MUSIC 2017: top EPs, live recordings etc.

It's that time of the year again!

Wrapping my head around the task of ranking my annual favorites always seems to be an impossible struggle and thus can only result in a snapshot of preferences in a moment in time.
This year it's especially difficult, because so many potential candidates for some categories have only just come into play from October to right now. And how do you weigh something totally fresh to your ears against stuff you know since March?

This is why I'm starting with the "smaller" categories this time and the post with albums and concerts will follow later, probably not even before Christmas. There's just too much still going on.[EDIT: Here they are!]


As always there's one general rule for you:

Whining about something missing is bullshit. I'm only one guy on his own blog, writing exclusively about stuff I personally own in some form. So even though I acknowledge that there are tons of genius music out there; as long as it's not in my collection I won't include it here.

There are several releases which would fit in more than one category, but in favor of including more artists in the whole thing I only featured those in one ranking.

The category downloads refers to any kind of album, EP, etc. which is only available as download.

The new category re-release refers to any form of old music being released again, as long as it brings something new to the release, so no regular, identical re-pressings.

EP TOP 5: 

 

1. KAMASI WASHINGTON - Harmony Of Difference
   

   

   His giant, three hours long "The Epic" almost won my album of the year ranking in 2015.
   The latest effort of tenor saxophone sensation Kamasi Washington and his bunch of equally talented friends from Los Angeles (including two drummers) only clocks in at half an hour, but it delivers the same brand of grand maximalist spiritual jazz that surely would make his idol John Coltrane proud.

2. DAVID BOWIE - No Plan EP

   

   One last time the Spaceman greets us from his recording studio on the other side with his three latest tracks plus the already familiar "Blackstar" hit "Lazarus". Especially "Killing A Little Time", which bursts with explosive prog and jazz elements, shows us that Bowie was nowhere near the end of his creativity when he passed away.

3. DEAD NEANDERTHALS - The Depths

   

   Sometimes musicians who constantly play together and put out releases just need a little break from each other, a little distance. The dutch drums & sax free jazz duo Dead Neanderthals decided for a distance of about 100 meters, with each player performing on one end of an industrial tunnel.
   The improvisations on "The Depths" are a successful excercise in restraint - minimalistic, yet huge and deep at the same time.

4. RADAR MEN FROM THE MOON - Fuzz Club Session

   Just four dutch dudes performing four of their hypnotic, robotic industrial space rock jams live in a studio.
   I still don't have too much to say about this Radar Men From The Moon EP, except that this is a flawless listen and definitely one of my psych favorites of this year.

5. MOTORPSYCHO - The California EP

   I guess that's norwegian thoroughness:
   In case a fantastic double album and a breathtakingly brilliant tour weren't enough, supreme work animals of rock Motorpsycho also brought an EP with them on tour, which is comprised of two seven-inch records. Four tracks, four styles, everything top-notch.

   
   

 

TOP 7":

VIRUS - Investigator

Two new songs from this unmistakable weird psych prog group. The similar cover artwork already hints at it: With "Investigator" and the dark "The Blue Flags Of The Dead" the Norwegians start off right where they left after their 2016 album "Memento Collider", with especially the ladder song being a prime example of their unique songwriting approach.

 

TOP 10":

ORANSSI PAZUZU - Kevät / Värimyrsky

Something old and something new. Something black and something blacker.
While the previous masterpiece "Värähtelijä" highlighted the hypnotic, psychedelic and overflowing side of Oranssi Pazuzu, the two tracks of this record show them in a somehow more comprehensible mood with influences from funeral doom and Fields Of The Nephilim gothic. However this is still best labelled black metal, even though it defies the borders of the genre at any time.

TOP Split:

 

SINMARA / MISTHYRMING - Split

"Disharmonious howls, cacaphonous swarm" says it in the lyrics of the Sinmara track "Ivory Stone", and thus we're taught the programmatic essence of this 10 inch record. While I prefer the Misþyrming side, both bands unleash a furious helish inferno and represent Iceland's black metal scene in the best way possible.

