LAIBACH - Sketches Of The Red Districts

Revisit your birthplace.

Reframe your conception.

Restart again.

LAIBACH - Sketches Of The Red Districts (red vinyl LP) (2023)

As a retro-garde entity Laibach per concept may exist out of time, but Laibach does not exist seperate from history. History itself however isn't linear. In consequence Laibach and history spiral around each other in moving circles - touching, crossing and floating away from each other, only to meet again in different points of space and time. As a passenger on this perpetuum mobile your journey doesn't have a tangible destination nor starting point, dates and events are constantly approached at different speeds from changing angles.

Laibach's first appearance in public took place on September 27th 1980 in Trbovlje. Laibach's first appearance in public did not take place on September 27th 1980 in Trbovlje, because the event was banned by the Yugoslav authorities.
No matter which book, article or other media about Laibach you consult, the story of this ban always is an essential part of their birth myth. And a part of it always felt a little off. Was the town really that scared of posters with black crosses appearing over night? Or was it rather the sheer bureaucratic matter of advertising without a permit? Maybe whoever canceled the event didn't even care for the content and meaning of what had been planned.

But then this town in particular might indeed have had a special sensitivity towards the obscure ominous symbolism and the use of the Slovenian capital Ljubljana's German name.

Laibach was founded on the first of June 1980 in Trbovlje. Laibach was not founded on the first of June 1980 in Trbovlje.
The date is mere symbolic, calling back to the first of June 1924, when the Orjuna, a Yugoslav nationalist organisation marched onto the labour movement stronghold with 800 storm troopers, leading to a bloody clash.

Godba uthine | The brass band falls silent

Obrazi vseh napeto zro v došleke | Everyone's faces are tense
Zdaj dva pola | Now the two poles
Dva svetova množic se stakneta: | The two worlds of the masses are colliding:
Dol Orjuna! | Down with Orjuna!
Živela Orjuna! | Long live Orjuna!
Živela Orjuna... Dol komunisti! | Long live Orjuna... Down with the Communists!
Naj hudič vzame Orjuno! | Let the devil take Orjuna!
Smrt fašizmu! | Death to fascism!

(Smrt in Pogin | Death and Perishment)

"Sketches Of The Red Districts" examines the events of both years 1924 and 1980, questioning "the band's aesthetic, sonic and ideological roots from the distance of time."

It's by far not the first time that Laibach return to their roots - the "Laibach Revisited" box set is an impressive testament of that -, but this time they don't turn existing material into renovated "new originals", but rather focus on the conceptual framework, while the music, albeit referencing their Industrial beginnings, is completely new.

In broader reception Laibach have often falsely been reduced to those couple of years in the later 1980's, when they turned Queen and The Rolling Stones into monstrous ideologists, and which famously served as a blueprint for a good portion of Rammstein's aesthetics.
In truth however, actually right from the start, if you compare the live recordings from their earliest years, Laibach have always utilized a huge range of sounds and genres. The ability to pull this off is indivisibly linked to their collective spirit, to working with countless collaborators, producers and composers.

The credits of "Sketches Of The Red Districts" now tell that all music on it was written and performed by Vitja Balžalorsky and Bojan Krhlanko, "inspired and supervised by Laibach".

Laibach live January 2023

Wait! If you're as bad with names as I am, your first thought might be: What, they just let other people do the work and put their name on it? But a moment later you hopefully realize that those two, while not having been credited as main songwriters so far, are both actually the current guitarist and drummer of the Laibach live band.
This might also explain parts of the fresh but also familiar nature of this album, which especially compared to the almost contradictional "Love Is Still Alive" mini album or the mostly melody-driven and song-orientated "The Sound Of Music" relies much more on atmospheric ambience, noise and  raw rhythmic ideas.

To finally keep something short here: Combined with the Slovenian narration of Milan Fras and debut guest vocalist Kaja Blazinšek the seven pieces on this album are an absolutely brilliant re-interpretation of the band's formative sound.

