THISQUIETARMY - Langue Hybride

Eric Quach aka Thisquietarmy ist ein Künstler, den viele so wie ich wahrscheinlich primär als über seinem Effektboard knieenden Gitarrensoundtüftler kennen, der entweder solo, im Duett (z.B. mit Jörg Schneider, N, Otay:onii oder Voivod-Drummer Away) oder als Teil des Hypnodrone Ensembles Klangwände zwischen Ambient, Post- und Psychedelic Rock und Drone erzeugt.

Wer aber z.B. die kosmische Jazz Fusion von Tempête Solaire kennt, der weiß dass die diskographisch-stilistische Bandbreite des Kanadiers sogar noch weit umfangreicher ist. Und so sollte es eigentlich nicht überraschen, dass auf seinem letzten, bereits im April veröffentlichten Album noch einmal neue Tore aufgestoßen werden.

THISQUIETARMY - Langue Hybride (red vinyl LP + 7") (2025)

Perfektionistische Pedanten sofort aufgepasst! Wer die Vinylausgabe dieses Albums in korrekter, vom Künstler beabsichtigter Reihenfolge hören möchte, der darf nicht einfach stumpf dem Alphabet folgen! Nein, nach den ersten beiden Stücken auf Seite A drehen wir die Schallplatte nämlich nicht um, sondern greifen zur kleineren Sieben-Zoll-Scheibe, die den auf deren Seite A beginnenden und auf Seite B fortgesetzten Track "Les Radicaux Libres" enthält! Erst dann beenden wir das Album auf Seite B der regulären LP. Ohne Mitdenken faul Musik hören kann schließlich jeder!

Und wenn ich schon beim physischen Tonträger bin, sei gesagt, dass mir sowohl das rostig rote Vinyl als auch das Gatefold gut gefallen. Insbesondere das von Herrn Quach selbst geschossene Panoramabild eines Flusses auf der der Innenseite des Covers finde ich fotografsch sehr ansprechend.

Auch wenn nur Thisquietarmy draufsteht, ist der Solokünstler auf "Langue Hybride" tatsächlich nicht alleine zu hören, sondern zusammen mit einem fünfköpfigen Ensemble aus Mitgliedern des CEM (Centre d'Expérimentation Musical) aus der Region um Quebec. Enstanden ist das - soweit ich's verstehe - als Mix aus Liveaufnahmen und Ergänzungen im Studio zusammengesetzte Album während seiner vierwöchigen Residenz im CEM im Sommer 2023.

Der Autodidakt Quach trifft hier auf in Jazz, Klassik und Metal erfahrene Musiker, die seine Vision an Bass, Gitarre, Elektronik und - vielleicht am prägendsten für das gesamte Werk - Geige und Cello umsetzen. Und alle Stücke sprechen tatsächlich die titelgebende hybride Sprache, in der beinahe zu jedem Zeitpunkt mehrere Stile zugleich zu hören sind.

Und so geht es von schneller folkloristischer Teufelsgeigerei zu mächtigem sehnsuchtsvollen Doom zu funkiger Jazz Fusion mit bluesig solierender Gitarre und den unweigerlich ein gewissen Mahavishnu Orchestra-Gefühl heraufbeschwörenden Streichern.
Den 7"-Track kann man anfangs wohl als Ambient Free Jazz klssifizieren, bevor sich ein treibender Unterbau irgendwo zwischen Swans-Gitarrengroove und Kammermusik manifestiert.

"Organismes En Aérobiose" ist als einzige Komposition nicht vor Ort entstanden, sondern existierte bereits seit 2003 (ob als Demo oder rein in Quachs Kopf weiß man nicht), wurde jedoch niemals richtig aufgenommen. Wahrscheinlich hat sich Thisquietarmy diese Nummer tatsächlich bis zur passenden Gelegenheit, sie angemessen umzusetzen, aufgespart. Hier lässt er auf jden Fall ganz offensichtlich den inneren Ennio Morricone und den brachialen Gitarrendröhner raus. Ein epochaler Hybrid zwischen Sergio Leone-Film-Heldenthema, Post Rock und Krachekstase. Hymnisch!

