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Since the first time I saw Grails, opening for Neurosis, I’ve been smitten. It could easily be said that I celebrate their entire catalog. Over the years, the band has engaged in a fair deal of label hopping, with releases on Neurot, Important, Southern (Latitudes Series), and most recently Temporary Residence.  Acid Rain serves as a nice retrospective of their career, including highlights from their hazy 2004 tour of Europe, CMJ performance in 2006 and a full NYC set from 2007.

 The real highlight though are the six original videos, edited by drummer extraordinaire Emil Amos. Basically a cross of 70’s cult cinema and cosmic imagery, these moving images provide the perfect accompaniment to Grails spacey sounds. I don’t know when Mr. Amos had the time to put this together, as the man is constantly involving himself in various duties. When not manning the drums for Grails, he’s behind the kit alongside Al Cisneros in ritual drone outfit Om. And since that’s not enough to keep a person busy, Emil also records solo projects under the moniker Holy Sons. Not a dud among all his works. 

But enough with the idol worship.  Medicate, check out the teaser below, and feed your brain Grails.

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Roadburn 2009, curated by Neurosis, was a spectacle that I am still kicking myself for missing. If you are like me and were unable to make it over to Holland for the good times, fear not! Holland’s major media network  Vpro 3voor12, has started posting full live sets from Baroness, Ufomammut, Saviours, and Amon Duul to name a few. Plug in and tune out.

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These days music gets pigeon-holed into ever shifting and newly created genres that have no underlying meaning.  Every band is tagged post and hyphens abound. What was once just metal, became black metal, then blackened something. Are they atmospheric too (a fancy way of saying has keyboards). Oh yes, let’s also create US and “true” European factions. Corpse paint or not? Defining a metal band’s genre has now become more difficult than buying a car.

I’m going to skip all that nonsense for Velnias. The band has its roots firmly planted in black metal, but have evolved into something far greater. Their demo “Pacing The Cyclic” was pretty straight forward an uneventful; A satisfying listen that presented nothing new. The full length debut “Sovereign Nocturnal,” on God is myth records, is a different beast all together.

The album contains three tracks, and runs over 40 minutes.  Even though they are only a three piece, there are long brooding passages, evoking a sense of a moonlit forest, and the spirits within. The easiest comparisons would be Wolves in the Throne Room and Agalloch. Its certainly a challenging listen, but very rewarding. The album clearly invokes the underlying message of the band; that we are temporary. Everything we have built will eventually crumble, and we will be returned to the soil. In this track based society, not many bands spend the effort to craft an album. This is not the case here, and those who spend the time with the album will certainly reap the rewards.  When asked what the phrase “Sovereign Nocturnal” meant to him, singer/guitarist P.J.V. replied:

“Aside from an homage to the majesty of the all consuming nocturnal hours it is an outlook on the state of things. It is a personal feeling that the falling of night– the coming of dark times is inevitable and absolute. Our lives entrusted to this fragile way of being shall soon fall cold as things collapse. If it is not by physical destruction on some scale then it shall come through our fixation on this industrialized and globalized way of life. We lose sight of the things that matter, forget the struggles of our past, and spit in the face of the natural world for misguided goals and beliefs. We are left stabbing each other in the back, climbing over brother and sister, with complete disregard for true strength, honor, or virtue. The incestuous orgy of greed and corruption breeds corporate titans of calculated efficiency racing, full force towards inevitable death in the material wasteland we have created for ourselves.”

Amen. I had the privilege of catching the band live at the Hemlock Tavern with about 20 other people, and I was well impressed. Their set lasted around an hour, without pause or break. Much like the album the songs all intertwined and created something much greater. I am told the band will soon be moving from Chicago to Colorado, to be closer to nature. May they continue to draw strength from the forest and build off of this release.