While I wouldn't necessarily agree with a lot of fans calling this the best Laibach album since [insert ancient timeless classic here], i can definitely understand why someone would feel that way. Especially the central triumvirate of "Moralna Zaslomba", "Smrt in Pogin" and the thirteen minutes epic "Nekaj Vazih in Nacelnih Misli" is pure Industrial bliss.

This definitely is an album which does everything right in creating a holistic unity of concept, music, atmosphere and visual accompaniment, meaning: the transparant red vinyl in the black and white and red gatefold with extensive credits and the 30x30 cm booklet with the lyrics certainly are a worthy perfect fit for this masterclass.

Veil of Stuff feat. PATRICK SHIROISHI & DYLAN FUJIOKA, THE BLACK CAT'S EYE, TILINTETGJORT, WIZRD... and more!

Yeah, let's face it, Stephan: The whole shtick of reviewing everything I own released in the current year here, that's just not sustainable anymore. It's mid April and I already have 41 new albums/EPs just from 2023 added to my collection - which includes several promos. I'm still quite selective with accepting those, but there's still a lot of tempting material to choose from every week. And so little time. Luckily a good part of that time will be needed to visit several shows and festivals, so I'm not complaining. It still means less time to write about releases though.

I'll still try my best to share my love of as much great music as I can, but I guess I'll just be a little less concerned with achieving a hundred percent coverage rate from now on. Of course I'm also writing for Veil of Sound and it's probably easiest to cut back on writing a second full review of everything I'm doing over there in this blog. I've already accumulated a couple of VoS write-ups during the last two months, of which only Cold Dew's "Yuyu 欲欲" has also received an Audiovisual Ohlsen Overkill treatment so far. So in case you missed those here's a little overview:

WIZRD - Seasons (2022)
[MY REVIEW ON VEIL OF SOUND.COM ]

Wild, timeless and limitless Norwegian Prog / Jazzrock madness featuring members of Soft Ffog and Spidergawd. The home country of Hedvig Molestad, Seven Impale, Motorpsycho, Kanaan and so on and so forth once again stuns us with the enormous quality and coolness of its own King Crimson / Mahavishnu Orchestra heirs.






PATRICK SHIROISHI & DYLAN FUJIOKA - No​-​No 3 / のの 三 (2023)
[MY REVIEW ON VEIL OF SOUND.COM ]

Being the third part of an annual series, always releasing on February 19th, the day of Executive Order 9066, which caused the generational trauma of the relocation and incarceration of Japanese Americans in 1942, this EP of improvisations on saxophone and drums is an amazing display of touching story-telling Free Jazz. This is what Coltrane wanted musical expression of serious matters to feel like.

TILINTETGJORT - In Death I Shall Arise (2023)
[MY REVIEW ON VEIL OF SOUND.COM ]

As far as I am concerned we are entering Metal album of the year candidate territory now! Everything about Tilintetgjort's Old School 1980's / Avantgarde Black/Death Metal with Nordic Folk and Classical influences, be it ideas, their execution or production - is a breath of fresh foul air. Raw and dirty, brutal, original - an immediately recognizable, highly addictive banger.






THE BLACK CAT'S EYE - The Empty Space Between A Seamount And Shock-Headed Julia (2023)
[MY REVIEW ON VEIL OF SOUND.COM ]

Seldom has pure Pink Floyd worship convinced me more than on "Kill The Sun And The Moon And The Stars", the twenty minutes long instrumental opener of "The Empty Space Between A Seamount And Shock-Headed Julia". But also with shorter tracks and song titles (and other influences coming into play along with them) the remarkable full-length debut of this German Psychedelic Prog Rock group makes great use of the manifold previous musical experiences of its members.

Oh wait! That's not even all!

There's also a big Roadburn Festival Special with lots of videos and texts, for which - in anticipation of the proceedings which will start only a couple of days from now - I've written another three reviews!