"Solastalgie Impalpable" schließlich ist über weite Strecken ein mit Streichermelodien gekrönter Midtempo-Metal-Banger, fügt mittendrin jedoch einen langen Durchatmer ein, in dem Thisquietarmy zunächst in seiner wohl reinsten Form loopt, layert und moduliert ehe der Song sich in ein SubRosa (bzw. den Nachfolgern The Keening oder The Otolith) würdiges großes Finale steigert.

Und damit endet ein unerwartet cineastisches, tatsächlich von Anfang bis Ende fantastisches Album klanglich wie emotonial heavier Instrumentalmusik vom Feinsten.

Wenn das nicht Bock macht, den Mann in ein paar Tagen (natürlich in anderem Zusammenhang) wieder live auf der MS Stubnitz zu sehen, ja dann weiß ich auch nicht...

LUCIFER / SISTER MIDNIGHT - Split

The Swedish-German Heavy Rockers Lucifer have once again a released a non-album-related standalone single. And since those are always cool I ordered a copy via elk mail as soon as I was made aware of it.

LUCIFER / SISTER MIDNIGHT - Split (golden vinyl 7") (2025*)

The golden 7" is a split release of cover versions with featured guest singers, so ultimately it almost takes longer to list all relevant names than to listen to the whole thing.

On the first side Lucifer are playing the Leonard Cohen song "Who By Fire" as a duet of Johanna Platow and the thousand-year-old oak of Doom, Pentagram's Bobby Liebling. Am I the biggest fan of his voice? Nah, it's a bit crusty in a weird way. But the combination with Johanna's Heart timbre makes an interesting contrast - and in comparison to the singer/songwriter performance of Cohen it actually works as a rawer approach to the song, which also instrumentally is turned into a very compelling Hard Rock hymn with phenomal guitar solos.

The superior vocal performance of the single however can be heard on the other side - and it comes from Johanna too, who is the featured guest here. Sister Midnight is a cover project with rotating vocalists, and since the original of the song - Nazareth's "Sold My Soul" - is much closer to their own style, this very much feels like a Mark III of Lucifer with a different line-up and a sound closer to the Doom roots of Mark I.
Anyway, it's a great rendition and especially with the "I soooold my soooouul to the Deviiiiil!" belts at the end Johanna really goes all in on this one. Love it! 

So please decode the implied message of the Sister Midnight side's artwork, shut up and give Lucifer your money (and soul)!

* I know, I know. Officially this probably counts as a 2024 release, but I tend to go with the availibility of the actual record. And already planning forward twelve months I also want to enable this thing to have a fair chance at the next best of the year season.





 

music 2024: TOP 4 non-album releases

Same rules as in previous years: Only releases I own in physical format. No re-issues, no studio or live albums. The only albums allowed in this category are split releases. Other than that singles, EPs and compilations were considered.

Then why such a short list? Well, of course I could have crammed more artists into this post, but I'm just trying to keep these rankings proportional. And I simply didn't buy very much music meeting the specific criteria in question. So with that in mind please be content with this small but exquisite selection of my...

TOP 4 non album releases 2024:

1. EAGLE TWIN & THE OTOLITH - Legends of the Desert Vol. 4
   
   
   

   What an awesome split! Heavy Desert Sludge duo Eagle Twin crunches your bones and scatters the remains in the sea of sand. From there the violins and voices of The Otolith pick them up and blow them through the spheres with arguably the strongest songs since they arose from the Doom of their former band SubRosa.
   
   
   
   
   
2. CHELSEA WOLFE - Unbound EP
   
   
   

   Only a guitar or piano and the magical lure of her voice. Anything from Chelsea Wolfe is strong, but in this constellation, reduced to the very essence, the Goth singer / songwriter is close to unbeatable.
   She also deserves credit for not just copying her album songs in acoustic form, but actually finding very distinct alternate arrangements which work just as great.
   Even though this beautiful EP is quite short it surprisingly contains two versions of "Whispers In The Echo Chambers"; the second one is just clad as a cover version with title and lyrics lent from Spiritbox.
   
