OVERLORD MAN JESU ! (4 album reviews)

Well, I still got a couple of 2020 releases I want to review. So here's the first bunch of those:

PHARAOH OVERLORD - 6 (snakebite yellow vinyl) (2020)

As the title suggests this band from Finland already has several albums under its belly. It's in fact even a couple more than five releases since the year 2020. Shame on me that they weren't on my radar until now!
Of course I cannot dive into their whole discography now, but just peeking here and there it's obvious that their sound went through many transformations, beginning with a mixture of stoner, space and psychedelic rock / metal.

"6" is something totally different though. While all of the album's five tracks contain metal guitars, the sound is dominated by Moog synthesizers and groovy electronic midtempo beats. In its core this highly danceable synthwave. And also very sinister! That's not only because of some spooky sounds and melodies in the instrumentals, but due to the extremely upfront growl vocals, which immediately felt familiar on first hearing. Yet only when I received the LP I realized that the guttural organ belongs to none other than Isis' / Sumac's Aaron Turner.

Super sick shit. Party music somewhere between Carpenter Brut, "Spectre" Laibach and pure joyful evil.

OLD MAN GLOOM - Seminar VIII: Light of Meaning (LP) (2020) / Seminar IX: Darkness of Being (LP) (2020)

Speaking of Aaron Turner, the man's also active in a certain little group called Old Man Gloom which released not one, but two albums last year, thankfully (and unlike the infamous "The Ape of God") not bearing the identical title.

But even though these are two seperate releases I find it hard not to view them as one double album, because they complement each other way too good. Both are obviously dealing with themes of death and love under the influence of the passing of former friend and band member Caleb Scofield, who still as writing credits on the music of several tracks. His successor is the always busy Stephen Brodsky, who was also Scofield's partner in his other band Cave In.

Old Man Gloom's ultra heavy post hardcore sludge doom... or whatever you fancy to call it is quite a special blend. It's abrasiveness and the couple of minutes of pure noise sprinkled here and there over both albums make sure that many casual listeners will soon flee for their life and probably miss that beyond the brutal repetitive nature reminiscent of Neurosis and Swans both works actually have a very honest beautiful soul, which even shows glimpses of itself in the music and lyricism of songs like "Calling You Home", "Death Rhymes" or "Love Is Bravery".

"You are agrain of sand
You are a drop of rain

A particle of light

And you can never end

You are a grain of sand

You are a drop of rain

So insignificant

And also everything"

What an epitaph!

Even though most songs are built around simple ideas and the prevalence of thick heaviness is almost constantly pummeling you into the ground, listening to both albums is a remarkably diverse journey, not only due to rotation between Turner, Brodsky and Nate Newton as lead vocalists, but also because of the sheer chops, creativity and intensity everyone brings to the table.

I won't tell you which of these seminars is better, because frankly I could never decide. Just get them both, they rule. 

JESU - Terminus (LP) (2020)

With the return of Godflesh and many other projects going on anyway it has been a while since Justin K. Broadrick graced us with a full length release of Jesu. "Every Day I Get Closer To The Light From Which I Came" came out way back in 2013.

Just like said album this new one is not one of Broadrick's most brutal or heavy works (Godflesh and JK Flesh have that aspect covered I guess), but mostly consists of slow and atmospheric shoegaze, which shows some affinity to doom and post rock, but also allows itself to bathe in dream pop sweetness.

While all eight songs are filled with longing and melancholy, they sound distinct enough from each other to keep the album interesting, which some being focussed on the slightly disharmonic guitar, while others are mostly dominated by electronic sounds. As always almost all instruments were played and programmed by Broadrick, except for the drums on a couple of tracks that demanded a more naturalistic feel and were performed by long-time collaborator Ted Parsons.

Especially with the title track and "Sleeping In" I maybe love the first half of "Terminus" a little bit more, but the songwriting and feeling is excellent throughout the whole album.

The most difficult track to get used to is the effect-laden "Consciousness", which is closest to the extreme experimentalism of the "Never" EP which was also released last year. But other than that EP which I skipped, because I just  couldn't get into it so far, I really dig this track. And it's followed up by even stronger material (what a majestic build-up in "Don't Wake Me Up" - and that sweet-sour final instrumental "Give Up"...), so my overall rating of the whole record should be no surprise:

"Terminus" clearly belongs to those Jesu releases I absolutely adore and is my favorite Jesu album since "Inifinity". (The cover artwork is even more minimalistic now than back in 2009.)

Praise the overlord!