The first album could already be called a classic and was (and still is) my favorite release of 2021, which will pe played in full at the festival. Reason enough to shine a spotlight on it once again! I'm talking about Ad Nauseam's insane groundbreaking Death Metal masterpiece "Imperative Imperceptible Impulse". [MY REVIEW ON VEIL OF SOUND.COM ]

Further there's one album which will also be featured in an upcoming edition of my cassette craze chronicles, solo release no. three from Elizabeth Colour Wheel singer Otay:onii, "夢​之​駭​客 Dream Hacker". [MY REVIEW ON VEIL OF SOUND.COM ]

Probably also to be reviewed here too - depending on me scoring a copy of the 10" is the collaborative Blackened Slugde EP "Van Grond" by Terzij De Horde and Ggu:ll, coming out one year after their ginormous killer show at last year's Roadburn on Record Store Day. [MY REVIEW ON VEIL OF SOUND.COM ]

BIG|BRAVE - Nature Morte

Not even ten days to go until the proceedings begin and with this album being played in full, this is definitely a Roadburn anticipation post.

Yes, Big|Brave have only just opened the festival last year, but "Nature Morte" should easily justify their early return.

BIG|BRAVE - Nature Morte (Lavender Vinyl LP) (2023)

So the Canadian Drone Noise trio is still doing what Big|Brave always does, right? - Yes and yes, but.

In my review of their last regular album "Vital" I put the basics of the band's music this way: "Big|Brave are just incredibly skilled at the maybe two most important aspects of music: Pauses and sound."
And that still applies a hundred percent. Of course there are the brutal minimalistic guitars, which seldom play anything complex enough to even resemble what is commonly called a riff, but instead indulge in pure crushing weight, appropriately accompanied by Industrial style drums playing exactly the minimum amount of hits required for a maximum of intensity. And over this sonic devastation wails the unique voice of Robin Wattie with a similar approach to melody: It is there in some form, but ultimately the unfiltered raw emotion is much more important than any hookline you could sing along to.

On the instrumental track "My Hope Renders Me A Fool", which closes the album's first half, we can notice a shift though, as the droning distorted guitar tone as a warmer, more embracing, consouling quality to it than we have heard from the band before.
Side B then introduces a lot more of quiet and clean guitars as "The Fable Of Subjugation" proves the lasting imprint of "Leaving None But Small Birds", their Appalachian Folk inspired collaboration with The Body.

The following "A Parable Of The Trusting", yet another track with a duration over nine minutes, returns to a more familiar format, but presents the vocals in an easier understandable and thus all the more devastating manner. "Behind everything I do, there is the thought of you. Behind everyone new I greet, I query who they can really be. The lens from which I see, is through what they've forced on me. Behind all I do there is the knowledge of you."
Wattie's lyrics are full of simple/complicated, hurtfully relatable truths, which elevate the whole album experience to more than the sum of its sounds.

Ending it with the short and most silent "The Ten Of Swords" almost seems like a necessity, because you just need to calm down after the emotional turmoil before.

I will never be able to confidently claim a new Big|Brave release as their first/second/whatever best, because so far they have always delivered variations of an already close-to-perfect vision. I just love this band. And while that especially applies to their live performances, their studio works are always a profound physical and emotional experience as close to "the real thing" as possible.

"Nature More" is far from an exeption from that rule. It's not even a bet to predict that it will rightfully find itself in many album of the year lists only eight months from now. 

GEOFF TATE • 35 Jahre "Operation: Mindcrime" live im Hademarschener Hof (09. April 2023)

Queensrÿche und ihr ehemaliger Sänger Geoff Tate haben einen Deal, der u.a. einschließt, dass die Band zwar Songs des Klassikers "Operation: Mindcrime" spielen darf, ihm allerdings das Recht der kompletten Albumdarbietung vorbehalten bleibt. Und davon macht der Mann natürlich in passenden Jubiläumsjahren gerne Gebrauch.
Dass der letzte Termin seiner Europatour ihn nun ausgerechnet in die schleswig-holsteinische Provinz nach Hanerau-Hademarschen verschlug, war natürlich eine Versuchung, der ich trotz bereits vieler Konzertpläne in den kommenden Wochen gerne nachgab. Ein Künstler dieser Größenordnung nur fünfzehn Minuten von zu Hause entfernt, das gibt's ja sonst nur auf dem Wacken Open Air, das ich aus Gründen seit 2016 nicht mehr besucht habe. 