   
   
   
   
3. KING DUDE - Songs of the 1940s - volume 3 & 4
   
   
   

   Déjà vu! More raw recordings of eight very old Country songs, presented on two 7" records in a gatefold cover in an embossed box. It looks as great as the previous double release of this series and the songs are just as compelling, too. Strummed acoustic guitars, ghostly organs and electric sprinkles, the Dude's raspy sonorous, but occasionally also yodeling voice - that's all it takes to create a perfect example of imperfect perfection.
   
   
   
   
   
4. TEUFELSKELLER / TORU & CR3C3II3 - Split
   
   
   

   This split tape is a satisfyingly glitchy chaotic double assault of apocalyptic Avantgarde. Side A belongs to the brutish and relentless "Tour de Force" of exile Russian trio Teufelskeller. On the even crazier side B French Experimental Metal maniacs Toru are teaming up with Noise artist CR3C3II3. And no matter if "Rattles Are Out" or "Rattles Are Back", one thing is for sure: Rattles are indeed completely bonkers.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

favorite MUSIC 2024 - all my lists:

TOP 24 albums   |   TOP 7 live albums   |   TOP 5 reissues

TOP 4 non-album releases   |   TOP 24 live shows

"What's a GNOADT?" • a Rocket Recordings double review

It was supposed to arrive in one package together with Causa Sui's "From the Source" and a reissue of Brainticket's 1972 classic "Psychonaut", but after several delays a certain German distributor canceled my pre-order  of the new Gnod album, just when it already started to become rare and/or expensive. Luckily it was still available at the source - Rocket Recordings. With international shipping there was no way around paying more, so I chose another album to accompany it, so it would at least feel a little more economically reasonable- and as a little gift of good karma I also got a new slipmat on top.

Since I also chose a very complimenting pairing of albums I think I'm quite happy with the whole outcome now.

GOAT - The Gallows Pole: Original Score (Molten Metal Colour vinyl LP + 7") (2024)

I didn't review "Medicine", last year's most recent studio album by the Swedish Psych collective Goat here - not because it was bad (which it isn't at all), but just because I came too late to the party. Resisting the temptation to sneak in another review here, let's just say it was a noticeable deviation from what the group has established as their signature sound.
Or so you would have thought at the time, because this one here also strays into different directions, maybe even further, while still keeping the original Goat path in sight.

"The Gallows Pole - This Valley Will Rise" is a (probably historic) TV series about... something. I'd actually like to watch it without knowing what exactly to expect, that's why I'm not looking it up. I just hope it will appear outside of the BBC on a streaming service I'm using in the foreseeable future.

This is the score to the series, in a very nice Record Store Day special edition, which comes with two bonus tracks on an additional 7" record. If we're being pedantic only five of the overall eight tracks are actually from the soundtrack, while the rest is material from the same sessions, which just hasn't been used on the show.

The album is completely instrumental, so especially the characteristic harmonies of the two female singers is missing. You also won't find much of the Funk and Jazz Fusion spirit, which was so prevalent on "Oh Death" two years ago. Except in the misleading track title "Jazzman" of course, which rather seems to be based on an Archive style Trip Hop beat.

And "The Gallows Pole" takes a lot of time to even get to that point of a full Rock band instrumentation. Most of the A side is instead dominated by synth and guitar drones, airy flutes and acoustic guitar, all exuding a tastefully mystical, not overdone Folk flair.
The B side opener "The Gate Is Open (The Temple Lies Within)" finally shows us Goat in their typical, more maximalist form with loads of tribal percussions, primal energy and free spirit, before "Vallåt" slows the album down again with minimal percussive Ambient sounds, which are continued in "Goat Witch", where it works as a backdrop to an atmospheric guitar build-up.

We're switching to the bonus single now and "Timeless Awareness" surprises us with full-on Space Rock including multiple layered lead guitars and some reverb-drenched vocals, which don't really count, when it comes to determining whether this really is an instrumental album or not.
Last but not least "Kampsång" returns combines tribal drumming, Krautrock guitars, Folk flute and - oh, look we found some after all! - a Spiritual Jazz bass line to a wholesome jam, which ends way too soon.