 

TOP 5 live recordings:

 

1. CAUSA SUI - Live In Copenhagen

   

   Two album release concerts from 2013 and 2016 being eternalized on three records (plus a bonus 10 inch for early buyers), packed in a beautiful box with Miles Davis homage cover artwork.
   Flowing from gentle jazz over psychedelic jams to fuzzy heaviness, accompanied by guest musicians on additional guitar and saxophone, Causa Sui explode in quality and quantity on "Live In Copenhagen". Pure magic.
   

2. SWANS - Deliquescence

   

   Michael Gira has just played his last concerts with this monolithic incarnation of Swans. "Deliquescence" documents an earlier stage of its long farewell tour and shows that even with the end approaching the band was still including more than an hour of brand-new music in their performances. The 45 minutes long opener "The Knot" stands as a perfect summary and culmination of the restless, epic and cathartic noise explorations of the last five Swans years.

3. ESBEN AND THE WITCH - Live At Roadburn

   

   I wasn't even familiar with the band before, but their show in the Green Room of the 013 turned out to be one of the very highlights of this year's Roadburn festival.
   Combined with one of my own favorite photographs on the back cover, I'm really excercising my highest amount of objectivity and restraint here by not putting this record on the top of my list. It's wonderful.
   

4. SUBROSA - Subdued - Live At Roadburn 2017

   

   I should have made an exclusive list only for "Live at Roadburn" albums, because besides this sublime document of Subrosa in their even more atmospheric "subdued" form the respective records from Hills and Slomatics also really deserve to be honoured here. I attended all three concerts and each one of them was special. Subrosa's show however still resonates closest to my heart. And anyone listening to the epic closer "No Safe Harbor" alone should understand why.

5. CULT OF LUNA - Years In A Day

   

   The swedish post metal giants Cult Of Luna love things to be monolithic and overwhelming. So is this package, which includes a DVD (plus audio download) of a special extra-long concert in Paris and CDs with not one but two Roadburn shows, one being the 2016 performance of "Somewhere Along The Highway".

TOP reissue:

 

 

CYNIC - Uroboric Forms - The Complete Demo Recordings

The content of four demo tapes, originally released between 1988 and 1991, now on vinyl and CD. With a bonus 7" and a booklet with all original artwork and liner notes on top. What a great way to follow Cynic back to their aggressive thrash and death metal roots! It's a shame that due to the split-up drama Sean Reinert wasn't involved in the making of this awesome reissue.

TOP 3 downloads:

 

1. KÖHNEN PANDI DUO - Darkness Comes In Two's

   

   A duet of Merzbow and Mount Fuji Doomjazz Corporation members playing three closely connected, doomy, atmospheric free jazz improvisations on drums and electronics. Released in January this dark and cinematic performance still moves me deeply each time I listen to it.

2. EXIVIOUS - Chrysalis - the early demos

   With the instrumental jazz/metal/post rock fusion band calling it quits this year in favor of their new project Our Oceans, the dutch band dug into their archive and brought their early recordings from 2001 to 2003 to light. Beginning as a Cynic clone (at first even with matching vocals) this compilation should be interesting for any fan of Death-inspired progressive metal.

3. ULVER - Sic Transit Gloria Muni ep

   

   Covering Frankie Goes To Hollywood's "The Power Of Love" can probably only result either in shame or in magnificence.
   Ulver are pulling this off absolutely beautiful, respecting the original while adding their own voice to it. Completed by two new tracks in the style of "The Assassination Of Julius Caesar" this EP is a perfect encore to that album.

TOP tape:

BOTANIST - Collective: Setlist 2017

Shhh! This is the only tape I bought this year. And I haven't even listened to it, but only to the accompanying download. Please don't tell anyone!
That being said the idea of selling a fresh recording of your tour setlist is neat and in case of the dulcimer green/black metal band Botanist makes a seriously good album which doesn't need to hide from their regular studio release.

and else?

Well, I'm too lazy to think of other lists, which includes dissappointments 2017 and hopes for 2018. (Favorite albums and concerts are coming in another post as mentioned above.)

But since I have finally played some concerts of my own again, I will at least take the opportunity to link to the respective albums on Bandcamp:

VIRUS - Investigator

Wer Vinyl hört, der lernt zu warten. Dass die aktuelle 7" von Virus etwas später als angekündigt kam, habe ich z.B. kaum wahrgenommen. Da hat mich eher gestört, für die klar unter einem Gesamtwert von raubritterabgabenfreien sechsundzwanzig Euro liegende Sendung aus Norwegen extra zum Hauptzollamt gurken zu müssen.

