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A lot of end-of-year lists have short memories. A lot of end-of-year lists seem to forget the year begins in January as much as the statisticians in English football forget there was a top flight before the Premier League. Hence why one or two albums that made this list appear, and it’s not for the sake that they went under the radar, or because we don’t have to feature some multi-million selling band to sell our product. But enough of the snipper snapping.
My focus on this site has really ebbed away in recent months to the point where I don’t know how much longer it can last. But I wouldn’t be doing it right to ignore what has been another stunning year for rock and metal on all levels. The UK underground in particular has never been stronger and if there is one good thing to come out of doing this site for three and a half years on and off, it’s discovering that there’s a ton of bands in this country who if our rock and metal media gave as much a toss about them as the Americans seem to do, they too could wind up a little bit hipster – and would that really be a bad thing for just a little bit of attention?! The UK is in rude health for rock and metal and all its tentacles.
In previous years I’ve split the short releases – the EPs, the splits and the demos – into a separate list, but this year I’ve not had the time to get around to two lists and to ignore those releases would be a disservice as they stack up very well compared to most full lengths. So here is just one list of ten great releases to have rocked my ears and my ears alone. I’ll stop blabbering now and let you read on as to why these records are worth a damn.
10. Mastodon – Once More ‘Round The Sun (Reprise)
Its become evident over the last few records that Mastodon were not content being the sludge behemoths of their Relapse days nor even being progressively minded as witnessed on ‘Crack the Skye‘. As their profile has increased, they’ve taken several steps to reach a more, what you might say, streamlined sound. What ‘Once More ‘Round the Sun‘ achieves is a balance between reaching that target and still retaining their core essence. The first half of the record is some of the most kick ass rock you will hear for ages, from the twerk-inspiring ‘The Motherload’ to the at-times dream state of ‘Asleep in the Deep’. It’s not an entirely perfect record but it does finish rather satisfyingly with the bullet train of ‘Halloween’ and the most old school track on record, ‘Diamond in the Witch House’. The record finally confirms Brent Hinds as a distinguishable soloist, but more importantly, it proves that Mastodon are on the next step to true greatness. I doubt we’ll get another Metallica in this lifetime, if any at all, but I wouldn’t bet against Mastodon being able to become more accessible and still making big ‘fuck you’ riffs and anthems.
9. Cannabis Corpse/Ghoul – Splatterhash (Tankcrimes)
Tankcrimes have a knack of putting out killer split releases and ‘Splatterhash‘, a release combining reefer worshippers Cannabis Corpse and horror executioners Ghoul produced the victims in spades. These are two bands who eschew any notion of meer gimmickry through knowing how to write either slamming pit tunes or memorable refrains. CC once again channel their more infamous namesake Cannibal Corpse for their two tracks, ‘The Inhalation Plague’ and ‘Shatter Their Bongs’, which again highlights how far they’ve come – sure it’s all weed crimes and terrors lyrically, but musically it’s tighter than the stuffiest spliff; while Ghoul are on fire with their side, ‘The Inner Sanctum’ a 5-minute journey once again into Creepsylvania, carrying the command at one point to ‘kill’, finishing it off with the brutal slice and dice of ‘Spill Your Guts’. Horror on record is nothing new, but these two bands carry the B-movie schtick with righteous aplomb.
8. Grey Widow – I
Featuring members of long time grimy sludge purveyors Parole, Dopefight, Thread and the Ergon Counsel, this is a band who on ‘I‘ lived out their mantra of ‘Nihilistic Putrid Fucking Hatred’ in such a way they swerved the word ‘predictable’ by committing sounds that even I could not have anticipated could sound so venomous and filthy. Mostly wallowing in sludge but capable of vomiting forth a blackened blast, yelling bloodied hardcore punk and occasionally a foreboding riff – but mostly violent black sludge. A lot of bands can profess to be as spiteful as this, but few can deliver on it the way Grey Widow did, it such a way it leaves an impression on the mind and an appreciation that some can still craft mastery out of that very word, ‘hate’.
7. Nightfell – The Living Ever Mourn (Southern Lord/Parasitic)
An album featuring the collective talents of Tim Call and Todd Burdette, of acts such as Tragedy, His Hero Is Gone and Aldebaran to name a few, ‘The Living Ever Mourn‘ struck me as a pretty good album at first but has really grown on me in such a way that I cannot ignore it. It’s irresistibly compelling in many ways, from the black metal ugh of ‘The Last Disease’, the truly neck slamming ‘Altars of Wrath’, to the funeral dirge of ‘Empty Prayers’, this is an album thick with tarred riffs and pure hellfire and brimstone. I don’t need to say more than that, other than it fucking rules.