MUSIC 2020: a cyberspace odyssey - recommended streams & favorite downloads

Back in March/April I was still playing with the thought of ranking my favorite live streams, but for several reasons I soon gave up on that. Even though I've seen some great live stream performances, it is just not the same as being there in the flesh, and the formats and possibilities in which artists do them are just as different and unfair to compare as my personal attention span while watching stuff happening on the screen.

Some bands are low-fi broadcasting from their rehearsal rooms or just doing unplugged sessions from their kitchen, others have high quality production values with multiple cameras and shit, others just have one angle, while they are playing in empty concert venues.

Many live streams aren't really live, but prepared recordings. Which is all fine, but just makes it impossible to put them in a list. And then I also happened to stumble over some good stuff, which I couldn't include, because I don't remember the artist's name...

So here's just a couple of recommendations of streams, which are still available online right now!

And while we're already here in the internet, below that this post also contains my TOP 10 downloads, as in: music releases of all shapes and sizes, which where mainly or even exclusively available in digital form.

ORANSSI PAZUZU performs "Mestarin Kynsi"

One of the best live bands in metal right now playing one of the best metal albums of the year in full. Consequently all that could go wrong in this stream was the production, but hell no: Sound, direction, effects and camera work (all shifting a little from track to track) are almost ridiculously awesome, matching the flawless performance of the Finnish psychedelic black metal masters. What a maelstrom!

ELECTRIC MOON live at Vortex Surfer Musikclub Siegen

This was one of those live streams where the band just plays on the stage of an empty live club with a couple of cameras filming. This concept often feels sad, especially when the musicians are used to rock in energetic exchange with huge crowds.
Luckily jam-based krautrock like Electric Moon is among those styles of music which lend themselves to session situations with just the performers on their own anyway. With a special four-piece lineup due to pandemic seperation from their regular drummer, half of the band had never actually played together before, which gives this show an extra boost of adventurous exploration.

VILE CREATURE performs "Glory! Glory! Apathy Took Helm!" 

This duo (with guest musicians) is long overdue to receive some praise here, not only because their sludgy doom is the shit, but also because they don't take themselves too serious in a refreshing way. When this full performance of their recent album went live, you could enjoy it as a full music club simulation by choosing between multiple camera angles. Those included a balcony view, the merch booth, backstage (cuddling with cats) and most hilariously "tall guy in front of you", which basically meant there was one guy filming the band from the empty floor and another dude standing behind him to film his back for the whole show. Apart from some canned applause the still available master cut doesn't include all those shenanigans, but it's still one of my favorite streams I've seen this year.

CENTRE EL MUUSA - sunrise concert in Aidu windmill park

So far I haven't seen any band taking social distancing further than Estonian krautrockers Centre El Muusa on this recently released live video, which shows them jamming it out from darkness to dawn in the giant scenery of a wind energy park. Cut with drone views of the environment this video is pretty breathtaking, which makes it easy for me to forgive that some passages of the music are - while not bad at all - a bit too one-dimensional for my taste.

AMANDA PALMER live in Hawke's Bay, Aotearoa NZ

Not as thematically heavy as her ginormous "There Will Be No Intermission" programme, this show found Amanda Palmer in a different place. Quite literally indeed, since after being stranded there during lockdown, she spend most of the year in New Zealand, which is probably one of the safest places to be during pandemic times. So this stream from an opera house in November actually features a real, even maskless audience. And of course this a brilliant, heartfelt and humorous tearjerker. To say it with one of her finest songs: It's a ride.

Chaos Theory livestream music show feat. ÅRABROT, JO QUAIL and COMA WALL

You want it even more talkative between songs than Amanda Palmer? Well, this stream was basically an interview show with three groups / artists and prepared clips of special acoustic quarantine performances.
If you don't have two hours of time on your hands you can skip over all the other stuff though and just enjoy the music, which is quite a left-field, but above all extremely beautiful and cohesive gathering. Be it Årabrot with their dramatic post punk gothic country charme, cellist Jo Quail going fully classical, yet remaining as exciting as ever, or the enchanting vocal harmonies in the doomy grunge of the revived Coma Wall (aka the acoustic side of Undersmile) - this is all amazing stuff reminding me of why I fucking love music. 

ANNA VON HAUSSWOLFF - "All Thoughts Fly" release concert in Örgryte New Church

"All Thoughts Fly" is a special, magical album and seeing it played live in the church and on the pipe organ of its recording adds another dimension to it. It's quite interesting to realize how much this is actually a band performance, even though everyone's just playing (or processing the sounds of) that one huge instrument. Of all streams here (except the following of course) I have watched this one by far the most. Despite two of the three cameras showing almost no perceptible action. Mighty!

