im Prinzip aber sicherlich achtzig Prozent der Musik ab. Für Lucifer gibt es mit dem flott rockenden "I See You Better In The Dark" sogar einen sehr eindeutigen Referenzsong, während der klassische stampfende Doom Metal vor allem in "Being With The Dead", gekrönt von einem feinen heavy Orgelsolo, oder auch dem längsten, nachträglichen Track "Until Forever And Again" zelebriert wird. Und die bluesige, sich zuweilen sogar emotional zum Soul steigernde Note zieht sich in Smiths unverkennbarem Gesang, der nur im Instrumentalstück "Notes From Underground" pausiert, natürlich durch das gesamte Album.

Avatarium haben sich aus zutiefst vertrauten traditionellen Rocksounds einen frischen, ihnen ureigenen Sound zusammengestellt, und von dieser etablierten Formel wird auf "Between You, God, The Devil and The Dead" nicht abgewichen. Diese Band weiß, dass sie sich nicht neu erfinden muss, reizt ihre bekannten Parameter aber voll aus, dehnt sie vielleicht sogar hier und da, und setzt - simpel gesagt, aber nicht selbstverständlich umzusetzen - einfach auf durchgehend erstklassige Qualität.

Das Songwriting, die majestätisch großen Melodien, das perfekte Aufeinandertreffen von überraschend grober, schwerer Gitarre mit sehnsuchtsvollem Klavier und epochalen Gefühlen in düsterer Musik und charismatischem Gesang... die Schweden liefern all dies auf selbst für ihre Verhältnisse beachtlichem Niveau. Ob man dies nun insgesamt noch den Wurzeln der Band enstsprechend als Doom Metal kategorisiert oder die Schublade zeitloser Hard Rock aufmacht, ist da letztendlich vollkommen nebensächlich. Was zählt ist, dass die Band auf ihrem sechsten Longplayer kein Zeichen von kreativer Erschöpfung zeigt - ganz im Gegenteil!
Vor allem bewirkt das Album, dass ich Avatarium unbedingt mal wieder live sehen möchte. Es ist schon viel zu lange her... 

Bleibt nur noch eine Frage zu klären: Was bedeutet "Nachträglichkeit" denn nun? Hier wird es sehr aufschlussreich erklärt! 

cassette craze chronicles XXXIX feat. DAVID WALLRAF, 大鬼众 GHOSTMASS and WILLIAM FOWLER COLLINS

Ready to dance, clap and sing along? Well sorry, the latest three additions to my tape collection certainly aren't. Or actually... at least the first one might actually be down for a crazy rabid mosh pit.

大鬼众 GHOSTMASS - 大抱散 Improvisation for Dusty Ballz (2025)

Not long ago I reviewed Ghostmass' album "Ghost Meditation", collaboratively released by WV Sorcerer Productions and Dusty Ballz Records. The latter hopefully explains the weird title for this second joint release: It simply is a live session the Chinese group played for that label.

Even though the instrumentation on this recording - with bass, drums and lots of electronics - is the same, the band shows us a pretty different face. The slow Drone, traditional Chinese/Mongolian undertones, the meditative vibes - you have to look way harder for all those here.
Instead chaotically fast and aggressive sounds dominate most of these forty minutes. At first it seems mainly like a wild explosion of Noise and Grindcore, with all the sick screams, shouts and screeches. A demolishing fun party - with some surprisingly satisfying sounds mixed with the raw in-your-face brutality.

But somehow there is more... a Heavy Free Jazz element that keeps getting more prominent until on side B the album turns into an unexpected mass of John Coltrane worship in the most brute outlandish, but strangely enough not in he least disrespectful way, with throat singing emulating the ecstatic saxophone of Trane's later works and the two long tracks even being called "Ascension" and "Om". Purists may get one or two heart attacks on the way, but what else is the finale of this album if not Free Drone Jazz? Just the appropriate manner of coming down after this wild whatthefuckery.

Do I have to mention that the punk-ish artwork rules? That's how you design a tape!