6. Catholic Girls – Distant (Crown and Throne Ltd)
Bastard offspring of the likes of the Cancer Bats and Trash Talk, this Colorado crew lot have produced arguably the finest hardcore release of the year. That in my opinion nobody of their ilk topped this despite this one coming out early in the year says much for its quality. ‘Distant‘ is a tumult of manic riffing, occasional blasting intensity, and for 12 minutes, an impish batshit fury that only briefly lets up for the swaggering ‘Piston’, which is deserving of far bigger moshpit unions than what they are still likely getting right now. Someone sign them up please!
5. Bast – Spectres (Burning World/Black Bow)
Another fine proponent of the UK underground, London’s Bast made one hell of a debut with ‘Spectres‘, a multi-spectral album that deviled in doom, sludge, black metal, atmospherics and more. From first second to last, ‘Spectres‘ was a masterclass in how to meld those elements together in high alchemy, whether the rage of ‘In the Beginning’, melding black metal with doom riffs, to the Neurosis-esque cauldron of ‘Psychonauts’ or the cavernous riffing on ‘Denizens’. Terrorizer magazine are marking them out for big things next year, and I wouldn’t bet against them following the likes of Conan into greater consciousness.
4. Thee Silver Mt. Zion Orchestra – Fuck Off Get Free We Pour Light on Everything (Constellation)
I would argue that this is, emotionally, the most powerful album that could be said of the Western world today. In so much that we’ve seen a lot of austerity, a lot of cutbacks, and yet the rich get richer, and the poor get poorer. Thee Silver Mt. Zion Orchestra (or however you know or call them), released this six track call to arms early in the year and it is hard not to feel the slightest bit torn by the music and the lyrical content. It’s goddamn beautiful and yet so heavy, with austerity and the rich/poor divide so evidently the theme as it remains in day to day life. Tell me that by the time you reach ‘What We Loved Was Never Enough’ that you aren’t asking questions of your very own existence, and your very own situation, for it captures your concerns over the present and future. The album’s lengthy title is a bold one, but never truer – we already truthfully know what our country’s state is in, but it will shine a light on what it means to live in the modern era. A magnificent work from a truly visionary band.
3. Megalodoom – Tectonic Oblivion (Witch Hunter/Tartarus)
The band that used to title demos after Indiana Jones films, and after lines from Predator, got a little bit more serious and received a serious beef up in production for the release of ‘Tectonic Oblivion‘, a four song warhorse of doom that is pretty much a flawless execution of nuclear riffs. ‘Sword of the Spirit’ perhaps best embodied this, shifting from ominous rolling thunder to compelling grooves to an apocalyptic tolling outro, without the need for words. Not many bands can conjure that serpent and convince it to act for them, yet ‘Tectonic Oblivion‘ works that beast a charm in a way to make you sit up and take notice beyond the riffing.
2. Dephosphorus – Ravenous Solemnity (7 Degrees/Handshake Inc.)
If their previous record, ‘Axiom‘, was stratospheric, then ‘Ravenous Solemnity‘ is Dephosphorus gone interstellar. The Greek grinders’ astronomic approach to their music is one currently unparalleled within their scene, and this album is one that really should garner them more recognition than it has up to now. It melds numerous technical, blackened and deathly influences along with a literary tip of their hats to the late Scottish author Iain M. Banks to coagulate a marvellous text of extremity, from the apocalyptic tone of ‘Storming the Sloan Wall’ to the shadowy mystery of ‘Towards the Cold Dark Infinity’. What was big, big metal blogosphere hype a few years back is no fluke – Dephosphorus are a truly unrelenting force.
1. Yob – Clearing The Path To Ascend (Neurot)
It turns out that not everything that comes attached with a bucket load of hype attached to it, hanging off the great deceiver of hope on a rope of salacious words, only to unravel and break upon the object in question’s deliverance. Outside of the mainstream, name me one album that really garnered more attention and gaze than Yob’s ‘Clearing the Path to Ascend‘.