While most Goat albums feel like a rather loose collection of rad tunes with a similar vibe, "The Gallows Pole" with its set of individually very different tracks may lack the same consistency of style, but actually builds a nice suspense curve. I'm really enjoying this beautiful thing.

GNOD - Spot Land (Violet vinyl LP) (2024)

Political, harsh, rebellious, agitative, loud... and a lot more adjectives in a similar direction come to mind when you look at most of Gnod's work since I got to know them, which was in 2017 with the iconically to the point "Just Say No To The Psycho Right-Wing Capitalist Fascist Industrial Death Machine".

But of course there's one trait you always have to keep in mind with this English collective, and that's their unpredictability. Their new album is a dreamy, enraptured, sometimes downright escapist experience. While there are sprinkles like the Kraturock rhythm of "Dream On", which remind us of the roots of the band, a lot of it feels soothing and Ambient with emphases on synths, samples, lap steel guitar, piano and kalimba, while the longer pieces increase to legit Psychedelic Rock jams.

There's no lyrical message, as most of it is purely instrumental, only the opener "Peace At Home" and the final longtrack "Pilgrim's Progress" feature sampled Gregorian chants.

Wherever you can find your "Spot Land", it is an intentionally solitary retreat from the gnawing unrest of the world. And while the whole idea is so totally different, ironically an absolutely fitting alternative album title would be... "Just Say No To The Psycho Right-Wing Capitalist Fascist Industrial Death Machine". Because if you immerse yourself into this freeing splash of colours (I love the vivid cover artwork!) - aren't you doing just that?

My only complaint is that I woud have loved a little more than forty minutes. Other than that, yeah, this introspective dream state version of Gnod is a very welcome departure!

KING DUDE - Songs of the 1940s - vol 3 & 4 / Smoke On The Water

Yee-Haw? Wasn't 2023 supposed to be the Dude T.J. Cowgill's final reigning year as King like I said in the introduction to the review of his "Songs of the 1940 - vol 1 & 2"?

Yet his Dark Americana persona is still touring in 2024 as if he was a Scorpions King. And he even followed that splendid double 7" EP up with a sequel release. Well, I gladly take it. So here are more at least around eighty years old classic from the Great American Songbook reinterpreted by the (other) man in black:

KING DUDE - Songs of the 1940s - vol 3 & 4 (2 x 7" EP) (2024)

To keep it short: Everything great on the last double single is reprised here, beginning with the beautiful monochrome packaging in a gatefold cover with historical photographs, coming in a slipcase, both with an embossed logo.

Four sides, each filled with two average three minutes long old school Country songs, all played by King Dude alone on acoustic guitar, with some sprinkles of electric guitar, organ, synths and probably some other sound sources. His raspy sonor voice - and some instances of yodeling - is front and center, the natural production is either very (almost too) close on the edge of cracking your speakers or drenched in ghostly (or heavenly, as you perceive it) reverb.

This time I don't think I know any of the originals (maayyybee "Rye Whiskey"), so sorry dear fans of previous singers of tunes like "Blood On The Saddle", "Gambler Blues", "Rainbow At Midnight" or "Seven Beers With The Wrong Woman" - there's no real point in me rambling on about them. I like these versions, that's for sure. 

Yes, these two new volumes are just as simple yet fascinating as vol 1 and 2, so naturally this release joins them as one of my favorites of King Dude's whole cataloque. The idea is just followed through in such a perfect imperfect way that I cannot imagine it being improved by any changes.

And if you don't sleep on ordering this germ from Raubbau Records for an eternity, you might still get the edition which comes with a slim little bonus...

KING DUDE - Smoke On The Water (7" flexidisc) (2024)

No, it's not Deep Purple. Get your decenniums right! "Smoke On The Water" was written by Earl Nunn and Zeke Clements back in 1944 and this anti-fascist war song is very much a product of its time:

"Hirohito, 'long with Hitler, will be ridin' on a rail

Mussolini'll beg for mercy; as a leader he has failed

There'll be no time for pity when the screamin' eagles flies

It will be the end of Axis, they must answer with their lives"

With two and a half minutes it's quiet a short one even compared to the rest of the "Songs of the 1940s", and with its minimal palm-muted guitar it's also one of the most raw tracks of this bunch. That and the direct World War II content, which sets it apart from the rest of the cowboys / women / whiskey stuff probably made it a good choice to be featured on this nice transparent flexi disc, which comes with a cardboard inlay.