Die Wiederveröffentlichung der ersten drei Virus-Alben auf Duplicate Records war es übrigens, die mich wie bisher keine andere Vorbestellung im geduldigen Zen-Modus gestärkt hat. Ich hatte alle drei Alben (plus die "Oblivion Clock"-EP von 2015) im August 2015 bestellt und dank Presswerküberlastung mit über einjähriger Verspätung Ende Februar 2017 erhalten.
Aber was soll's, es ist ein wunderbares Paket inklusive Farbvinylgedöns und Postern geworden und ich habe mich wohl bei keiner anderen Band mit ähnlich vielen oder mehr Veröffentlichungen in letzter Zeit so gründlich durch die komplette Diskographie gehört.

Trotzdem bin ich nach wie vor ziemlich verloren, wenn es darum geht, den kauzigen disharmonischen und doch eingängigen, entspannt panischen Sound des Trios zu beschreiben. Zu eigenwillig und in seinem komplett eigenen Universum existierend ist das Werk dieser Band. Voivod, Captain Beefheart, die Psychedelic Rock-Entsprechung dessen, was Disharmonic Orchestra für den Death Metal darstellt, sind Referenzen, die ich in der Vergangenheit angeführt habe. Dem kann ich jetzt auch nichts erhellenderes hinzufügen.

Saugeiler, einzigartiger Scheiß halt.

VIRUS - Investigator (7") (2017)

"Investigator" ist Peter Falks ("Columbo") Glasauge gewidmet. Muss man auch erstmal drauf kommen. Ansonsten schließt der Uptempo-Song unmittelbar an "Memento Collider" an und könnte direkt neben dessen größten Highlights (also quasi allen Tracks darauf) locker bestehen. Urtypisch Virus und daher selbstverständlich großartig.

"The Blue Flags Of The Dead" ist für mich aber der noch etwas wichtigere Track auf dieser Single. Länger, langsamer (zumindest teilweise), schräger, schwieriger. Es ist schon richtig, dass es sich hier um die B-Seite handelt, denn ein Single-Hit geht ganz anders. Dafür ist dieser Song aber emotional tiefer und emanzipiert sich musikalisch etwas mehr vom vorangegangenen Album, bzw. fügt der Virus-Diskographie noch eher eine neue Note hinzu.

Fantastisch eigensinniges Zeug wieder einmal, welches auch gut als Einstieg in die schräge Welt dieser Band taugt. "Investigator" ist nach wie vor als Single zu haben, und als Download ja sowieso.

Highlight: The Blue Flags Of The Dead

VIRUS - Memento Collider

Und nun nicht zum ersten Mal ein Review aus der Kategorie total bekloppter  Scheiß aus Norwegen. Irgendwas stimmt da oben doch mit dem Wasser nicht!

Während die irgendwann letztes Jahr vorbestellten Neupressungen des Backkatalogs von Virus anscheinend immer noch in der Warteschlage der Schallplattenbäckerei stehen, habe ich mit nicht ganz so langer Verspätung immerhin kürzlich das neue Studiowerk der Herren Crzal, Plenum und Einz in meine gierigen Finger bekommen.

VIRUS - Memento Collider (LP) (2016)

Das Album enthält sechs Stücke mit einer durchschnittlichen Länge von ca. siebeneinhalb Minuten. Und das war es hier dann auch schon mit den leicht zu beschreibenden Fakten.

Dass Carl-Michael Eide früher ein profilierter Black Metal-Drummer gewesen ist, bevor er nach einem Sturz von einem mehrstöckigen Gebäude die Bewegungsfähigkeit seiner Füße verlor und auf Gitarre und Gesang umstieg, ist zwar Standardinformation bei Virus-Reviews, hilft zum musikalischen Verständnis allerdings nur insofern, dass gerade die Geschichte der norwegischen BM-Szene natürlich reich an Protagonisten ist, die sich irgendwann vom extremen Metal weg der Advantgarde zugewandt haben.

Nein, Metal ist das hier im Grunde ohnehin nicht. Dafür verweigert sich Czral schon zu konsequent der durchaus naheliegenden Versuchung, entsprechende Riffs zu spielen.