WILLIAM FOWLER COLLINS - The Devil And The River, Volume One (2024)

New Mexican solo performer William Fowler Collins brushes his electric guitar. With a calligraphy brush. While holding one chord. For half an hour. And that's all this is.

Shouldn't there be more? No, this is absoluty fine. Excellent minimalism that sounds indefinitely more cinematic than anything you're imagining right now. Trust me!

The subtle artwork and violet/clear tape shell don't try to direct too much attention away from the beautifully rich simplicity of the music. Thank you Karlrecords for bringing this super slo-mo soundwave to my ears!

DAVID WALLRAF - Crudeltá Necessaria (2025)

Coming with a lot more explanation in liner notes about the necessity of cruelty in art as "a last line of defense in the political and artistic struggle against societal and political pressure" the noises on this second Karlrecords mini album are a lot more antagonistic than Fowler's meditation. However it's not a completely abrasive Harsh assault, but a very controlled, meticulously fine-tuned recording.

David Wallraf, Noise artist and theorist from Hamburg, who actually regularly gives lectures on the subject, approaches his work from a very academic angle. But fear not, the music here is still enjoyable without a degree in theoretical musicology!

With a firm stance in Electro-Acoustic Avantgarde, in conceptual connection to the cinematic works of Pier Paolo Pasolini and using sound design fragments of his movies from the 1960's on tape loops, Walraff creates intriguing Experimental soundscapes of Ambient, Drone and Noise which get more and more imaginative and narrational as the thirty-four minute running time of "Crudeltá Necessaria" go on.

The closing long track "Petrolio" alone justifies listening to this album, as it combines the vibrations of cosmic Berlin school Electronics with The Bug style Dub and the majestic organ Drone of Anna von Hausswolff in a timelessly evocative way.

And while you should never misplace the anonymously clear shell, the artwork of this hand-numbered tape is a classy beauty.
  

February forecast with DÉLIRANT, POTHAMUS, RITUAL ASCENSION and THE ORPHANED BEE

Well, I just swiped through my inbox ,and even though I delete most promo mails due to lack of time I found that there were still enough great albums with a release date this month left to justify a quadruple review!

So here we go:




POTHAMUS - Abur (release: February 14th 2025)

Many thoughts arise while being flooded by the monumental sound of Pothamus. That the Belgian band actually is only a trio however certainly isn't the first one, given how huge their combination of Sludge Metal with mystic, spiritual, Psychedelic elements appears. Other Post Rock bands seem to recruite half an army of members to achieve a sonic scale like this.

Speaking of huge ensembles: Even though a lot of the monolithic bombast in Pothamus' sound can probably be attributed to groups like The Ocean or Cult of Luna, the tribal drumming and additional Drone (achieved by a Shruti box) bring their impact closer to the rituals of modern shamans Heilung. Overall however the meditative, hypnotic yet also crushing vibe of "Abur" reminds me a lot of another trio, Swiss Post Doom escapists E-L-R, without ever feeling like a copy.

And while the towering finale of the fifteen minute title track closes the album it's safe to say that this surely is among Pelagic Records finest releases in recent years.

Set the controls for the heart of... ehm... whatever flame is depicted in the center of the cover artwork!

DÉLIRANT - Thoughteater (release: February 14th 2025)

Sentient Ruin Laboratories unleashes an unhinged Dissonant Black Metal beast upon us. What else is new? - Well, despite Délirant's sophomore album not exactly being a deviation from their label's shtick at all, it still just took me seconds to decide that I love this sick shit.

Deliriously spiraling Blut Aus Nord non-chords and washed-out screams of anguish are mercilessly pushed forward by the raw ferocity of Mispyrming in an uninterrupted nightmare in seven hellish chapters, all simply titled "Thoughteater" with the respective Roman numeral.

Even though the assault sometimes halts or moves into a marching stomp - the delightfully harrowing atmosphere constantly persists.

"Thoughteater" feels like the horrific freeze frame of the moment Saturn's son realizes that Francisco Goya is making his father fucking eat him alive.
What a dickhead! And what a brain-levelling blast!