Even though I found at least my copy quiete respectable, this medium of course isn't known for the highest audio quality and there are definitely more loud pops and noises than there would be on vinyl. But given the low-fi aesthetics of the recordings it really doesn't matter. No, this is cool.

You are sceptical of any war propaganda and have doubts about this especially regarding how things ultimately went down in Japan and such? Well, I can assure you that it feels historical enough that it won't make you spontanously take up arms against any kraut, wop or [insert respective racial slur here].

If you want to apply the song to a modern context anyway, please stick to the the first verse:

"There will be a sad day comin' for the foes of all mankind

They must answer to the people and it’s troubling their mind

Everybody who must fear them will rejoice on that great day

When the powers of dictators shall be taken all away"

 

JAYE JAYLE - Don't Let Your Love Life Get You Down / The Thing About The Fire

Well, let's go on with my (so far) TOP procrastinated record review of 2023. And it even is a double one! I could have written something about both the album and the 7" long ago, but this is one of those cases, where I had enthusiastically ordered something, but then when I got it, I somehow wasn't in the right mood for it, cast it aside for a while and finally had to be convinced of its quality again.

The last part was actually very easy, but somehow that golden review window just had passed and I moved along to write about... well, everything else I've written here and there since then.

JAYE JAYLE - Don't Let Your Love Life Get You Down (Bad Apples and Black Diamonds Edition coloured vinyl LP) (2023)

To be fair Jaye Jayle have always been hard to exactly pin down for me. And until now their mixture of Blues, Ambient, Post Rock, Gothic, Gospel, proggy elements and singer/songwriter Alternative Folk, while certainly enjoyable - like as support for Emma Ruth Rundle in 2018 -, hadn't led me to buy any of their previous albums yet. But something has certainly changed.

That change isn't radical. "Don't Let Your Love Life Get You Down" is still very much tailored around the (mostly) deep and sonorous voice of Evan Patterson. But the music somehow has become more heartfelt and straight forward, while still maintaining a great variety of sounds through the album. Especially the selection of analogue synths is very helpful for that.

In short: Most of the eight songs are just hits! Not party music for sure, but catchy and delightfully dark, with beautiful rays of light. Just try to get the title track or "Tell Me Live" out of your head! A Blues/Country storyteller strides through a graveyard, ascends to space and comes back wiser to tell his tale.

The greatest exception might be the last song "When We Are Dogs", which features guest appearances by Bonnie "Prince" Billy (voocals) and Patrick Shiroishi (saxophone) and is soaked in a laid-back, but quite dark jazzy avantgarde atmosphere reminiscent of Kayo Dot's "Coffins On Io" album. Very ominous!

Needless to say that the unexpectedly colourful artwork is among the most beautiful of Pelagic Records' 2023 releases and also adds an interesting touch to this great work.

Previous to the full-length Jaye Jayle had released a seven inch, which is still available together with the album as a bundle:

JAY JAYLE - The Thing About The Fire (Cream vinyl 7") (2023)

As far as I know this single is only available in this physical format. It features two non-album songs, which both wouldn't feel out of place on it.

On side A we find "Soline", a cool twangy Americana track, counterpointed by just the right amount of lush orchestration.
The B-side "We Storm" combines its singer/songwriter approach with a more eery atmosphere, before closing with a short and sweet, but explosive Blues Rock guitar finale.

Probably not a must-have if you're not a fan, but certainly a nice addendum.

KRAFTWERK - Tour De France

Och nee, scheiß Sammelwut! Dabei empfinde ich mich in der Beziehung ja normalerweise noch als sehr moderat. Ich bin kein Komplettist, der alle Versionen oder Reissues einer Platte haben muss und kaufe generell eigentlich nur Musik, die mich tatsächlich interessiert.