Through channeling the words of the great philosopher Alan Watts, Yob remind us it’s ‘time to wake up‘ in the opening chords of ‘In Our Blood’, and for the next 66 minutes they carry you through numeral states of thought as it literally does what it’s title says. It isn’t a slow plod as much as a death march, a journey of exploration. The trick of building up a lengthy song to a verge before quietly waiting on the precipice is one Yob have to a tee, and when Watts tells you to wake up again, the opener fittingly reaches its rise to the surface.
The great thing about this band is that just when you think they cannot conceive any more moments to behold, they turn up with an answer. The thunderous approach of ‘Nothing to Win’, the most anthemic track of this release by way of a chorus of sorts, is only briefly but magnificently halted by a midsection of swirling chaos and despair; ‘Unmask the Spectre’ again utilises a loud-quiet dynamic but on a humongous scale, Mike Schiedt again walking the line between sheer hell and quiet tension and introspection. It’s as if the elements of the opening three tracks literally clear the path for ‘Marrow’, a truly ascendary track – at nearly twenty minutes long it is almost perfect, with the band at times sounding, I daresay, uplifting. It retains the Yob heaviness but rarely has doom of this ilk met such an air of freedom that is able to stick its head above the clouds with a sense of unusual triumphalism.
After naming ‘Atma‘ the best record of 2011, I wasn’t sure I could find a way if enjoying Yob even more, but when the hype you so often buy into actually turns out to carry substance, the results are rarely short of phenomenal.
Peter Clegg
Dope Body
Lifer
Drag City
Despite having that hipster vibe about them that would normally give me a few second thoughts about whether there is substance beneath the style, Baltimore’s Dope Body confounded that odd notion of mine by letting loose ‘Natural History’, an album that rode all the way into hell and back out the other side leaving behind rubber tracks, broken glass and the odd black eye. That’s generally how the record felt as it battered at one end of the scale and went for foot to the floor kaleidoscopic energy at the other. It was such a breathtaking mix that admittedly resulted, in my humble opinion, in the feeling that ‘Lifer’ wasn’t up to much, on first listen. Or at least it didn’t to me. I was perhaps hoping for a bit more of the seemingly hedonistic vibe that went on with ‘Natural History’, but that only made me more blinkered I suppose. I was finding the first half of the record a bit of a drag, lacking the desired punch, taking a bit long to get going, and the second half feeling better, but not up to the level I was expecting.
But I encouraged myself to give it a few more listens, and what resulted was pleasant discovery in that I actually do like this record. No, I actually love it, as much as anything they did before. What grabbed me before was some of the insane noises that Zachary Utz was able to strangle out of his guitar. There’s not really an element of surprise like that any more nor any vast experimentation, but once I removed those blinkers, I noticed there’s a definite progression in their sound. Although the quiet-loud dynamics of their sound remain, there’s a definite ear cupped towards melody – indeed Andrew Laumann’ is as much a proponent as anyone in the band for this – his vocal performance on ‘Rare Air’ and the closing ‘Even In The End’ is the construct that propels these tracks along, while the lead single ‘Repo Man’ showcases the band’s progression in those aforementioned dynamics through its almost stalking tension before the inevitable explosion of distortion.
Dope Body – Repo Man (official video)
Perhaps the biggest similarities to their previous work lies in the track ‘I’d Say To You’, the shortest track proper (bar the ‘Intro’ track), with a pulsing guitar-bass riff exploding into a memorable chorus, and the fantastically on-edge ‘Day By Day’. Otherwise there’s ‘Echo’, which creeps along like a panther stalking its prey astride a simple, slow, lounge-esque bassline, before going all savage in the chorus as it pounces into anarchy, and the excellent ‘Nu Sensation’, which rides across a jangling, galloping electric twang before Laumann goes all Marc Bolan-like towards the end.
Despite initially making me feel a weird double-take, Dope Body have quite brilliantly managed to progress their blueprint into slightly more mature boundaries, but without losing the primal edge that made them stand out to me a few years back. It would have been very easy just to go balls-out wild and free all over again but the proof in a good album is how much it opens up to you as you listen to it over and over. ‘Lifer‘ is an affirming testament to that, as cerebral as it is primal and as smart as it- is reckless.