RITUAL ASCENSION - Profanation of the Adamic Covenant (release: February 28th 2025)

That wasn't yet enough Sentient Ruin filth for you yet?

Ok, then let's switch from Black to Death Metal and add a good portion of miasmic Doom! Maybe get a little bit more conventional with the riffs - stay inside the realm of torturous dissonance though -, and then drown in the ghoulish reverb of a mouldy mausoleum!

Where other disharmonic Extreme Metal bands often utilize means of staggering sensory overstimulation to melt the listeners' brains and burn their souls, Ritual Ascension rather keep their ideas more minimalist. Seeping with old-school Death Doom atmosphere akin to Autopsy's "Mental Funeral" their debut is crawling, crushing and maiming in all the good primitive ways.

"Profanation of the Adamic Covenant" locks you inside a rotting coffin, pushes the thing down mountain slopes and drags it through swamps in a full moon night. Suffer the bruises, breathe in the scent and enjoy the ride!

THE ORPHANED BEE - Thinking Without Language (release: February 28th 2025)

On the last release of this bunch we're changing gears complety as we turn towards something more light and shiny - in neon and chrome -, entering the world of Synth Rock!

However the Australian project Orphaned Bee doesn't fully rely on Electronic sounds, but establishes rhythmic dynamics with acoustic drumming and also juxtaposes its Eighties' keyboards with surprisingly heavy guitars and the vocoder vocals with harsh screams. And there are several more unexpected little digressions from what the opener "Rain" would make you expect.. 

I might have lied above, at the beginning of this post when I spoke of albums, since "Thinking Without Language" only consists of five tracks with a total playing time of under twenty-five minutes. So this is just an EP, but one which - despite the synth work always being boldly at the forefront - goes through a lot of different moods and sounds.

Through "Rain", "Water" and "Fire", between the achingly yearning melodies in cinematic bombast, the Prog side of Krautrock and the straightforward energetic uptempo of Carpenter Brut producer / multi-instrumentalist Brett Tollis and his collaborators are taking us on quite a colourful short-distance passenger bee flight. Best board with headphones!

TUSKS - Gold In Synths And Strings

Isn't it neat when the review almost writes itself?

TUSKS - Gold In Synths And Strings (Download) (2024)

The title of this digital EP Electronic Alternative Pop artist Tusks released back in November couldn't be more self-explanatory:
"Gold" was her previous release, hands-down one of the best - at least one of my personal favorite albums - of 2024. The songs and sounds on it will mercilessly stick in your ears; just deep but catchy amazing stuff.

And now - just as the title says - four of its tracks got the stripping down treatment without beats and bass, just reduced to her vocals on top of beautiful floating synths and strings.

No, it's not a new idea. Countless artist from B (as in Björk) to Z (Zola Jesus) have done it. Just as people have slimmed down their songs to only acoustic guitar or piano or transferred their material into other genres... The idea is not the point here, but the quality. Because if the songs are great and the artist lives up to them, these concepts will always work.

So that's what this is: Just four achingly beautiful songs which should work with or without prior knowledge of "Gold". If you love the album, there's no way you won't appreciate this EP.  And if this is the first thing you hear from Tusks, it will surely be a powerful invitation to also experience her in her "full form". (And I can assure you it will be worth it!)

SWANS - Live Rope

What? This is Roadburn Festival preview content yet again? Well, not directly, since it certainly won't get as loud, but Michael Gira and Kristof Hahn actually will be playing a show there. So I guess it counts.

But do I even need to write about the latest Swans live album - again?

SWANS - Live Rope (2CD) (2024)

I have already featured this two and a half hour coloss before, and not just anywhere, but as my number one favorite live album of 2024. But I hadn't taken pictures of the double CD then. And it simply would feel amiss not to give it some more love.

Over fifty minutes strong the album's rendition of "The Beggar" alone would already make a fantastic live release on its own, as  does the at least in parts of its thirty-seven minutes remarkably ethereal "Birthing".

The twenty-five minute opener "Rope" is mostly just an incredibly patentiently rolled out crescendo. And even though the rest of the six tracks are significantly shorter in comparison - Swans love taking their time to milk their ideas to maximal effect. The dramatic craftsmanship and dynamic intensity they are creating on the spot to achieve that is bordering on the inconceivable.