Und da "Advantgarde" ein ziemlich dehnbares Füllwort ist, nennen wir das Ganze mal progressiven Psychedelic Rock - und sind damit auch nicht viel weiter.

Zum Glück gibt mein diesjähriger Rezensionsverlauf mit dem Debüt von The Claypool Lennon Delirium eine ganz taugliche Referenz her. Die Drumgrooves und das sehr geschäftige Bassspiel von deren flotteren Kompositionen sind nämlich durchaus mit dem verwandt, was die Rhythmussektion von Virus auf "Memento Collider" vom Stapel lässt.

Virus live 2015

Auch dass die Gitarre das Geschehen streckenweise nur mit Nuancen verfeinert und ansonsten dem Tieftöner als Leadinstrument den Vortritt lässt, passt in diesen Vergleich. Dem Gegenüber steht allerdings der Rest des Albums, welcher vom absolut eigenständigen Stil Czrals dominiert wird.
Die sehr laid back gespielten, nie sonderlich stark verzerrten Licks ziehen ihre Spannung vor allem aus ihrem grenzwertigen Harmonieverständnis und einer Performance, die es schafft, gleichzeitig anspruchsvoll geplant und doch spontan improvisiert zu wirken.

Es ist ein bisschen so, als würde Captain Beefheart den Klang von Voivods "Nothingface" imitieren. Passend dazu steuert übrigens eben deren Dan Mongrain ein kurzes Solo zu "Gravity Seeker" bei, welches anderswo einigermaßen außerirdisch wäre, hier allerdings zum "normalsten" Gitarrenmoment des ganzen Albums wird.

Der Gesang ist ein für sich alleine wahrscheinlich eher wenig beeindruckendes Gecroone mit einer guten Portion Pathos, die aber perfekt zur Schrägheit der Musik passt, die ich mir mitunter auch ganz gut als Soundtrack zum surrealistischsten Spaghetti-Western aller Zeiten vorstellen könnte.

Wer das Feeling der progressivsten Ansätze von Hexvessel mag und so etwas gerne noch viel schräger und abgefahrener hätte, der ist mit "Memento Collider" vielleicht richtig beraten.

Letztendlich gibt es aber nur äußerst wenige Bands, deren Musik so vollkommen eigenständig klingt wie die von Virus. Deswegen sind alle Empfehlungen der Marke "klingt so ähnlich wie" Makulatur.
Der eine wird wohl ganz unabhängig von sonstigen Hörgewohnheiten an der exzentrischen Disharmonie, die hier gepflegt wird scheitern, der andere diese gar nicht wahrnehmen, da ihn die mitreißende Tanzbarkeit der Stücke sofort packt.

Ich für meinen Teil finde die Gruppe an sich sowieso sensationell und freue mich, wie sie ihren sehr spezifischen Sound hier noch weiter vorangebracht hat.
Und irgendwann kapiere ich ja vielleicht auch, was zum Teufel da in den ersten anderthalb Minuten von "Dripping Into Orbit" passiert. Das hat mich schon geflasht und bis weit über das Konzert hinaus verfolgt, als sie den Song letztes Jahr live vorgestellt haben.

Highlights: Phantom Oil Slicks, Afield, Dripping Into Orbit (ach... eigentlich sind die alle gleich geil)

ROADBURN Festival 2015 • DAY THREE : Friday, April 10th

Good morning Friday! Good Moring Oisterwijk!

When I had come back to the hotel the previous night, there were already significantly more cars in the parking lot, indicating that more Roadburn visitors had arrived.
Indeed there were some guys I knew from last year, as well as new faces at the breakfast tables.

German readers will probably all know Götz Kühnemund, former chief editor of the famous RockHard Magazine and now head of the high praised new print magazine Deaf Forever.
At breakfast I told the anecdote, that the first person I met in the Netherlands on my first Roadburn trip in 2012 was Mr. Kühnemund in front of me at the hotel reception.
And what happened now after breakfast? I sat in my room with the door open to let some fresh air through and who steps out of another room? ... Right!

For the unlikely case that I could get bored and not be too tired to read at the same time at some point I had fetched the previous Deaf Forever issue right before my trip and thus I had only read a few pages of it. And now I was in the same hotel as the magazine staff and also got the new issue for free. Still didn't have the time to read much of that one either, but it was an appreciated surprise!