Peter Clegg
+ Black Moth + Blacklisters
When The Cockpit in Leeds closed down earlier in the year after 20 years in the business, it was a day of sadness for not just myself, but for many. The venue had been a hub for indie and rock in the city, hosting many gigs across the years which indeed saw many bands pass through en route to greater arenas. Sadly, it was deemed beyond economical repair and so the venue, situated underneath the busy railway station and affectionately resembling an air raid shelter, was closed down to perhaps the surprise of some. Indeed it was held in high regard and anyone who ever passed through that venue’s doors for a show will attest to that.
It seems endemic of the fate that seems to await many rock and alternative venues in this day and age, but in true testament to the adage that rock will never die (unless you’re Gene Simmons of course), venues tend to spring back up, in the big cities at least, and this is true of the Key Club, launched by former owners of the Cockpit, itself located where resided the club’s former Bassment and Subculture venues, in which I saw Darkest Hour years ago, and played as a member of a band respectively. Not much has changed about the place, bar the stage being moved from the back of the venue to the front, and a balcony overlooking the main floor now walled over, so you can’t see who’s off for a quick slash any more. Not that you’d want to anyway. Still, it holds some good memories for me and so I’m happy to see it back in use.
First up tonight are Blacklisters, whom are thankfully more focused on the task at hand than when I last saw them at the Brudenell Social Club supporting Dope Body. I want them to succeed at their craft and they aren’t too shabby tonight, even if the crowd aren’t too enthused at this point. The new material they play fits in neatly with older material including their destroying rendition of Kasabian’s ‘Clubfoot’ and ‘Trickfuck’. Then there’s Black Moth, a local quintet who’ve made a few waves recently on bigger pages than this one. Their frontwoman adds a swagger to their proposition which isn’t exactly unique – driving dirty rock riffs amidst a slightly occult tone – but they know how to get a crowd going and there is enough life in their songs to consider them potentially outgrowing the confines of venues the size of the Key Club.
Black Moth
Big Business, much like the Key Club owners, had their hand forced somewhat as back surgery for Scott Martin resulted in the guitarist sitting outside the band’s UK tour, which is currently ongoing as they support Mastodon. Alas, it’s the original two-piece of Jared Warren and Coady Willis, of Karp, Murder City Devils, the Melvins and just about anything righteous, who turn up, announcing themselves in showbiz style, before getting into material from their latest release, ‘Battlefields Forever’. It’s at frenetic pace to begin with, with ‘Chump Chance’ and ‘No Vowels’ quickly getting out of the traps before a fun run through ‘Hands Up’, which the front rows of the crowd duly take part in by raising their hands skywards to its refrain. The set seems a short one – only seven songs, which even an extended version of ‘Just As The Day is Dawning’ hardly filling up set time, but for whatever brevity the band make up for in effort and energy. Warren pumps out the low grooves and Willis just goes all animal like always, making this performance a particularly righteous one by the time ‘Lonely Lyle’ stomps to a conclusion.
During that last song I rocked out a little too hard and my glasses flew off my head. Alas, they were found minutes later, trodden on and no use to man nor beast. Ah well. It didn’t detract from an enjoyable evening as neither did the rain that poured into the night.
Peter Clegg
It’s always good to see a UK band going from strength to strength despite the ignorance of the masses, and XII Boar are a fine example of such exponence, having released several killer EPs and singles including this year’s 7″ ‘Truck Stop Baby‘. The band have now revealed a previously unreleased recording from that record’s sessions, in the mold of a tribute to the legendary Motörhead’s ‘Damage Case’, hallmarked by the trio’s wicked blend of sludge, stoner rock and blues, marks of which are left all over this version. It rocks from one style to enough, dropping into the bluesy section with an ‘eins, zwei, drei, vier!‘ and the result is emphatic enough for this to be considered one of my favourite Motörhead covers around.
The cover is available on their Bandcamp page and can be streamed and downloaded for free. You can stream it below here too. Get on it!
The date of this gig coincided nicely with the oncoming on my 30th birthday, for which I used this gig as sort of a celebratory gift. Indeed, to be able to go and witness two bands in their prime such as Oregon’s Yob, and Little Rock, Arkansas’ Pallbearer, is one of the best tickets a fan of such bands could ever ask for, and it’s no surprise the fans are gathering in droves outside the Brudenell Social Club, a top busy venue that’s been hoovering up the best gigs to LS6 in the wake of inner city venues closing.