P.S. In Slavic mythology, Velnias is the God of evil, and the brother of the creator God Dievas…

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Earlier today, we received a comment on our Negură Bunget breakup post from a mysterious character named “Sol.” Since this is the Internet, and no one would ever misrepresent their identity in this most sacred of realms, I immediately knew that Sol Faur himself had found our epic blog, and wanted to set the record straight on the dissolution of the band. Apparently the “official” statement we referenced was drafted by drummer Negru and presents only his version of the events.

Today, Sol Faur and Hupogrammos issued their own statement, calling Negru’s actions “selfish and greedy.” Allegedly Negru was to start a new band named “Din Brad” while Sol Faur and Hupogrammos would continue to work together under a new name, to be determined later. Now it appears the Negru will continue to use the Negură Bunget moniker, yet with an entirely new cast. The statement concludes with “We, Sol Faur and Hupogrammos, who have composed nearly all music and written the lyrics of and for Negură Bunget herewith, declare that this band is dead. Any continuation of it just means a sham and a fake in our eyes.” Pretty strong.

Stay tuned for the next exchange of barbs. I for one am hoping this results in some gangsta rap style beef and we get some solid Romanian archaic black metal diss tracks…

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Samothrace is an island off the coast of Greece most famous for the ruins of its temple complex, commonly known as The Sanctuary of the Gods. At this site a whole cult of mystery was born, complete with rituals, an annual fest, and sacred dramas involving the gods of the underworld. Sounds like the original Wacken Open Air Festival.

Greece is a long way from Lawrence, Kansas home of dooooooooomsters Samothrace. My original intention was to poke fun at Lawrence, but turns it’s a college town (University of Kansas), and is the only city in Kansas that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Seems like a pretty reasonable city in a sea of corn.

It would be unfair to label these guys as just another doom band. There are touches of post-rock flair,  Midwestern blues riffs, funeral doom tempos (think Asunder), and the desolation of “The Eye of Every Storm” era Neurosis. “Circle” by Esoteric also came to mind while listening as there are clear similarities (thanks for the tip Mr. Rocco). I can’t help but feel that they are true fans, filling a void and crafting songs that they want to hear.

Their debut, “Life’s Trade” is essentially one sprawling work, 4 songs covering nearly 50 minutes, with no clear boundaries between. If I had to choose, I would say that “Cacophony” is the strongest track, particularly the build and dual guitar release at the tail end. Throw in some amazing art courtesy of the official pen of doom, David D’Andrea, and this album was one of the finest of 2008.

20 Buck Spin has found another winner, showing once again their ear for the great. We will at some point have reviews of the entire catalog posted, so stay tuned. It rare to hear such a remarkable debut, and I do not hesitate to say that this is a band I will be watching closely. Now excuse me while I get back to my Greek mythology while I anxiously await a follow-up.

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I assume that by now, we’ve all had the (mis)fortune to read all about Sweet Sue’s whole canned chicken. Yeah. Well, I’m not going to go into many details, as the onion av club has already taste tested this disaster. Please put me under and wake me when they start preserving whole cows in oil barrels.

SCHLORP!

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Before there was punk, there were The Monks. Before there was noise, there were The Monks. Before there was drone, there were The Monks. Before there were dudes onstage in robes, there were The Monks. Get the point? Basically these five GI’s altered the course of music, in the ugliest and most amazing manner possible, all without the use of heavy psychedelics! How influential were the monks? Well, they “discovered” feedback while practicing and decided that it was going to be a central part of their sound. Club owners were not pleased.

 

Keep in mind this is 1964, while the beatles are still wearing matching suits, crooning “I Want To Hold Your Hand” and prancing and preening like a bunch of poncy hairdressers. These gents are crafting ear-fucking tunes like “Shut Up” and “I Hate You.” It is said that the mighty Hendrix himself first saw the wah pedal in use during a Monks show. And if all this wasn’t enough, they were also the first band crafting anti-military jams before it was the easiest way to score poontang outside of alcohol. But like all good things, they were paved over and we’re stuck with the Rolling Stones. Burn your “History of Punk” books, folks listen to this record Your perceptions of how heavy, loud, ugly music came to be may never be the same.

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