I did go on a photographic walk after breakfast, but I kept it significantly shorter than yesterday's two-and-a-half-hour-wanderlust.

After lunch in Tilburg I was back at the 013 at 3 p.m. to get infected by the first band on the main stage.

Virus

Virus

 
Virus from Norway opened the day with some really sick experimental shit! I loved every minute of it, especially watching the weird, often dissonant and crazy and at the same time laid-back guitar play unfold was just a joy.

Undoubtly inspired by Voivod their experimental metal totally sounds like a 70s version of "Nothingface" from a parallel universe.

This is a band I should have been worshipping for years already. But you know how it is: you discover some great stuff, but then there are only high-priced import albums to buy und it slips from your mind...  I'm glad I added "The Black Flux" to my record collection now; and it won't be the last Virus album there!

Sólstafir

Sólstafir

The vast landscapes of Iceland provided the suitable backdrop for the post rock of Sólstafir.

Having last seen them in Het Patronaat three years ago and at least resolved to get their much-praised "Ótta" album one day, I still like what those four cowboys are doing, but I also find some unnecessary lengths in their performance.
I love when they build those soundscapes that blend Russian Circles with Sigur Rós. I also like when they remind me of the latter in fragile passages. I'm also perfectly fine with them rocking out wildly and touching their metal roots.

Yet there are some songs (or parts of songs) in which Sólstafir medium rock with no recognizable reason and I'm just going: Tension! Suspense! Emotion! Come on, I know you can do it!

Please leave those out next time, because the predominant rest is damn fine.

Fields Of The Nephilim

Fields Of The Nephilim

FIELDS OF THE fucking NEPHILIM!

Do I need to say more?

The legendary Fields playing twice this year was a dream come true for me and the prime reason on the running order why I couldn't miss Roadburn at any cost.
As a teenager I had worshipped their early albums to death, but after the temporary break-up and "Zoon" and lost track of them, partly because I wasn't so keen on the stronger metal influences of the following material.

With the "Ceromonies" live album which I only bought at the Roadburn merch stand I'm beginning to get into that stuff as well, but on Friday shortly before 7 p.m. I was mainly in for the classics, especially since this was the very first time I saw the gods of dark rock live.

And when they started with "Dawnrazor" it was just pure bliss. "Moonchild" and "The Watchman" were there, "Love Under Will" and the mighty hypnotizing bass of "Psychonaut".

And Carl McCoy - what can I say? What a phenomenon! That guy just stepped out of a time machine, wearing the same (and I mean the identical) shabby western outfit and unmistakable hat than a hundred years ago back in the 80s. Not only an absolutely timeless presence in his appearance his deep voice was as entangling, haunting, demonic as ever.

I'm far from being anywhere close to objectivity here, but what Fields Of The Nephilim delivered was utter dark perfection. There is just no band with a comparable sound remotely close to the masters. The normal festival duration of the set felt much too short for me. Thank God Roadburn there would be a second, longer show tomorrow!


Unfortunaly having to see the Fields I was facing a monstrous running order clash now, as the very much alive dutch prog rock dinosaurs Focus were already playing in the Green Room for almost half an hour now.
But there was still more than half of their show left, so my plan was to watch that second half at least. Shitty plan! There was no way to get into the room. The main entrance was totally packed, and trying to get in there through the corridor from Stage01 I ran into the hottest and most deoxydegated air you could imagine and immediately turned around. This band was obviously way too big for its venue. So sadly no Focus for me, even though they had been one of the bands I had been most excited about to see. After Fields Of The Nephilim, who beat every other priority, of course.
 

Robert Hampson

So what now?

On the small platform of Stage01, the room also known as "bat cave", which I hadn't ever seen close on my previous two Roadburn visits, the familiar face of Loop's (or as yesterday Kandodo's) Robert Hampson was preparing a solo performance.

The setup with lots of effects, a laying guitar and a glowing apple reminded me of Justin K. Broadricks solo project Final. And with Hampson (who also featured on Godflesh's classic "Pure") and Broadrick being very like-minded, it was no wonder that it also was close to Final musically.