Eine Musikshow in Hademarschen, das ist für mich allerdings noch viel länger her. In dem Landgasthof mit Veranstaltungshalle bin ich bisher nur ein einziges Mal im Jahre 2005 gewesen. Da hieß das Ding noch Struves Gasthof, meine Band hieß Das Rote Universum und wir spielten tief in der Nacht als letzte von acht Bands auf dem unvorteilhaft benannten Trash Festival. Ein ziemlich geiler Auftritt, der als letzten Song die Premiere von "A Friend Of Mine Just Killed Me (And She Did It With A Smile)"  enthielt.

Warum ich dies hier so lang ausführe, möchtest Du wissen? Naja, ich muss ja irgendwie ausgleichen, dass ich nicht viel über die beiden Vorgruppen des Abends zu sagen habe, oder?

Ich hätte auch noch ein Bonmot zur unnötig umständlichsten Cola-Light-Bestellung seit es Bargeld gibt parat. Wie, Du bist nicht interessiert? Ok, also weiter im Text:

Dass mir gleich zwei Support-Acts so phänomenal am Allerwertesten vorbeigingen, dass ich nicht einmal ein Handy- oder Spielzeugkamerafoto gemacht habe und mich lieber nach draußen in die Frische verabschiedete, gehört auch zu den Dingen, die so ewig lange her sind, dass ich sie zeitaufwendig recherchieren müsste.
Witzigerweise handelte es sich beim Opener Leksi, der mich sofort schlagartig langweilte, auch in beinahe kompletter Personalunion um die Musiker (und Soundtechniker) von Geoff Tate. Ein schlechtes Omen?

Nein, die Sache stellt sich anders dar. "Operation: Mindcrime" ist in vielerlei Hinsicht ein Wenn-schon-denn-schon-Werk. Es gibt wohl kaum ein Metalalbum, welches berüchtigter für seinen klinischen Achtziger-Jahre-Sound inklusive schlimmer großer Elektro-Snaredrum ist. Die Produktion bietet eigentlich perfekte Grundvoraussetzungen für einen fürchterlichen Poserrock-Albtraum. Doch da das Songmaterial natürlich unsterblich großartig ist, wird paradoxerweise auch der eigentlich sehr spezifisch seiner Zeit entsprungene Sound in diesem Zusammenhang zeitlos.

Auftritt Leksi und die Italiener Headless, die beide von der queensrÿchschen Klangästhetik beeinflusst sind, allerdings - soweit ich das überhaupt anhand meines kurzen Eindrucks beurteilen kann - wenig von deren songwriterischer Oberklasse mitbringen, wodurch am Ende eigentlich nur sehr bemüht rockende, aber durch den keimfreien Sauberklang viel zu handzahme Schlafpillenshows übrigblieben.

[Disclaimer: Ich war hier auch echt nicht target audience. Also steinige mich bitte nicht, wer vielleicht doch darauf abgefahren ist!]

GEOFF TATE

Und was war nun mit Geoff Tates "Operation: Mindcrime"?

Wie ich bereits erwähnte: Wenn schon, denn schon. Das Drumkit war komplett elektronisch bzw. getriggert, inklusive Roboterbecken, um den Originalsound perfekt nachzustellen. Passend dazu war die Bühne rekordverdächtig aufgeräumt (kein Verstärker- und Boxengedöns; alles lief direkt über die PA) und der Bühnenteppich so samtweich sauber gesaugt, dass man von ihm Fünf-Sterne-Gourmetspeisen essen wollte. Rockfaktor null. Was die Band in Hollywood-sagt-dass-Rockstars-so-aussehen-Bühnenoutfits mit zahlreichen einstudierten Posierroutinen zu konterkarieren versuchte. Eigentlich schlimm.