I must say admittedly I didn’t go inside early for BongCauldron, who were lined up as the opening act for tonight’s double header (sorry lads), but judging from how they sounded from outside the venue they sound proper tight as a band and maybe next time I won’t leave it til nearly main event time to enter the venue. Really not like me at all but I don’t do nights out very often these days and I guess I got lost in the catching up.
That said, the headliners are the reason everyone is here, and a good proportion of that can be attributed to Pallbearer and their rapid rise in the ranks of heavy music. Now touring in support of their second album ‘Foundations of Burden‘, the quartet plough through a five song set that excites existing fans and surely scooped up many more in the process. ‘Watcher in the Dark’ sounds particularly devastating tonight with that opening riff, although the shredding solo is drowned out by the mix on offer. For the last two tracks they delve back into their rapturously received debut LP ‘Sorrow and Extinction‘, with closer ‘Given to the Grave’ proving to be as soul-crushing as always. This band do not waste riffs, and not a riff is wasted on the audience. The twin harmonies between frontman Brett Campbell and guitarist Devin Holt compliment each man considerably, but its the way the group harnesses their individual weight into a collective focus that highlights why they’ll soon be headlining their own tours outright on a regular basis.
Pallbearer
As a trio Yob don’t quite fill up the stage with such a presence as their contemporaries, but not that it’s ever mattered. Just because you number only three doesn’t mean you can’t make a thunderous noise and Yob over the years have evolved to make some of the most expansive and weightbearing doom ever heard. This is in evidence tonight as they dedicate the majority of their setlist to their new album ‘Clearing the Path to Ascend‘, and it’s a joy to hear the new tracks in the surroundings of the Brudenell. ‘Nothing to Win’ sounds particularly excellent, with the rolling drums stirring up a cauldron of tension with one hell of a release with the chorus, and ‘Marrow’ sounds absolutely majestic in a live setting. Just as it appears they’re done, members of the crowd shout for more and responding to one or two shouting for ‘Quantum Mystic’; they duly oblige, ‘by request’ and drop into the long time staple of their set, finishing off in style and making sure no one leaves the Brudenell shortchanged.
My camera packed up before I could get any decent pictures of Yob, sadly. All in all though, a top night and a complete show of excellence from two bands at respectively different points in their careers, pushing ahead at the forefront of doom metal.
Peter Clegg
We Must Obey will be attending the Yob + Pallbearer tour when it lands in the UK a week from today, and right now is clearly a great time to be a fan of either band with new releases abound!
‘Clearing The Path To Ascend’ is an aptly titled album for what will undoubtedly be the crowning achievement for YOB, a band whose journey now nears two decades of creating music as commanding as it is cathartic. As is the YOB way, the tracks here don’t simply offer a vacuous glimpse into the already riff-soaked doom genre. These songs demand the tandem attention of mind, body, and soul – etching a mark across a sound that finds YOB as formidable and unequaled as they’ve ever been. True ascension requires a destruction of those barriers that prevent any movement forward. Unsurprisingly, YOB pummels any and all of these obstacles with absolute authority, clearing the way for a genuinely visceral listening experience and climbing upward into a realm that sets the band in a heavy metal place that has been and will always remain wholly their own.
‘Clearing The Path To Ascend‘ is released on 1st September via Neurot Recordings. You can stream it here: http://pitchfork.com/advance/523-clearing-the-path-to-ascend/
For Pallbearer, they have just released their second album, entitled ‘Foundations Of Burden‘, via Profound Lore. This new album sees the present-day doom metal giants create a more expansive, advanced, crushing, and emotionally charged album that takes everything to the next level beyond its predecessor.
Musically, Foundations Of Burden sees the band strengthen their monolithic melodious structures of doom that have become synonymous with their signature sound. All while incorporating a much more progressive and musically challenging element to their anthems which compliment the huge epic melodies and harmonics even moreso. Where ‘Sorrow and Extinction‘ expanded the foundation which Pallbearer laid down with their demo, ‘Foundations Of Burden‘ morphs itself into a glorious new vision that is without doubt their most engaging work yet.