DRUTURUM - "Druturum VI: Tightrope Walkers on the Junction of Memory, Dream and Oblivion"

Yes! Despite all obstacles of this year DruturuM is finally releasing a new live session on December 26th.
Of course I'm going write a post entirely devoted to this one later, but forgive me that I also have to plug it here! If you like Anna von Hausswolff, Earth, psychedelic rock and doomjazz, but performed in a very stripped-down fashion, including the use of toy instruments and a pinch of dilettantism mixed with great emotions, we've got you covered. Definitely our most calm and introspective work so far and we're quite proud of it. (Watch a trailer HERE!)

TOP 10 DOWNLOADS:

1. TOBY DRIVER & NICK HUDSON - Black Feather Under Your Tongue
   
   
   

   An early favorite from the distant "before times" (=February) this collection of  four avant-garde duet improvisations by Toby Driver (Kayo Dot) and Nick Hudson (The Academy Of Sun) is a true testament to the musical chemistry of these musicians and never ceased  to mesmerize me as a calming yet still stirring companion through all the troubled times this year had to offer. Piano, guitar and vocals formed to a piece of art that has a good place on Bandcamp, but would rightfully deserve to be pressed on vinyl by a label like Denovali or RareNoiseRecords.  
   
   
   
   
2. ZOZOBURN: OLD MAN GLOOM + ZOZOBRA live at Fiesta Roadburn



Always such a shame what phenomenal shows you miss at every Roadburn! This 2019 live recording from the mighty Old Man Gloom and their alter ego Zozobra is absolutely killing it, as the hardcore/sludge/doom apes Aaron Turner, Nate Newton, Stephen Brodsky and Santos Montano were totally levelling the 013 venue to the ground. Brutal and punishing, but also quite versatile and just plain fucking fun, this makes being screamed and punched in the face an addictive joy.     



3. ARCHIVE - 25 Live
   
   
   

   I must admit that I haven't really felt a great interest in the physical releases of Archive's 25th anniversary year yet. Which probably is a little ungrateful from my side, given that the band gave us this free download for a couple of weeks in February/March. It's a high-quality compilation of a whopping twenty live recordings, including several long epics like "Lights", "Again", Controlling Crowds" and "Dangervisit". Enormous!
   
   
   
4. THE YAZZ AHMED QUINTET - When We Were Live
   
   
   
   The "high priestess of psychedelic Arabic Jazz", composer / trumpet and horn player Yazz Ahmed released a couple of Bandcamp Friday things, among which this live recording from the summer of 2018, including tunes from "La Saboteuse" and "Polyhymnia" is my clear favorite. One of the most important contemporary jazz fusion artists killing it with a phenomenal quintet. What more do I have to say?
   
   
   
5. DOOLHOF - Doolhof
   
   

   

   Yet another Roadburn live album, probably the hardest release to listen to on this list - and without a doubt the one with the laziest cover artwork. After this experimental electronic ambient and drone plus vocal weirdness trio of Dennis Tyfus, Will Brooks (Dälek) and once again Aaron Turner (Sumac, Old Man Gloom) had cleared the audience at Roadburn 2019, I knew that I wanted to re-experience their performance as a live album. Finally here it is and it's fantastic unsettling shit! 
   
   
   
6. LINGUA IGNOTA - various tracks / The Caligula Demos

   
   

   

   Kristin Hayter was also busy unleashing several Bandcamp Friday tracks, and as always it's all emotionally hard-hitting material. From a new recording of her known Dolly Parton cover "Jolene" over her deconstructions of Chris Isaak's "Wicked Game" and Eminem's "Kim" to her own mighty "O Ruthless Great Divine Director" and the very uncomfortable experimental collage "Failed Forest // Golden Grid" - what Lingua Ignota touches is great oppressive and painful art.
   
   

   

   And of course shortly after I had written this paragraph there was the final Bandcamp Friday of 2020 and the artist not only shared one more track, but twelve of those, being "The Caligula Demos" whech led to the later album, "fragments, motifs, repetition, cuts, warts and all". Similar but also quite distinct from what it became later, this material is already extremely fascinating and mesmerizing on its own.