KRAFTWERK - Tour De France (7") (2023)

Uneigentlich konnte ich dann aber doch der neuesten Kraftwerk-Albumjubiläumssingle vom Musikexpress nicht widerstehen. Dabei ist der Song "Tour De France" für mich eigentlich nie der Riesen-Knaller gewesen. Aber wenn man die Ausgaben mit "Autobahn", "Die Roboter" und "Heimcomputer" schon hat, fällt es zugegebenermaßen doch schwer, zu widerstehen. Vor Ort sah ich die Zeitschrift zwar nirgends, aber man kann sie ja auch portofrei bestellen. Also klick boing boom tschak bestellt - und nur wenige Sekunden, nachdem ich dies getan habe, lässt die Mail von PayPal bereits Reue aufkommen: Ihr Zahlung an Axel Springer... fuck, Menschmaschine! Schon wieder ein Imperium des Bösen unterstützt.

Nun hab ich also auch dieses Ding. Der Remix oder was auch immer dieser Single? Keine Ahnung, bin zu wenig mit den vorigen Varianten vertraut, um ihn zu beurteilen. Musik ist schon klar, ist halt Kraftwerk. Zeitlos, Klassiker. Aber auch millionenfach durchgekaut und meines Inputs unbedürftig.

Vielleicht ist's einfach das Sujet, das mich brutal mit den Schultern zucken lässt? Dabei gab es vor Ewigkeiten ja auch mal eins, zwei Sommer, in denen ich mich richtig an der Tour festgekuckt hatte: Ullrich vs. Armstrong vs. der neben Borat einzige international bekannte Kasache, der mit gerade nicht einfällt. Plus zweitweise noch ein, zwei andere Player. Richtig spannend, wenn man erst einmal drin gewesen ist. Im Nachhinein natürlich alles von den Fußnägeln bis zur Haarspitze zugedopter Publikumsbeschiss. Das war dreister Lebenszeitraub, ihr Wurstpellenhackfressen!
Naja, mittlerweile schaue ich ja überhaupt gar keine Sportevents mehr. Klar, Fußball ist in der Beziehung sicher weniger schlimm, weil biochemische Schummelei einfach weniger bringt. Aber dafür bereichern sich Unrechtsregime (zu denen man die Fifa selbst im Grunde bereits zählen sollte) pervers an dem Kackscheiß, ganz zu schweigen, dass für unser Entertainment mal eben das Leben unzähliger Gastarbeitersklaven verheizt wird. Und all dieser Bullshit drumherum. Erwähnte ich Axel Springer schon? Scheißdreck. Ist diese Single es wert, den gefährlichen Pedalhaltern einer potenziell kommenden blaubraunen Naziregierung Geld in den Rachen zu werfen. Nein.

Also sei nicht wie ich! Finde einen Zeitschriftenhändler, wo es die Ausgabe noch gibt und klau dir die Single einfach aus dem Cover! Dann kannst Du zwar das Ralf Hütter-Interview darin nicht lesen, aber... ok, ich aber keine Ahnung. Dafür müsste ich wohl selbst erst einmal nachlesen, ob sich das Interview überhaupt lohnt oder nicht.

Wir sehen uns dann in ein paar Jahren wieder an dieser Stelle, wenn das nächste Kraftwerk-Album rundes Jubiläum feiert. Ein paar sind ja noch übrig, selbst wenn die ersten drei (prä-"Autobahn") ja leider aus der offiziellen Musikgeschichtsschreibung der Band getilgt sind.
Das Peloton ist neu formiert. Schön und gut. Ich schau lieber Parkourvideos auf YouTube. Ja, ich weiß, die sind auch böse.

Meine nächste Musikrezension wird gehaltvoller, versprochen!

The Lovecraft Sextet - Black​†​White

Darkjazz Jason strikes again with a seven inch that continues the incredibly thick eeriness of the Doomjazz / Black Metal blend on "Miserere", his last album as The Lovecraft Sextet - and once again adds a new twist.

The Lovecraft Sextet - Black​†​White (7") (2023)

Jason Köhnen himself pitches these two two tracks "Black" and - who would have thought? -"White" as being inspired by saxophone legends like Albert Ayler and Pharoah Sanders as well as early Napalm Death and Beherit. Plus my own almost overused  reference for anything blasting and blowing in this johnzornish direction, PainKiller.