Swans live 2023

Of course that's nothing new. Since the reunion in 2010 the band has constantly escalated the sheer scale of their operation while also improving on the musicality.
In consequence Swans have become an entity whose very existence is hard to believe. And there have been multiple occasion - like the 2017 live album "Deliquescence" - where I called the ultimate culmination of what they were striving for, only to be proven wrong later.

And here we go again: How could any aspect of this possibly enhanced? With the new textures of acoustic guitar and more lap steel guitar and bass instead of regular guitar Swans reach a new clarity and even greater dynamics between the wall of unfathomably mighty Noise and the brittle breaks from it, while sustaining all their monolithic impact. It's an uncompromising, overwhelming, just marvellous experience.

Swans live in 2023/2024 is just music at its best. It's as simple as that.

The only thing which could have been improved here is the presentation of drummer Phil Puleo's hilarious animal caricatures of the band. In the vinyl version this surely works, but all six pictures on one CD-format cardboard is just a little too tiny. The swirly cover artwork may not be among the most exciting of Michael Gira's creations so far, but in context with the familiar established design of the digipak it works.

All in all - and maybe even more so than some of the latest studio albums - this is a vital release for all Swans fans old and new.

HARVESTMAN - Triptych (Parts 1-3)

Two Audiotree Live session EPs and now this. So is every second review going to be some kind of Roadburn preview from now on?

Steve von Till will be Artist in Residence this year, and one of his shows will consist of material from his Harvestman project. There's enough to chose from, since he brought us a whole "Triptych" of albums:

HARVESTMAN
Triptych Part One (Bone White Opaque + Black Galaxy vinyl) (2024)

Triptych Part Two (Ruby Red + Transparent Galaxy vinyl) (2024)

Triptych Part Three (Cloudy Clear & Black Galaxy vinyl) (2024)

Pink Moon, Buck Moon, Hunter Moon... I thought Earth just had the one regular satellite, but what do I know? Released on three specific full moons on April 23rd, July 21st and October 17th this trinity of releases should rather be understood as one connected work. I personally even waited until they were all available to experience them together. And seriously: With that strong emphasis on how much this is a trilogy in title and artwork - who would want to be content with just sticking to one or two parts?

The albums are even all structured in a similar way with three songs on the first and four on the second side, and the fourth track always being an alternative Dub version of the opener. For those and more reasons I'm writing this as one overarching review instead of three.

The music certainly is a constant in its anachronist nature between mystical Electronic Ambient, Folk, Tribal, Drone, Psychedelic Rock, oriental influences, other 4AD sounds I might have forgotten and even Industrial.

Steve von Till always is the major contributor playing guitar, bass, synths, stock tank and percussions plus all kinds of Electronic manipulation.
Then there are three main guest musicians appearing on selected tracks throughout the whole series: Sleep's Al Cisneros provides bass (on all the aforementioned openers and Dub mixes), Dave French adds various percussive elements and John Goff plays bagpipes / Northumbrian smallpipes, always on the last track of each album.

Apart from that there are three different narrators, each speaking over one track from each record, and a couple of further instrumentalists. Especially Part Three goes big with more synths, organs, flutes and bouzouki.
And of course the Dub mix of "Clouds Are relatives" on Part Three is accounted for by none other than specialist Kevin The Bug Martin!

Over a playing time of overall around two hours "Triptych" takes you through worlds and spheres of many shades and colours. They all have in common that they feel meditative, are produced spectacularly and almost burst with otherworldly atmosphere. Just don't expect Von Till's outstanding sonorously deep voice, which is present on most of his solo albums under his name, to appear! Because apart from the occasional spoken words (all not from him either) this is a strictly instrumental affair - and absolutely perfect this way.

The presentation of the trilogy - with the distinct graphic artwork, a round cut-out being part of the cover and the beautiful different vinyl colours - is worthy of its truly magical content.