Aber was soll ich sagen: Wenn man derart perfektes Prog-Metal-Material zockt und obendrauf ein stimmlich absolut exzellenter Geoff Tate der Show die Krone aufsetzt, dann darf man sich diesen ganzen Quatsch halt auch leisten. Auf der Rückfahrt habe ich zu jeder noch so unpassenden Musik, die der Zufallsplayer ausgeworfen hat, den Ohrwurm des Titelsongrefrains verarbeitet. Und das war selbstverständlich nicht der einzige Kracher. Ob "Revolution Calling", "Spreading The Disease", "The Mission", "I Don't Believe In Love"... erwartungsgemäß war hier jeder Song ein Hit. Ebenso verfehlten auch Interludes wie "Electric Requiem" und "Waitimg for 22" nicht ihre Wirkung. Und ganz nach Plan war natürlich die epochale "Suite Sister Mary" mit angemessen übertrieben catsuitig-hochhackig auftretender Gastsängerin der grandiose Höhepunkt das Ganzen. Drama, Baby!

Ein paar Zugaben inklusive humorvoller Ansagen gab es nach dem Album noch - und einen kleinen Anflug Spinal Tap würdigen Divaverhaltens. Verstehe ich, dass Tate nach dem Auftritt keine Lust hat, sich dem Gespräch mit jedem enthusiastischen Besoffski zu stellen? Klar. Aber dafür den kompletten Saal minutenlang einsperren und erst rauslassen, wenn man sich in den Nightliner verkrümelt hat? Junge, bei allem Respekt: Das geht so nicht. Aber was soll's: Diesen einen Fauxpas haste gut bei mir, denn diese Show war echt fett.

Bandcamp Friday Haul April 2023 feat. EFFLUENCE, GHOSTMEAT, ТДК and TINCTURES

Ok, ok! One of these technically isn't a Bandcamp Friday purchase from yesterday, but a digital promo, which was given away in a psych-friendly Facebook group. But do you even care? Thought so. What you should always care about however is great music! And if you just happen to be looking for some, hallelujah, here's yet another bunch of recommendations:

EFFLUENCE - Sarmat (2022)

This has already been out there a while, and the only reason I didn't buy it yet, was that I was consindering the physical CD copy for a while. But since that one only seems available overseas, I now settled with the 1s and 0s to finally own this twenty-six and a half minutes monster track. And speaking of monsters: The most recent user review on Bandcamp is probably more on point than my little write-up here could ever be, using a nod to the great late Pharoah Sanders: "The Creator Has A Monster Truck".

The EP is a true culmination of Jazzcore, in which the most chaotic abyssal Death Metal assault collides with Free Jazz piano, screeching saxophones and ghoulish vocals in a relentless avant-garde avalanche, which only takes brief breaks to pillage from a multitude of of other genres.

Already over fifty-five years ago Peter Brötzmann pulverized Jazz as it was known with his "Machine Gun". On Effluence's "Sarmat" the weapons are still rattling - within a scenery of full-blown nuclear warfare. And for once I'm not going to be a pacifist.

TDK / ТДК - Nemesta (2023)

In comparison to Effluence this Bulgarian group is probably tame. But who isn't? In truth this album still provides a completely bonkers clusterfuck madness of mike pattonish proportions. Hardcore, Punk, Jazz, Extreme Metal, Electronic, all swirling around and kicking each other, accompanied by a native vocal performance between spoken words, rap, Pop, Dillinger Escape Plan and whatever the fuck I forgot right now. Plus weird sample shit. System of a Daaang! Definitely feel a kinship to Nokti's "Cockschmerzen" here. In short: It's a perfect storm of avant-garde insanity. Zorn core acolytes assemble! Fuckyeah.