And I honestly don't see much need for description beyond those pillars, because Köhnen  obviously possesses all the necessary experience in gloomy Jazz and musical extremism to pull this off, especially since the saxophone - the only instrument not handled by himself - is once again played by none other than the great Colin Webster.

Other than on the last album, where Black Metal was adopted mostly through its horrid atmosphere, "Black​†​White" actually features bursts from a smooth yet doomy, upright-bass-driven Jazz foundation into ferocious blast attacks. And while those still explode into the existing creepy nocturnal vibe, they indeed also have that demolishing chaotic Grindcore energy - including unhinged bestial yelling.

In that spirit it probably fits that - no surprise given the format - this is a rather short release of just ten minutes total. Which divided by two is still Bell Witch compared to the twelve tracks of Dead Neanderthals's "Rat Licker" EP, right?

The only thing left for me to do here is to threaten you with being beaten bloody by hooligan ghosts if you don't listen to this immediately - and to conclude that every moment of this is perfection worthy of the Michael Fassbender meme. Superb!

KING DUDE - Songs of the 1940s - vol. 1 & 2

2023 will be the year in which T.J. Cowill bids his Dark Americana alter ego King Dude goodbye. Admittedly I've slept a little on his recent releases after 2016's "Sex" - with the exception of last year's collaborative Psychedelic Western album with Der Blutharsch And The Infinite Church Of The Leading Hand. (R.I.P. Albin Julius!)

Taking his project full circle, he also released two digital EP with his most Country recordings ever, featuring his takes on several Great American Songbook classics, which were either written or popularly interpreted during the 1940's. Still counting as an EP this new double seven inch compiles both of them as a beautiful physical release.

KING DUDE - Songs of the 1940s - vol. 1 & 2 (2 x 7" EP) (2023)

The easiest go-to-definition of King Dude has always been an occult twist on Johnny Cash mixed with influences from Neofolk, Darkwave, Gospel and Rockabilly.
These eight songs however are a little bit easier to describe, because they are all pure traditional American Folk and Country and mostly even played in lone cowboy with a guitar by the fire style. But the King wouldn't be the Dude without adding touches beyond his sonorous voice to make these tunes his own.
Be it the pedal steel guitar on "Drivin' Nails In My Coffin" or the whole productions of "Oh Death" and "Pistol Packin Mama" being drenched in eerily cavernous echo or the addition of spooky piano or organ here and there; there's no doubt who you're listening to, even though all of these songs have been covered a thousand times before.

Ok, since I seldom ever dip my feet into this world, I've personally neither been overfed with Cole Carter nor Al Dexter or Hank Williams so far. Which was on purpose, no doubt. The only song of which I have a particular knowledge beyong having heard that somewhere sometime is Stan Jones' "Riders In The Sky". I not only love Youn Sun Nah's spectacular Jazz version, but actually performed it myself as part of a family band - either on my grandparents' (R.I.P.) iron wedding anniversary or my grandfather's 90th birthday. (Those two instances were close to each other, so I confuse the performances.)

Especially given my longtime reservations towards the genre, I find myself much more entertained by this than I would have expected. Only the last track "I Saw The Light" even in this form is still a bit too preachy and corny for me.

All in all however this EP is a great song collection, and its presentation by this Raubbau release is very coherent, starting with using the 7" format, given that the material comes from an era, in which not long playing records, but singles were the norm. The choice of historic images printed on the brown cardboard of both the gatefold and the outer slipcase is moody, and the embossed logo - also on both - is the icing on the cake.
There were two flaws with my copy I have to warn you about: 1. The holes were both too small for my player and needed a bit of widening with a ballpoint pen. 2. The needle has to be put on very carefully, otherwise you might risk it drifting off to the side!

"Songs of the 1940s - vol. 1 & 2" will be officially released on February 23rd.

MARC URSELLI'S STEPPENDOOM - SteppenDoom

You bought a twelve-string bass. Not with twelve strings in a row, but with the regular four strings and two thinner extra strings attached to each of them, so every note you play automatically has two overtones. What do you do with it?
Let's play some doom metal! Yeah, that sounds nice. I wish I could also sing three notes at a time, that would fit so perfectly. Oh wait, there are singers out there who can exactly do that!