Listen to ‘The Ghost I Used To Be’ here: https://soundcloud.com/pallbearerdoom/pallbearer-the-ghost-i-used-to-be
Be sure to catch this amazing tour at one of the following venues:
Thursday 4 September 14 – Bristol The Fleece
Friday 5 September 14 – Manchester Roadhouse
Saturday 6 September 14 – Glasgow Audio
Sunday 7 September 14 – Leeds Brudenell Social Club
Monday 8 September 14 – London The
Underworld
Water Torture
Pillbox
Nerve Altar
The Buffalo powerviolence trio Water Torture recently dropped their debut full length ‘Pillbox’ into the world and if you’ve been following their early adventures, mapped across various EPs and split releases, this record marks the fruition of true promise and then some. ‘Pillbox’ is seventeen tracks long, and its refreshing in its variation – it can loosely be described as grind/powerviolence but barely any two tracks are the truly the same. Numerous tracks and passages of the album see noise elements swathed between low-end sludge grooves and guttural grind, often tacked onto the end of short blasts of despairing energy, almost like white noise or the dying noises of a machine, and occasionally marked as single tracks of pure noise, e.g. ‘Product One’, a cavernous, drenching wall of howling noise. Not too dissimilar from the approach of acts such as Iron Lung, and fans of that sort of stuff are bound to get into this. Indeed this makes for a much more dynamic grind album – not just stuck at one pace, but taking in sludge and dark acoustic elements – the track ‘Creature of Repetition’ is free of noise and grind elements and owes more to classical in its foreboding arrangement. Having cut their teeth on numerous split releases since forming in 2011, ‘Pillbox‘ is the record that should really get people to sit up and take notice of Water Torture. A band willing to take risks and make primal mechanical animals of us all.
Peter Clegg
Buy/download ‘Pillbox’ here
Pre-order the vinyl LP here
Stream it below:
Bongripper
Miserable
Following their split adventures in 2013, with hardcore/grind mob Hate and British doom compadres and everyone’s new favourites Conan, Chicago, Illinois’ Bongripper step back into their own shadows with their latest new album ‘Miserable’ comprises ‘just’ three tracks; ‘just’ because the shortest times at 17:48, while the album closes with a monumental 28:25 monolith. And that’s not without mentioning the supreme Mike Miller artwork, which combines to make a thunderous stallion of a record.
Bongripper have always been one of the most compelling instrumental doom bands to listen to, because this know how to harness a riff and then some. ‘Endless’ is a positive reminder of this – that first riff is thick and chewy like beef biltong, the second a sweet doom chugger – but of course I could go on describing every riff and it would get a bit tedious. Simply, Bongripper still retain the knack of knowing when to dispense with one riff and move onto the next of their seemingly abyssal stack of them, moving from a sense of grooviness to one that sounds ominously evil, and this one is no different, eventually culminating in near enough white noise. ‘Descent’ is equally malevolent, with some of the most thunderous booms ringing in from about nine minutes in, before dropping into a spacey, cavernous outro than perfectly sums up the songs title – it feels lonely, foreboding, even despairing, how you should feel when descending the depths. ‘Into Ruin’ caps off the whole thing with some superb headbang-inducing riffs and more low end crawls before unexpectedly alley-ooping you with a fast stoner-thrash section before dropping back into another tormentous riff. I just love how much they can pack into a song like this when their minds are at it.
This has been available for a little while now and I strongly urge you to check it out if you haven’t already. Links are below – you can stream the whole thing too and you too will find yourselves descending into ruin endlessly.
Peter Clegg
Buy ‘Miserable’ here (download); or here (CD – vinyl presently sold out)
Stream it below:
Image by James Rexroad
Two years after leveling the expectations of critics and listeners alike with ‘Atma‘, Portland doom bringers, YOB, prepare to unleash ‘Clearing The Path To Ascend‘, an aptly titled album for what will undoubtedly be the crowning achievement for a band whose journey now nears two decades of creating music as commanding as it is cathartic. As is the YOB way, the tracks here don’t simply offer a vacuous glimpse into the already riff-soaked doom genre. These songs demand the tandem attention of mind, body, and soul – etching a mark across a sound that finds YOB as formidable and unequaled as they’ve ever been. True ascension requires a destruction of those barriers that prevent any movement forward. Unsurprisingly, YOB pummels any and all of these obstacles with absolute authority, clearing the way for a genuinely visceral listening experience and climbing upward into a realm that sets the band in a heavy metal place that has been and will always remain wholly their own.
Recorded at Gung Ho Studio in Eugene, notorious for its reserve of vintage equipment, alongside longtime collaborator/iconic sound-sage Billy Barnett, and mastered by Brad Boatright (Sleep, Beastmilk, Nails) at Audiosiege Engineering, YOB will release ‘Clearing The Path To Ascend‘ on CD and digitally via Neurot Recordings on 1 September, and on vinyl via Relapse Records on 2 September.