Yes, in and out this release is threefold special. And now I really hope that Harvestman won't fall prey to harsh clashes with other phenomenal stuff on Good Friday in Tilburg... The experienced Roadburner knows: Never get too enthusiastic about a specific show before you know the complete timetable! 

UNLEASHED COOPERATION - Trust

I'm getting closer to the goal of finishing it in January (at least as far as that's possible, since some physical copies haven't arrived yet), and I absolutely cannot wrap up my 2024 to-review-list without covering a stunning highlight from the excellent Polish Jazz label Multikulti Project:

UNLEASHED COOPERATION - Trust (CD) (2024)

The line-up of saxophone, trumpet, piano, double bass and drums couldn't be more classic for a Jazz quintet. Unleashed Cooperation however are not a period band solely focussing on Bebop, Spiritual, Free Jazz or any other specific predominant or niche sound of a certain era.

Instead the band, which purposefully isn't named after a leader, but prides itself in incorporating all its members' creative input equally, achieves a very wide stylistic range, utilizing multiple influences from the last eight decades of Jazz. Smooth Swing, fast flight-of-the-bumblebeeish runs, clear sublime melodies, controlled chaos, playfully eery Doomjazz vibes... this album does it all in a coherent flow without ever losing the plot.

On four of eight tracks "Trust" also features adventurous guest singer Anna Gadt, who brings wispy soulfulness and dramatic Avant-Garde into the mix.
And even with this addition the album never goes to places where it's not supposed to be, while still feeling like a timeless parade of almost everything great about Jazz.

No matter if we're in the 1950's, 1970's or close to The End, you can always "Trust" this album to deliver grandiose performances, arrangements and engulfing atmosphere.

Kamasi, Jaubi, Spinifex, Work Money Death... Last year made it pretty hard to pick my genre favorites. Of course somehow I made my decisions, but honestly Unleashed Cooperation can look eye to eye with any of my choices. Real great stuff!

[Just a reminder to myself: Stephan, next time you order from Multikulti please ask them not to send the package as registered mail, because that always means a pain in the a** extra drive to the post office. Tanks for the attention!]

MONG TONG - Audiotree Live

Is Audiotree sneakily doing a Roadburn preview series?

Shortly after The Body & Dis Fig the high quality live session channel now presents the Taiwanese duo Mong Tong, who haven't been officially announced for this this year's line-up yet by the festival - but it's in their tour dates, where they surely wouldn't just make the appearance up. So I'm pretty confident to share this information here.

MONG TONG - Audiotree Live (Download) (2025)

Since I have already seen them live in Berlin in 2022 I know that watching Jiun Chi (guitar, synth) and Hom Yu (bass), who always perform with traditional blindfolds, is a worthwhile experience. It's of course still cool to have that impression be underlined by this six-track EP.

Their relaxed, but also a little spooky and mysterious mixture of Psychedelic Rock elements, sample-based experimental Electronics, Eastern Asian melodies and cultural referencese is a fascinating anachronistic balancing act between tradition and modernism, resulting in a unique, accessible but not shallow sound. This is an just a beautifully stimulating soundtrack to unwind, presented in an intriguing manner.

Naturally very, very different than that aforementioned Audiotree session, but just as great!

OCEANS OF SLUMBER - Where Gods Fear To Speak

Tja, so schnell verliert man manchmal den Anschluss. Da ist man generell gerade nicht so ganz heiß an einem Musikgenre interessiert, findet man eine Single nicht so prickelnd oder hört sie einfach in der falschen Stimmung... und schon haben Oceans Of Slumber nicht nur ein selbstbetiteltes (2020) Album veröffentlich, sondern auch noch 2022 "Starlight and Ash" nachgelegt.

Bevor die texanischen Progmetaller nun im seit "Winter" (2016) etablierten Zweijahresrhythmus ihr neuestes Album herausbrachten, habe ich - begünstigt durch Labelwechsel und Aktionspreise - aber meine Versäumnisse nachgeholt und natürlich festgestellt, dass beide Werke natürlich viel stärker sind, als ich es ohne aufmerksam nachzuhören angenommen hatte.