Ok, this is not exactly how producer Marc Urselli's many years long journey of creating this album started. But there's also a bit of truth in it. If you want to know more about how this "all star" project of doom and indigenous throat singing came to be, I recommend you consider checking out the artbook CD version of "SteppenDoom"!

AND SINCE I'VE ALREADY WRITTEN ANOTHER AT LEAST MEDIUM-IN-DEPTH REVIEW OF THIS ALBUM HERE ON VEILOFSOUND.COM, I will treat this following text more as an addendum and mainly focus on the haul of the awesome physical product.

MARC URSELLI'S STEPPENDOOM - SteppenDoom (white/müritzblau marbled vinyl LP + clear 7" + artbook CD) (2022)

Yes, I went full let's get myself an early Christmas present from Magnetic Eye Records on this one and purchased the box set, which contains most of the other available formats and adds a couple of extras.

Obviously the most basic version - the digisleeve CD - is missing in the box, but I can tell from afar that it's probably a miniature variant of the LP gatefold with the disc containing the same six regular tracks as its big relative.

On its own the vinyl is available in black and two different coloured version based on red and yellow, while the one in the box set comes in a mountaintop style marbled mix of light blue and white. The gatefold looks great and comes with a sheet for the basic credits.

So if you dig records and are mainly interested in the music, you already have a great album with this.

What you're missing though are the two bonus tracks. And with one of them lasting for thirty-three minutes that's quite a respectable amount of music.

The only physical format which gives you the whole eight tracks is the luscious artbook CD. So if you don't want to go for the whole box, this version of "SteppenDoom" is the one I would recommend the most. Not only the music, but also the photographic art plus the extended credits and liner notes really make this item the heart of the whole release.

There's still a little bit more in the box though! In fact those are the first things you'll see when you open it: prints of three photographs, which also appear in other places of the artwork and photobook - and a neat transparent 7" which again features the two bonus tracks.

And before you're doing the math: Yes, the second one of those - which features the most guest musicians of all tracks, including Dave Chandler (St. Vitus), Wino (The Obsessed), Norman Westberg (Swans), Anders Møller (Ulver) and Alexey Tegin (Phurpa) - is of course not the complete half-hour version, but edited down to a tenth of the original length. That doesn't capture the whole well... Phurpa/Ulver/Swans style meditative grandiosity of it, but it's still something, right? Ok, one could argue why this isn't a 12" extra LP, but since we already have the CD I'm down with this ehm... radio edit. 

So, since I've now finally started to mention some of the participants, I will quickly summerize, what this project actually is.

"SteppenDoom" is the more than successful merger of the worlds of droning doom - think Bong and Sunn O))) or recently Bong-Ra and Rinuwat - with the primeval power and astonishing diversity of the world's indigenous throat singing traditions. Not all of those are covered, since there are also for example forms of overtone singing in South Africa, Sardinia or famously among Tibetian monks. But we have features from the Russian republic of Tuva, where this form of music is the most common, Mongolia and Tanya Tagaq as a representative of the North-American Inuit.
Other big names on the throat singing side are Huun-Huur-Tu, Yat-Kha and the Alash Ensemble, while on the instrumental doom side you're very likely to recognize players from Paradise Lost, Cult Of Luna, Neurosis and Sleep.

The basic skeletons of all tracks were provided by the Swiss-Italian producer Marc Urselli himself. You don't need to care about his Grammy fame, but over eighty-five albums with John Zorn or examples like his work with Toby Driver, Arthur Brown and the jazz metal trio Kilter should indicate that the man knows what counts.

Production-wise alone "SteppenDoom" is an immersive listening experience full of fantastic details. This whole project is more than a well-produced conceptual idea. No, this amplification of ancient vocal art with deep and slow metal transcends the premise of its ingredients and lays bare the deepest roots of doom in a profound place far beyond Black Sabbath.

This is magical stuff. And the doomiest doom of 2022. (But since I've bought this box you probably already guessed that I like it quite a bit.)