   
   
   
7. DARK SKY BURIAL - De Omnibus Dubitandum Est
   
   
   
   I know, I know, I don't have that new Napalm Death album yet, even though what I've heard from it so far is awesome. But speaking of awesome, ND bassist Shane Embury's experimental electronic ambient/industrial solo project Dark Sky Burial more than makes up for this shortage in my collection with a debut album overflowing with creative eclecticism. Definitely among the most fitting soundtracks to the overall mood of this year.
   
   
   
8. EMMA RUTH RUNDLE - Staying Power
   
   
   

   The only reason this is not higher up in this list is the lack of quantity, as "Staying Power" is just one single song with a regular four minutes length. But boy, what a song it is!
   Well, it is a previously unreleased track from the "On Dark Horses" sessions, and just like everything on that album Emma Ruth Rundle's performance on voice and guitar is deeply moving, strong and vulnerable in her unique beautiful way.
   
   
   
   
9. NITELIGHT - Nitelight plays: Death's Symbolic / Zombie Ritual
   
   

   

   Yeah, what this Italian duo does is pretty much on the nose and it sounds exactly like the best imaginable version of what the cover artwork promises. Chuck Schuldiner goes instrumental synthwave, as Nitelight cover the whole "Symbolic" album and in translating it into a totally different musical language prove once again, just how good these compositions are.



Unsurpringly if you dig this you also can't possibly say no to the single Helloween bonus track "Zombie Ritual", which sees the "Scream Bloody Gore" Death classic get the same irresistable Carpenter Brut style danceable makeover.




10. ESOCTRILIHUM - F'htansg
    
    
    
    Speaking of Helloweeen, that was also the occasion for French avant-garde black metal working animal Asthâghul aka Esoctrilihum to drop this three-track EP.
    And just like on his full albums so much is happening during the (in this case) twenty minutes that you're tricked into thinking the actual playing time is much longer. I called this the "Altars Of Madness" effect - which is also a good stylistic reference, especially for the final track "Lugalugkuh". All in all "F`htansg" is a great nice little demonic black/death inferno and probably a good entry point into the cosmos of this project. 
    
    
    

BANDCAMP DAY September 2020 mit COMA WALL, SUNN O))), OLD MAN GLOOM + ZOZOBRA und RAT ABBEY

 Oh shit, gestern war schon wieder Bandcamp Friday! 

Für den Fall, dass Du erst seit heute morgen Internetzugang hast und deshalb tatsächlich noch nicht weißt, was das ist: Als Reaktion auf die Pandemiekrise verzichtet Bandcamp am jeweils ersten Freitag des Monat auf seinen eigenen Anteil an allen Verkäufen, d.h. der Erlös geht zu hundert Prozent an die Künstler oder Labels bzw. kommt häufig auch einem guten Zweck zu.

Man kann auch sagen, dass es sich hier um eine der besten Marketingaktionen des Jahres handelt, da äußerst erfolgreich (auch für BC selbst durch die generelle Aufmerksamkeit) und dabei moralisch absolut einwandfrei. Niemand wird hier vom Kapitalismus ausgebeutet.

Da aber nun so viele teils exklusive Veröffentlichungen auf diesen Tag gelegt werden, muss man sich als Musikfan allerdings schon böse zusammenreißen, um nicht die Kontrolle über sein Budget zu verlieren.

Ich war gestern recht diszipliniert und habe mich auf fünf überwiegend digitale Einkäufe beschränkt:

COMA WALL - Ursa Minor EP (download) (2020)

Fünf Jahre ist es nun schon her, dass ich zu Coma Wall auf dem Roadburn Festival geträumt habe. Inzwischen haben sich die verstärkte Mutterband Undersmile und ihr akustischer Ableger Coma Wall längst aufgelöst. 2020 allerdings sollte ein Comebackjahr mit mehreren Konzerten werden. Wir wissen, was daraus geworden ist...

Immerhin gibt es nun diese Drei-Song-EP mit Songs, die eigentlich für Ursa Minor, die vorige Band der beiden Gitarristinnen/Sängerinnen Taz Corona-Brown und Hel Sterne geschrieben und schließlich im Jahr 2012 aufgenommen wurden.

Die Songs lassen sich wohl am ehesten als akustischer Grunge mit Doomeinfluss beschreiben und mit der "subdued" Version von Subrosa vergleichen. Wie immer bei Undersmile / Coma Wall ist es vor allem der durchgehend als gespenstisch schönes Duett vorgetragene Harmoniegesang, der einen hier magisch einlullt. Wunderbar!