Und nun läutet das Quintett erneut die Glocken... 

OCEANS OF SLUMBER - Where Gods Fear To Speak (transparent orange/blue vinyl 2LP) (2024)

Was sofort im titelgebenden Opener auffällt ist die Heaviness. War die Band zwischendurch mal mehr in Richtung Southern Gothic Rock orientiert, wird hier definitiv wieder das volle Brett hervorgeholt. Und das schließt auch eine neue Superwaffe der ohnehin schon irre flexiblen und ausdrucksstarken Sängerin Cammie Beverly (vormals Gilbert und nun mit Drummer Dobber verheiratet) mit ein; zwar hat die Band trotz wechselnder Besetzung immer kompetente Growler in ihren Reihen gehabt, doch nun reiht sich auch die Leadsängerin ein - und das mit einer exzellenten, unmenschlich tiefen Performance, die klar macht, dass die Dame die Technik wahrscheinlich schon lange fleißig bis zur Vollendung geübt hat, um ja kein halbstarkes Biest auf die Welt loszulassen.

Die meiste Zeit wird allerdings nach wie vor melodisch gesungen, mal mit voller Soulstimme, mal sanft säuselnd, mal rockröhrig, mal beinahe opernhaft... Cammie schafft es nach wie vor, einem ständig an unterschiedliche großartige Sängerinnen zu erinnern, ohne dabei einen Zweifel an ihrer eigenen unverwechselbaren Identität aufkommen zu lassen. Ganz klar, die Frontfrau ist und bleibt die Hauptattraktion - und das ist bei einer Band wie Oceans Of Slumber natürlich eine durchaus imposante Leistung.

Musikalisch ist die Basis der meisten Stücke neben dramatischem Doom vor allem moderner Prog Metal mit der DNA von Gruppen wie Dream Theater oder eine Generation später Opeth, inklusive der Furchtlosigkeit der ehemaligen Death Metaller, wenn es darum geht auch mal in extreme Sphären durchzustarten. Und so bleibt natürlich das Trademark bestehen, dass der mit Insect Warfare reichlich grindcore-erfahrene Drummer jederzeit eine songschreiberisch sinnvolle Gelgenheit erkennen kann, einen epochalen Blastbeat rauszuscheppern. Ein anderes direkt mit ihm verbundenes Markenzeichen sind - komplett auf der anderen Seite des Brutalitätsspektrums -, die von ihm gespielten klassischen Klavierpassagen.

Ja, eigentlich bleibt beinahe alles irgendwie wie immer und Oceans of Slumber greifen zwischen popaffinen Melodien und irrwitzigen Genresprüngen alles auf, was bereits in der Vergangenheit gut funktioniert hat. Auf "Where Gods Fear To Speak" zelebrieren sie die Dynamik ihrer Bandbreite allerdings selbst für ihre Verhältnisse besonders hingebungsvoll und mit beeindruckender Hitdichte.

Vor allem jedoch muss ich der Band, die rein stilistisch ja viel in der polierten, ernsthaften, theoretisch "uncoolen" Seite des Progmetalmeters zu Hause ist, zu Gute halten, dass bei aller klinischen Reinheit der Produktion nicht nur stets der korrekte Wumms gewahrt bleibt, sondern auch die Spielfreude immer herauszuhören ist. Diese Band hat unzweifelhaft Bock - und dies auf technisch und kompositorisch schwindelerrgendem Niveau.

Es gibt eigentlich nur eine Übung, in der Oceans of Slumber eine Amateurband vom Dorf zu sein scheinen: die Auswahl ihrer Coverstücke. Deep Cuts und Geheimtipps kommen dafür nämlich selten in Frage. Stattdessen fragt man, was die TOP40-Coverband tun würde. Und so endet dieses Album nach der vielleicht wildesten Tour de Force "The Impermanence of Fate" mit einem bereits tausendfach (selbst von mir als Unpluggedmusiker auf einer Weihnachtsfeier) interpretierten Allerwelts-Hit.