TINCTURES - moments, remote (2023)

And now for something equally as, or probably even more experimental than the above, but otherwise completely different. Tinctures are an Indo-German Contemporary Classical piano / guitar duo, who (as so many others, and it will still be very long until we'll stop hearing these stories) found themselves constrained by the Corona pandemic. This album is a collection of various remote improvisations in different modi operandi. Some are tests of their internet connection, others improvisations recorded by one musician and then sent to the other one, who had to come up with something upon first listen. Another method was using a film to establish a timeline. Plus a couple of other ideas and variations in that spirit...

In the final result it's hardly possible to tell, what way led to the destination of each track. They are all beautiful and/or intriguing little pieces of experimental Chamber Music halfway between Classical and Jazz vibes, forming a very cohesive entirety.

This mini album provides a contemplative deep listening experience, equally suited to wrap your mind around every sound, as well as just to peacefully unwind.

GHOSTMEAT - Witch's Familiar (2023)

And finally here's some Space Rock! Ghostmeat bow down to early epic post-Syd Barrett Pink Floyd, including the harmonic vocals plus some stronger Eastern sounds, which you'd expect from bands like Kikagaku Moyo or the we-put-in-everything Psych of Goat. They however make it chuff a little heavier with occasional Grunge / Stoner Rock riffs. Which means that a song like "Kisse Manitou Wayo" could easily be labeled as Shamanistsic Ambient Space Doom. Or you just leave those kind of categorizations to people who can't just enjoy the music. Or have to come up with something, because they write about it.

Can I see this EP - or album? Already the third release in a row here with this particular length which could be both... - become a classic?
No, not really, not yet at least. Maybe if all tracks had the calibre of the magnificient finale "Gulls (Torrid Youth)", which somehow evokes feelings, which seem familiar from Forlesen's "Black Terrain" - who knows? This is still very good, highly compelling blend of Kraut with atmospheric substance. Available digitally and on cassette, shipping from Canada.

Death Metal Dienstag mit APHOTIC und NEKUS

Das eine erschien neulich, das andere kommt am Karfreitag: Dienstag ist ein guter Tag, um schnell zwei aktuellen Death-Metal-Veröffentlichungen zu huldigen, beide in die Welt gequält durch Sentient Ruin Laboratories - und sowohl digital als auch in verschiedenen physischen Formaten zu haben:

APHOTIC - Abyssgazer (2023)

Tief in den dissonanten Abgrund starren die Italiener Aphotic. Präzise eingespielt und produziert findet die Band ihre persönliche Missklangformel zwischen den beiden Enden des todesblechernen Spektrums, welche man aus heutiger Sicht als old school und avantgarde empfindet, wobei der traditionelle Teil neben bösem Doublebassgeratter auch triptykonischen Deathdoom einschließt, und die Disharmonie näher an Justin Broadrick als an Ulcerate liegt.
Das höllenschlundigste Element ist sicherlich der aus der Tiefsee cthulhuende Gurgelgesang, in dem kaum eine klare Unterscheidung zwischen Vokalen und Konsonanten auszumachen ist, der aber insbesondere wenn er sich mit verzweifelten Schreien aus der Ferne mischt, exzellent das wohlig erdrückende Gesamtbild vervollständigt. Dieser Abgrund starrt nicht nur zurück, sondern spült Dir dabei noch eine mächtige Welle kosmischen Horrors durch die Ohren, während um dich herum die Erdkruste zerbröselt. Alles richtig gemacht, sehr geil!