SUNN O))) - Veils It White (download) (2003)

Weiter geht es mit einem Klassiker, von dem ich bisher nichts mitbekommen hatte, nämlich der ersten EP von Sunn O))) aus dem Jahre 2003.

Ein einziger, allerdings über zwanzigminütiger Track, brummend, dröhnend, knarzend, wie wir es seither von den Meistern des Drone Metal kennen und lieben.

Und schon hier beweisen die Herren O'Malley und Anderson, dass das verbreitete Ist-ja-nur-Lärm-und-klingt-alles-gleich-Vorurteil über die Band kompletter Bullshit ist. Ich hatte jedenfalls nicht damit gerechnet, mitten im schweren Gedröhne dieser Debütveröffentlichung mit einem Klavier überrascht zu werden.

ZOZOBURN: OLD MAN GLOOM + ZOZOBRA live at Fiesta Roadburn (download) (2020)

Und wenn man schon einmal im Reich der ganz extrem Gitarrensounds herumcruist, sind Old Man Gloom ein logischer nächster Stopp.

Ich fühle mich ja immer ein bisschen schuldig, wenn es um diese schweinegeilderbe Hardcore/Sludge/Doom-Supergruppe geht, weil ich mir immer noch keine Scheibe von ihnen gegönnt habe, obwohl sie seit Jahren fett auf meiner inneren Merkliste stehen. Und dass ich sie clashbedingt am bis heute letzten Roadburn-Tag nicht sehen konnte, ist natürlich auch schade.

Zum Glück jedoch haut SIGE Records nun das komplette Old Man Gloom-Konzert inklusive des letzten Drittels als ihr Alter Ego Zozobra und einem extra albernen, aber durchaus coolen Coverartwork raus. Und das Ding knallt und groovt und brüllt und scheppert ganz fabelhaft.

Und ist zwischendrin auch mal überraschend musikalisch. (Pressluft-)Hammer!

RAT ABBEY - The Engine Of Night (Tape) (2020)

Zu guter Letzt lehnen wir uns nun wieder entspannt zurück und genießen digital, was ich demnächst dann auch als Kassette in der Hand halten sollte.

Rat Abbey ist ein instrumentales Ambient/Drone/Postrock-Projekt von Esben And The Witch-Drittel Thomas Fisher, welches im Prinzip auch nicht weit von den langsameren, atmosphärischeren Stücken jener Band entfernt ist. Man kann sich jedenfalls leicht über jedem der vier Tracks Gesang von Rachel Davies vorstellen.

Damit will ich allerdings nicht sagen, dass ihre Stimme fehlt, denn diese Musik ist schon groß und packend und sehr gut, so wie sie ist. Augen schließen und transzendieren! 

Ja, Du hast richtig gezählt, das waren nur vier Einkäufe, nicht fünf!

Über den letzten kann und möchte ich an dieser Stelle noch nicht groß schreiben, da es sich um eine Vorbestellung handelt, von der erst ein Song online ist. Die Rezension des ersten Albums von Cryptae folgt also logischerweise irgendwann später an dieser Stelle!

ROADBURN FESTIVAL 2014 • DAY THREE / Saturday, April 12th

*yaaaawn* Good morning again!

With two festival days behind me starting to take their toll, everything startet off a little bit slower on Saturday.

I tried to read in a book but failed to maintain concentration for more than a few pages. Went back to bed for a while. Had breakfast and a very brief walk in the surrounding misty woods. Went back to bed again...

Yet still I managed to drive to Tilburg way before the first band on my schedule started and fulfilled some more of my tourist duties. You can't visit a dutch city without snapping some boat shots. It's verboden!

15 cliche points for me

I went merchandise shopping on Veemarktstraat right in front of the 013 and then back to my car to tuck my purchases and - more important -  to change my camera gear from tourist to concert mode.

Now on that walk I got seriously worried, if I`d make it back again in time. The first band I wanted to see was Monster Truck - and here I stood, almost at my car, but I couldn't cross the street because of an endless parade of trucks! As I found out it was neither a demonstration nor a really big wedding company, but some kind of action for the good cause where those truck drivers chauffeured disabled kids through to city and people were waving at them.

convoy crossing

I admit I was bugged by the timing. Thankfully it all worked out in the end. When the trucks kept coming and coming I went around the corner to a Polish shop, where I came to know and taste that there's indeed an energy drink called "Tiger", named after boxer Darius Michaelczewski. Learn something useful every day!