Trotzdem ist Chris Isaaks "Wicked Game" natürlich eine unsterblich gute Nummer. Meistens sagen mir hier ja die reduzierten Versionen eher zu. Die Texaner gehen sie allerdings hart an der Schwelle zum Kitsch mit viel Klavier und Bombast an - und fahren das Ding bombensicher heim. Einfach wunderbar!

Die Doppel-LP, ob schwarz oder - wie hier zu sehen  - -in der zweifarbig transparanten Limited Edition, präsentiert die knappe Stunde in 45 Umdrehungen per Minute, also Vorsicht bei der Tempowahl!

Es sei denn, man möchte dieses hervorragende Album einfach tiefer und länger genießen natürlich. Das muss jeder für sich entscheiden.

KANAAN & ÆVESTADEN live auf der MS Stubnitz, Hamburg (21. Januar 2025)

Mein zweites Konzert des Jahres führte mich Dienstag wieder einmal an Bord der diesmal eisig im Nebel unterhalb der Elbbrücken liegenden MS Stubnitz. Es rief die Kollaboration des exzellenten norwegischen Instrumentalrocktrios Kanaan mit der popaffinen und dennoch eigenwillig experimentierfreudigen Folkgruppe Ævestaden.

Genau wie Ni vorletzte Woche im Hafenklang war dies sicherlich eine (unverdient) randgruppenorientierte Veranstaltung, bei der man unter der Woche keine brechend volle Bude erwarten konnte. Von daher war ich in beiden Fällen durchaus positiv von der zwar noch überschaubaren, aber doch respektablen Publikumsmenge  überrascht.

Und wer sich von nah und fern (Grüße an Dave "Sula Bassana" Schmidt!) eingefunden hatte, um der Liveumsetzung des Albums "Langt, langt vekk" beizuwohnen, der wurde reichlich für seine Entscheidung belohnt.

Die ersten paar Stücke des Crossovers aus Krautrock, norwegischer Volksmusik und frommen Mittelaltertönen waren sowohl für das Sextett als auch Fans noch Warmmacher, ehe die Stücke sich stilistisch wie spielerisch immer weiter öffneten und man sich gemeinsam in einen ungewöhnlichen Rausch begab. Das Aufeinandertreffen von Lyra und Fiedel mit elektrischer Gitarre, Mellotron und Modularsynthesizer in zahlreichen Konstellationen erschuf in jedem Song neue Spannungsfelder. Himmlische Harmoniegesänge paarten sich mit jazzigen Bassläufen und der für Drummer Ingvald typischen wild-dynamischen Rhythmik. Todesballaden schwebten wie Nebelschwaden durch das Schiff und hin und wieder wurde auch das hart fuzzrockende Stoner-Riff ausgepackt.

Wie schon auf dem Album ging jedes Stück in eine etwas andere Richtung - und über die Studioversion hinaus, da - wie Bassist Eskild mir nachher erzählte - viele Kompositionen im Laufe dieser Tour ein Eigenleben entwickelt hatten. Zusätzlich zum kompletten Albummaterial, inklusive den gewachsenen, länger gejammten Liedern gab es auch noch etwas neue Musik, sowie den zuvor nie zu dritt live gespielten Kanaan-Song "Softly Through Sunshine", der bei der Gelegenheit natürlich reichlich - inklusive Gesang - gepimpt wurde.

Nein, weder über zu kurze Spielzeit noch über mangelnde Qualität durfte sich hier beschwert werden. Und tatsächlich waren nach dieser Feier am imaginären Feuer des schwimmenden Langhauses MS Stubnitz nur zufriedene Gesichter zu sehen. Ungewöhnlich. Und ungewöhnlich gut!

(Selbst der einzige Kritikpunkt des Abends löste sich in Wohlgefallen auf. Die Bar hatte nämlich nicht genügend Zero-Getränk am Start. Da ich aber gerade eine rädernde 24-Stunden-Blutdruckmessung hinter mir hatte, konnte ich den ungewohnten Zuckerschub allerdings gut für eine wache Heimfahrt mit Beschallung durch Ævestadens wunderbares 2023er Album "Solen Var Bättre Där"gebrauchen.)