NEKUS - Sepulchral Divination (2023)

Die grundsätzliche Tendenz zur Weltverschlingungsuntermalung ist bei den Marburgern Nekus zunächst einmal sehr ähnlich, setzt im Detail allerdings neben Death und Doom noch mehr auf schwarzmetallische Einflüsse. Das heisere Gutturalgeröchel entstammt eher der äonenalten Gruft als dem tiefen Kern des Eisbergs aus der Leere des Alls, der Gitarrensound ist mit noch räudig brutalerer Note darauf aus, einem im alptraumhaften Schlaf die Haut abzuschälen, während der Bass mitunter in herrlich sludgender Manier die Grenze vom Ton zur reinen Vibration anschneidet.

Instrumental wird genau wie bei Aphotic eigentlich nichts von der Produktion verborgen, und dennoch tendiert die Klangästhetik auf "Sepulchral Divination" ganz bewusst und (un)klar mehr zur grottenhaften Verschwommenheit, die den Hörer wie ein tödlicher Nebel einschließt.
Ein Nebel des Grauens mit sich im Laufe der sechs Stücke immer stärker aus verschwommener Silhouette herausschälendem Charakter. Die größte Gefahr in dessen Inneren, so munkelt man, sei der mythische Moshpit der Verdammten vor den Toren zum Elysion. Also Obacht!

Nach einer EP im Jahr 2020 und einer Split 2021, hat das Trio hiermit einen beachtlichen Albumeinstand hingelegt. Derbe sterben!

HEALTHYLIVING - Songs of Abundance, Psalms of Grief

Roadburn is coming closer and closer and yet again planning my personal running order evokes much more clash angst than I would have expected only a couple of weeks ago. What makes decisions especially difficult this time is that there are so many unknows, so many new artists or obscure artists and commissioned projects which sound promising, but it's really impossible to tell, which one I'm likely to prefer live.

But is knowledge really helping? Well in case of the central afternoon slot on Saturday it's certainly influencing me, Since I barely know most of the bands the members of Healthyliving are hailing from, I would normally have chosen to see the Duma / Deafkids collaboration in a heartbeat.

But "unfortunately" I have come to know the debut of the Spanish/Scottish/German trio now and wow, this is something!

HEALTHYLIVING - Songs of Abundance, Psalms of Grief (2023)

For those of you who might know them, let's start with the cast: Amaya López Carromero (Maud The Moth, Falloch, Ashenspire) on vocals, Scott McLean (among others also Falloch and Ashenspire - yes, I've heard of the latter) on guitars/bass/synth and Stefan Pötzsch (Lasse Reinstroem) on drums.

In terms of this year's Roadburn line-up it feels pretty safe to say that Healthyliving will most likely be a spritual continuation of Esben And The Witch on Thursday and Brutus on Friday.

They share the emotional depths and energetic outbursts with those bands, and their sound lives in an equally hard to define field of multiple Post genres, from Rock and Punk to  Hardcore, but also Noise, Doom and other heavier and darker influences, which you can hear in comparable form on albums from Gold (when they were still without the triple-G and -d in their name) or Dool. On the other side the whole work is knit with a golden threat of immensly catchy, but always profoundly serious Pop sensibility.

This isn't sing-along music at all though. But it is touching and moving. With its dreamlike psyche-delving lyrics over guitars often flowing in hypnotic waves it certainly has simultanously eery and welcoming qualities.

But even now I don't think we're close to what this album actually is and does. The versatility of Carromero's vocals alone calls for a different reference in almost every song, but without ever truly being a copy of what you're reminded of. The opener "Until" for instance sounds like "Hiss Spun"-Chelsea Wolfe interpreting a vocal line from early Lucifer, in other places the singer wails like Lana Del Rey or lifts off into high spiky registers at the meeting point of Avant-Garde Jazz and almost operatic expression.
And on the final track "Obey" I cannot for the life of me decide whether her performance is closer to ex-Sinistro singer Patrícia Andrade or various extremely talented Scandinavian artists... But sometimes it ultimately isn't actually important to know.

What wisdom I can offer without any doubt is that this is a flawless, amazing debut album, which should soon be living rent-free in many ears.

"Songs of Abundance, Psalms of Grief" releases digitally, on vinyl and CD on Good Friday, April 7th.