‘Clearing The Path To Ascend‘ preorder bundles are currently available:
For CD orders head here; and for special T-shirt bundles, click here
YOB will bring their riff domination to the UK/Europe, commencing on September 3rd, 2014 in Utrecht, the Netherlands. YOB will be joined by Pallbearer.
TOUR DATES WITH PALLBEARER IN SUPPORT:
Wed 3 Sept NL Utrecht Tivoli de helling
Thurs 4 Sept UK Bristol The Fleece
Fri 5 Sept UK Manchester Roadhouse
Sat 6 Sept UK Glasgow Audio
Sun 7 Sept UK Leeds Brudenell Social Club
Mon 8 Sept UK London The Underworld
Wed 10 Sept DE Dortmund FZW
Thurs 11 Sept NL Groningen Vera
Fri 12 Sept DK Aarhus Atlas
Sat13 Sept SE Gothenburg Truckstop Alaska
Sun 14 Sept NO Oslo Hostsabbat
Tues16 Sept FI Helsinki Tavastia
Wed 17 Sept SE Stockholm Slakthuset
Thurs 18 Sept DK Copenhagen Loppen
Fri 19 Sept DE Leipzig UT Connewitz
Sat 20 Sept PL Wroclaw Firlej
Sun 21 Sept DE Berlin Bi Nuu
Tues 23 Sept CZ Prague Klub 007
Wed 24 Sept AT Vienna Arena
Thurs 25 Sept AT Innsbruck PMK
Fri 26 Sept CH Winterthur Gaswerk
Sat 27 Sept IT Milan Lo-fi Club
Mon 29 Sept CH Lausanne Le Romandie
Tues 30 Sept DE Karlsruhe Jubez
Wed 1Oct FR Montpellier Black Ship
Thurs 2 Oct ES Barcelona Razzmatazz3
Fri 3 Oct ES Madrid Villamanuela
Sat 4 Oct PT Porto Amplifest
Sun 5 Oct ES Erandio Sonora
Mon 6 Oct FR Toulouse Le Dynamo
Tues 7 Oct FR Nantes Le Ferrailleur
Wed 8 Oct FR Paris Glazart
Fri 10 Oct GR Athens Kyttaro Club
Sat 11 Oct BE Antwerp Desertfest Belgium
As a precursor to the release, YOB is offering up two ‘Clearing The Path To Ascend‘ video teasers here. Stay tuned for further YOB happenings to be announce in the weeks to come.
YOB on Facebook
Neurot Recordings
Neurot on Facebook
Nightfell
The Living Ever Mourn
Southern Lord/Parasitic
Nightfell is a new band comprising of its two core members Todd Burdette (Tragedy, His Hero is Gone) and Tim Call (Aldebaran, Shadow of the Torturer), collecting here as Nightfell, a two-piece project which has recently released their debut album ‘The Living Ever Mourn’. As members of some of their respectively critically acclaimed and loved underground work, you would expect Nightfell to meet those high standards, and ‘The Living Ever Mourn’ doesn’t let anyone down. It’s a mix of Burdette’s and Call’s collective experience, leaning more towards Call’s doom worship in more ways than one, but underneath some of the trudge and plaintive mood is some ripping riffs and thunderous strikes. The guitar tone, particularly during the shredding, has a whiff of Amon Amarth about it, though you won’t find any odes to vikings or Norseology here. Burdette’s vocals are often deep growls if not guttural and connect with some wicked moments – yes, the black metal ‘ugh’ is often overused but even in its sheer simplicity, it boosts the first part of ‘The Last Disease’, which moves at a fast if not quite frenetic tempo before shifting into a slower dirge to finish. Much of the material here works in pretty much the same manner, barring ‘Empty Prayers’, an incredible dirge featuring clean, chanted vocals, a heavy, almost weeping riff, occasionally punctuated with a bit of slide for that added punch. They could have made that song twice as long and it would still be perfect. And ‘Altars To Wrath’ is one hell of a track that twists and writhes its listener into enduring pain. I’m not sure whether this will be a one-off project from Burdette and Call, but I would be happy for more Nightfell in future. Splendid stuff.
Peter Clegg
Buy ‘The Living Ever Mourn’ here
Stream it below:
We Must Obey 