Monster Truck

Monster Truck

Finally back at the festival I arrived in the Green Room of the 013 just in time for the Canadians Monster Truck, who kicked off the afternoon with an explosive performance of the purest straight forward Rock'n'Roll I experienced this Roadburn. Derived from a variety of great rock and metal classics they clearly have their own recognizable vibe. To my ears Monster Truck sound just like the name promises, only that the powerful lead vocals in the more bluesy parts reached an emotional depth slightly above what I would have associated with a giant horse power monster.


The guitar player was a show for himself as he seemingly aimed not only to kick our asses, but also his own - preferably with his spare instrument or some other thing on the small stage. A mad dog trapped in a canary cage. Luckily no leg was broken this afternoon.

A great gig. And just the right dose of adrenaline to power you up for the rest of the day.

Windhand

Windhand were certainly not bad. I would have noticed that when I watched them from the photo pit. On the other hand they didn't leave a lasting impression an me neither. Yes, it was some vintage doomsy rock thing with female vocals, but I just don't have any exploitable recollection of them.
Four days full of music, now already over two weeks ago... you must allow my memory this gap.

Yob

Yob

The US doom trio Yob is a regular at Roadburn and kind of the embodiment of what this festival is about. It's doom. It's metal. It abandones all that kitsch which is too often associated with metal. It comes with a massive shitload of devastating distortion, thus being much closer to Melvins than to Judas Priest.

But it's more than that. Honestly I can even put my finger on what exactly it is that makes Yob stand out so exceptionally. But it's undoubtly there, that emotional depth and multi-layered substance beyond sheer heaviness.

Although I wasn't one-hundred percent in the mood for them at that particular time and I'm still pissed that my copy of "Atma" has some fatal scratches on a track you can only buy with the whole album, I found myself very well entertained and can't deny that Yob  is a truly unique beast and that the praise they receive among Roadburn guests is well-deserved.

Old Man Gloom

Old Man Gloom

Now comes the riff parade!

Be it doomy, mid-tempo grooves, with an industrial edge or in faster thrash / hardcore pace, with Old Man Gloom it was all about throwing brutal and effective guitar hammerings into the audience.
The main  reason I went to see them was that some parts and expecially screaming vocals reminded  me of my all-time favorite noise gods Skin Chamber. And I wasn't disappointed at all.

The only flaw you could attest to Old Man Gloom is that you can hardly identify any songwriting. After the set I seriously had no idea whether they had just played five or twenty-five songs. It's just riff - yeah - next riff - yeah - now that's a riff - yeah - damn, are those guys angry - yeah...


But to be truthful, that's less a flaw and rather a feature. This band just works this way and it does it well!

Loop

Loop

Time for another chapter in the book of obscure cult bands which ceased to exist just when I started to seriously listen to music. Enter Loop.

Loop were originally active from 1986 to 1991 and are currently on a two-year-reunion-run. With the mastermind Robert Hampson briefly being a part of Godflesh in the early 90s, maybe I should have heard of them somehow. I didn't and I clearly missed something.

It's hard to categorize Loop's style, yet its simplicity on the surface calls back to former movements like punk, post-punk, no wave... you get it. The foundation of the band's sound is an almost hypnotic rhythm section enriched with endlessly circling guitar riffs. The name Loop really says it all.

In contrast to the repetive structures and parole singing there was a lot of psychedelic lead guitar action infusing the performance with additional energy. All components came just in the right doses, these guys know exactly what they're doing.

Another highlight among highlights on this incredible festival.

A Storm Of Light

A Storm Of Light

So far I had only seen one band - Conan - in Het Patronaat. Saturday around midnight was my very last chance to join a show there, when A Storm Of Light blew over the beautiful venue`s stage.

Their style is an apocalyptic postrock/metal melange, mostly played faster than the Roadburn average and even featuring some catchy (dare I say almost melodic?) moments. A Storm Of Light are far from being copycats of anything, but to my delight I found myself heavily reminded of good old "The Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Taste"-Ministry at times. Right in your face!



And so ended DAY THREE of Roadburn, surely the day I was least prepared for, as I had not seen any of the bands live before and knew them only via some streams and YouTube videos.

Clearly related to DAY ONE / Thursday and totally different from my DAY TWO / Friday (where else could those things happen at the same festival?) this Saturday was a worthwhile experience on its own.

The last part of this review tetralogy will hopefully follow soon!


Meanwhile my black and white concert photographs on medium format film have been developed, so even after the next review there's still more Roadburn articles to come in this blog. I'm also still working on my digital pictures. You can already see a bunch of them HERE on flickr.