I did it like most people in the first rows and just sat down and closed my eyes for most of the time, letting the waves of noise, which sparkled with underlying cathartic beauty, wash over me.
"Normal" people might cover their ears, shake their heads in disbelief and leave when confronted with this kind of advantgarde, but for the attending Roadburn visitors this seemed to be a welcome opportunity to meditate and find energy for the rest of the night.

Mr. Hampson wasn't willing to overdo and kept the whole thing much shorter than scheduled and then ordered us to go to Het Patronaat: "Now go see The Heads!"


A good suggestion, but I rather stayed here in the 013.

Since there was some time before the next band in the cave started, I could still see a good portion of the next artist on the main stage. Virus, Sólstafir and Fields Of The Nephilim had all been part of this day's curated event, which I haven't mentioned until now, just because "Houses Of The Holistic curated by Ivar Bjørnson and Einar Kvitrafn Selvik" is a hell of a shitload to type.

The grand finale of this event came in three acts, being the performances of Wardruna, Enslaved and finally Skuggsjá, a collaboration of both bands, creating "the sound of Norway`s Norse history) and originally composed in celebration of the anniversary of Norway's constitution.
Sounds interesting on paper, especially for my personal concert visitor résumé, since I`ve already seen a Laibach composition on the very same occasion this year.

But alas the whole Enslaved part of this concept isn't my thing, so I was content with just watching a part of act I.

Wardruna

Wardruna were impressive and very different from anything else I've seen this weekend.

It was Nordic, folk-ish, based on a rather exotic instrumentation including strange horns and harps and wooden sounds on a tree trunk, and with a strong emphasis on voices.
There were choir arrangements as well as impressive solo performances reminiscent of the highest range of Lisa Gerrard on one one side and deep guturral chanting on the other with many steps inbetween.

Wandering from minimalistic simplicity to sheer bombast, the whole performance always seemed like a great spiritual invocation. Interesting and intense stuff.

Lucifer

Lucifer

Lucifer

Back in the Stage01 I came early enough to save myself a good spot in the soon to be very crowded room, as the legitimate successors of the short-lived The Oath were to hit the stage.

With a recent discography of only one 7 inch Johanna Sardonis' new band Lucifer could have played it safe and cover some hits from the critically acclaimed The Oath debut, but luckily they didn't. Instead they showed the strength of their own new Lucifer material, which tended a little bit more to pure classic hard rock and doom.
It is undoubtly what you call retro and occult rock these days. And it's just fine like that.

I really dug all their songs, the drive of the band and Johanna's stage presence and vocals, which are growing more and more on me.

If it's anywhere near this live show that soon-to-be-released album will be damn good!


After Lucifer the running order kept being clashy.

My initial intention was to see Death Hawks and then rush over to Cul de Sac to experience the black thrash rage of Mortals.
Only, since I unfortunately hadn't seen Focus, there still was a strong yearning for 70s prog rock in me...

Agusa

Agusa

Good that Agusa from Sweden came on next in Stage01 to play a long set of their instrumental pieces!

As classic as their line up (guitar, bass, drums and organ) was their approach to prog rock: very jam-based and seemingly loose, rooted in the 70s or before and not shying away from citing any great prog or hard rock band from that era, as well as the inevitable Pink Floyd.
There were in fact these two times where I thought: Ok, that's almost a little too much "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" / "Stairway To Heaven".

But all this doesn't mean Agusa sounded random. The performance was fresh and a joy to behold. Especially the guitar player had a characteristic voice in his riffs, licks and leads that was very captivating. And during that last song - when you look around yourself and see those pinched faces with closed eyes doing strange grimaces , you know that this is the best guitar solo of the festival.

Pyramidal

Pyramidal

It was long past midnight when I entered Het Patronaat for the first time on this festival day.

Pyramidal from Spain spaced and rocked and progged the venue fine, but I soon realized that directly after the trip with Agusa I was just saturated. And I was also tired, so even though the band was undoubtly very good, I called it bedtime after a couple of songs.


So that was another stunning day at the Roadburn Festival.

The best moment on the drive to my hotel was when I suddenly realized that there were still two more full days ahead.




DAY ONE (Wednesday) here!

DAY TWO (Thursday) here!

DAY FOUR (Saturday) here!

more pictures from Friday: