Category Archives: Uncategorized

With each release, the duo of Lee Buford and Chip King continue to defy the constraints of what it means to be a “heavy” band, seamlessly combining composition or production approaches from hip hop, pop, classical, as well as rock and electronica resulting in a rich and utterly singular sound.

Their ambitious creativity shapes their bleak worldview into propulsive, affecting, and even danceable music often drenched in distortion. On I Have Fought Against It, But I Can’t Any Longer The Body challenged themselves again by turning their compositional approach on its head, choosing to build the record on their own samples rather than recording the basic tracks of drums and guitars and processing those. The results carry the listener towards the brink of emotional and musical extremes. I Have Fought Against It… conjures the sublime from an unexpected and incomparable variety of sounds.

The Body are known for their intense, abrasive live shows, whose waves of dissonance create an abiding dread or an overwhelming sense of terror. They create a volume of sound almost unfathomable from a duo and are unaffected by instrument choice: guitar and drums, or keyboard and synthesizers

For The Body, any source of inspiration is fair game to achieve their distinct atmosphere of unbearable dread, pain, and sadness. “Partly alive” places rolling drum figures, commonly found in pop, and transforms them with a backdrop of horns, skittering synthetic hi hats, and pitched feedback. The oppressive groove of “an urn” pulls beat arrangement and melodic ideas from disparate electronic influences.

thebody.bandcamp.com

Syrupy slow riffs are buoyed by canyon-deep bass and some of the hardest-hitting drumming since Keith Moon.
At its founding, Weedeater  rose like a doobie phoenix out of the ashes of BUZZOV•EN. When the cult sludge act called it a day, bass player Dave “Dixie” Collins teamed up with guitarist Dave “Shep” Shepherd and founded WEEDEATER in the harbor town of Wilmington about the year 1998. Their crushing and massive first full-length ‘…and Justice for Y’all’ (2001) created an immediate buzz, while critics were struggling to put a tag on their sound.

Nearly everybody agreed that stoner rock, doom, sludge and some crusty elements were part of the mix, which the band simply calls “weed metal”. The debut was produced by renowned engineer Billy Anderson (EYEHATEGOD, NEUROSIS) as well as sophomore album ‘Sixteen Tons’ (2002). WEEDEATER went out to perform live with CORROSION OF CONFORMITY and ALABAMA THUNDERPUSSY among others.

After some detours of Dixie Dave, who played shortly with BONGZILLA and SOURVEIN, third album ‘God Luck and Good Speed’ hit the world in 2007 and shifted the band’s focus slightly towards the stoner side.

Their fourth full-length ‘Jason… the Dragon’ got delayed when guitarist Shep lost a toe due to an incident with his favourite shotgun. When the sludge driven album finally came out in 2011, shows in the US and Europe cemented the band’s reputation as a fierce live entity. After signing to Season of Mist, WEEDEATER reissued their full back-catalogue on their new label. Yet the Bible Belt state of North Carolina, USA remains a fertile ground for hemp and stoner rock.

www.weedmetal.com

Arena Vienna / Dreiraum  / adv 16 € / 20.00h

Ufomammut is a power trio formed  in Italy in 1999 by Poia, Urlo and Vita, a lineup that has remained stable since.

The trio have developed a sound characterised by lengthy songs centered on repeated heavy riffs coupled with droning vocals and the use of sound effects and synths.

8 is the Ufomammut’s 8th album, comprised of 8 tracks that flow into each other without interruption.

This flow can also be seen when you tip 8 horizontally, thus it morphs into the leniscate from algebraic geometry – ∞ – a plane curve that meets at central point – or more commonly known as the infinity symbol.

A continuous stream of movement reflective of the uninterrupted nature of the album but also the continued togetherness of the essential elements of the band – Urlo, Poia and Vita – since the beginning of the band’s history in 1999. ∞ tipped vertically sees us return to the number 8.

8 is a continuous flux of music, a singular entity, which can be defined in micro measurements by its 8 satellite songs.

Each track expands upon the preceding song, unfolding into an exceedingly dense and malevolent journey, resulting in this being Ufomammut’s most extreme venture yet, with no permittance for breathing space in the 48 minutes.

Ufomammut’s status as one of the most potent, powerful and artistic contemporary doom artists in existence continues to captivate the masses, and the band’s worldwide grasp grows wider with each release.

Ufomammut’s live show is supported by the internationally acclaimed video and graphic art of Malleus, a rock artists’ collective of which Poia and Urlo form a part, who conjure the entirety of Ufomammut’s visual impact.

www.ufomammut.com

Right from the beginning, abut 5 yeras ago,  Prototyper did their own thing, without aiming for any particular genre … just with one goal in mind: to blow your heads off with big guitar riffs, mighty drums, thundering bass and gnarly vocals on top of it all. Keeping an eye on the dynamics, they may also include some calmer and moody moments for good measure, if a song needs just that.If you must put a label on it … let’s call it … Rock. It’s raw, heavy, loud and sleazy … everything you want in trusty old Rock’n’Roll, right?

2017 saw the release of Prototyper´s latest EP „Wounds“.

www.prototyper.bandcamp.com

Arena Vienna / small hall / adv 15 € / 20.00h

Fu Manchu originally formed in 1985 as a hardcore punk band called Virulence.
In 1990 they changed their name to Fu Manchu. Soon after they released the “Kept Between Trees” 7 inch single on Slap A Ham Records. McCaughey was replaced by Mark Abshire. Chivens also left the band around this time for unknown reasons. Rather than search for a new vocalist, Scott Hill added lead vocalist to his guitar duties. To compensate, Scott Votaw was recruited as lead guitarist. In 1992, Fu Manchu released three 7 inch singles: “Senioritis,” “Pick Up Summer,” and “Don’t Bother Knockin’ (If This Vans Rockin’)”. In 1993, Votaw left the band and was replaced by lead guitarist Eddie Glass, who had previously played drums in the band Olivelawn.

Fu Manchu’s first album, No One Rides for Free (1994), was released by Bong Load Custom Records, an independent label.

Abshire left Fu Manchu before they recorded their second album, Daredevil, in 1995. He was replaced by Brad Davis. The band promoted Daredevil with extensive touring throughout the USA and Canada, and reached a wider audience thanks to an opening slot with Monster Magnet, who at the time were the commercial darlings of the stoner rock genre.

Romano and Glass left shortly after the release of Fu Manchu’s third album, In Search Of… (1996), citing personal and musical differences with Hill. They were replaced by Brant Bjork and Bob Balch, respectively. Glass, Romano and Abshire soon regrouped to form Nebula, a power trio that took the jam-influenced side of Fu Manchu and expanded on it. Members of Nebula have commented that “we’re all family” to fans wearing Fu Manchu shirts at their concerts.

Fu Manchu went on to release several successful albums and reinforce their reputation as a powerful live act. The band had gained this reputation over the years due to their performance when touring with notable bands such as Kyuss, Monster Magnet, Marilyn Manson, Clutch, Corrosion of Conformity, White Zombie, Sevendust, and P.O.D., among others.

Brant Bjork left the band after their 2001 release California Crossing to pursue a solo career and was replaced by former Sunshine and Smile drummer Scott Reeder (often confused with bassist Scott Reeder, of Kyuss, Unida, and Goatsnake fame). In 2004, Fu Manchu released their 8th album, Start The Machine.

Fu Manchu’s ninth album is called We Must Obey which was released on the 19th February 2007. The band has spent most of 2007 and 2008 on tour, playing several shows in North America and Europe.

In February 2008, the track “Mongoose” (from the California Crossing album) was featured in a Super Bowl ad for the Toyota Sequoia.

Their tenth album Signs of Infinite Power was released on October 19, 2009 in Europe and October 20 in North America. Gigantois was released in 2014.

Early 2018 saw the release of their  12th full enght album and definite rteurn to form, Clone Of The Universe.

fumanchuband.bandcamp.com

Arena Vienna / big hall / adv 22 € / 19.00h

Motorpsycho are a highly prolific band from Norway. Since the late 80s they have eluded classification while blending progressive/psychedelic, grunge, metal, jazz and indie influences into a sound all their own. This constant evolution has been documented through countless ambitious albums and EPs for nearly three decades.

December 2016, a new recruit had entered the MP fold. Tomas Järmyr is a young graduate from the Trondheim Jazz Conservatory, and a swedish 8 year resident of Trondheim. A member of many band constellations, most famous amongst which is probably Italian noise band Zu, Tomas brings new energy and a slightly different focus to the MP drum seat. Younger than the others, his influences are distinctly more modern but his style is versatile and his style already fits in well in the psychoverse.

This new blood has made its mark already: in March the new band ventured to California to record their new opus. Recorded both in White Buffalo studios in L.A. and at Rancho De La Luna in Joshua Tree, “The Tower” will be the first music released by this new look Motorpsycho. Lyrically primarily concerned with the political uphevals and global, seemingly violent and ‘wrong’, changes for the worse,  musically it is a good old fashioned double album that certainly exhibits the versatility of this new band. It is undoubtedly a Motorpsycho album ‘in the tradition’, but in addition to proving that the band still can deliver in their usual distinctive way, it also shows off new possible musical directions the band might explore in the future. Time will show.

motorpsycho.no

Arena Vienna / small hall / adv 20 € / 20.00h

Ukraine´s Krobak´s “Nightbound” is definitely their most mature and challenging work to date. “Little Victories” was good but there are some predictable post-rock cliches they were trying to avoid while working on “Nightbound”. It’s way more diverse and recognizable, even though they are still influenced by other musicians obviously… but this time around it’s rather Swans and King Crimson than Godspeed You! Black Emperor or Mono.

krobak.bandcamp.com/

H.Soror is an Experimental / Psychedelic / No Wave- Trio from Ukraine.

hsoror.bandcamp.com/

Arena Vienna / Dreiraum / adv 12 € / 20.00h

After the artistic success of 2015’s No Image – which united journalists, musicians, music lovers and even a pro-wrestler in its appraisal – GOLD have made a triumphant return with ‘Optimist’. Together with producer Randall Dunn ( Sunn O))), Earth), GOLD have put their angular drive, their blackened guitar textures, and the composed yet vulnerable vocal delivery of Milena Eva in an even broader context. GOLD have created an almost unlimited space for their unique unity of beauty and cruelty to crush and confuse even more.

Within her lyrics Milena Eva lays bare her insecurities, internal struggles and self-doubt, as a means to reach out and connect. To ultimately inspire acceptance and love of the self, of the known and of the alien. To resist the apathy as expressed in the album’s first lyric – ‘Binge-watching the world collapse’ -and to include include GOLD comments: “Our activism and socio-criticism is strongly rooted in self-reflection and improving our selves. We do not only intend to break down walls and bridge gaps between scenes and genres, but also – more importantly – between people. And if it’s necessary to call out those who want to stand between us, we artistically will. It’s no coincidence that the last shot of the last video we took from No Image shows an awkwardly confident Donald Trump.”

With their nonconformist outsider approach, which the New York Times strikingly defined as “serenely intense… near-metal”, GOLD has managed to find a previously uninhabited spot that is truly their own. To achieve this in the heart of such a densely populated musical landscape, rather than at its outskirts, is the exciting result of intense years of performing and self-reflection.
Optimist is an adventurous confirmation of GOLD’s reputation as an enthralling band, on stage and on record.

www.thebandgold.com

Loather from Vienna, Austria tries to musically express the dark, depressive though beautiful facets of life.
The main components of the sound are reduced, in order to focus on the whole opus.

loathermusic.bandcamp.com

Arena Vienna / Dreiraum / adv 16 € /   20.00h

Golden Void is the new face of Bay Area psychedelic music. It’s a rich tradition and like many of the tradition’s greats, Golden Void’s songs are firmly rooted in melody and not afraid of exploration. The band’s hooks get stuck in your head and their riffs transport you to the astral plane. Golden Void’s undeniable twist, setting them apart from their city’s lineage, is the influence of classic bands like Sabbath and Pentagram. The quartet, Isaiah Mitchell (Earthless) on guitar and vocals, Camilla Saufley-Mitchell on keyboards and vocals, Aaron Morgan on bass and Justin Pinkerton on Drums, achieves a perfect balance of muscular riffs, soaring melodies, and hazy atmosphere on Berkana, their sophomore album. Recorded with Tim Green (The Fucking Champs), Berkana shows Golden Void expanding the scope of their sound without abandoning the heady groove they carved on their acclaimed self-titled debut.

Several members of Golden Void cut their musical teeth together during their middle school years and their natural ease and friendship is apparent throughout Berkana. Every member contributes to the writing process and to the arrangement of songs. Working with Tim Green at his isolated country studio, with all the instruments he has amassed, was integral to the expanded sound on this new record. While their debut album was mostly recorded live, Berkana was recorded with each member in isolation, allowing for more edits and overdubs. On songs like “Dervishing” and “Astral Plane,” there are layers upon layers of sound to dig into, with acoustic guitar, keyboards, and even flute being added to the band’s potent brew.

Tim Green picked up the baritone guitar and added some Arp as well. Isaiah Mitchell, one of the best rock guitarists working today, shows off his chops, but also his incredible restraint, throughout. In addition to the stretches of outright shredding, such as on opener “Burbank’s Dream,” or the climax of “The Beacon”, there are moments such as the breakdown on “I’ve Been Down,” in which Mitchell employs subtle melodic flourishes that slowly build in intensity.

www.thrilljockey.com/artists/golden-void

Dommengang’s music is expansive and driving. The band’s songs are propelled by Brian Markham, Adam Bulgasem and Sig Wilson. While the trio’s affection for electric blues and proto-punk bombast is clear, their music abandons traditional song structures and replaces their recognizable tropes with progressive frameworks.

Their second full length LP “Love Jail” was released in January 2018.

https://dommengang.bandcamp.com/

Ryte is a new heavy psychedelic band from Vienna, Austria set to lay waste to stages and audiences alike.

https://rytejams.bandcamp.com

Arena Vienna / Dreiram / adv 14 € / 20.00h

Scott Kelly is one of three founding members of the legendary band Neurosis of Oakland, California. Has been writing and publishing music since 1985 with Neurosis, Tribes of Neurot, Blood and Time, Shrinebuilder, Corrections House, Mirrors For Psychic Warfare and his solo acoustic project, as well as being part owner of Neurosis’ record label Neurot recordings.

LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 07: Scott Kelly of Neurosis performs at KOKO on November 7, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Marc Broussely/Redferns)

With his unmistakable deep growl, his fearless lyrical honesty, and rich, spare guitar work, Mr. Kelly lays everything on the line, intensely focused on truth, redemption, and healing. So in tune with the song he has always heard inside. His path has been a narrow, dark, and difficult one. But with his most recent work, Scott Kelly shows that his strength and vision has endured it all.

John Judkins is a multi-instrumentalist from Middle Tennessee. He is a founding member of the alt-metal group Laser Flames on the Great Big News (guitar/vocals,) as well as guitarist for apocalyptic prog-rockers The Protomen and bassist for Murfreesboro, Tn’s Seafood Hotline. John has spent years as a touring bassist with former and current Relapse Record’s bands Today is the Day (2008-2010) and Rwake (2010-present.)

www.neurotrecordings.com/full-roster/scott-kelly

Beauty Lies:
Dark, melancholic folk from Vienna.

soundcloud.com/beautyliessound

Arena Vienna / Dreiraum / adv 14 € / doors 18 € / 20.00h

Dallas trio TRUE WIDOW craft patient, rounded music that calls to mind images of foggy dawns and parched fields. Formed in November 2007, TRUE WIDOW released their self-titled debut a year later and immediately caught the ears of the underground. At its core, the music of TRUE WIDOW is powered by the driving, guitar-dense aspects of shoegaze and stoner rock and the heavy, low-moving evocations of ambient music.

Following their auspicious start, the band returned in 2011 with their sophomore full length, As High As The Highest Heavens And From The Center To The Circumference Of The Earth. As High As The Highest Heavens saw the band solidify their direction and further mature their sound, but it wasn’t until 2013’s Circumambulation (TRUE WIDOW‘s debut album for independent label Relapse Records) that they reached the heights – both professionally and compositionally – they have now. Circumambulation garnered the band widespread praise both within and beyond the metal world and was praised by publications as diverse as Pitchfork, NPR, Decibel Magazine, and Metal Injection. The band followed up the success of that album with extensive touring across the US, Russia, and Europe, including numerous appearances at renowned festivals such as Roadburn, Fun Fun Fun Fest, Psycho California, and more.

This year, Avvolgere, the forthcoming LP from Texas trio TRUE WIDOW, perfects the formula that Circumambulation established. The album rocks and rolls with serene, rounded climaxes and steep, jangling choruses that engulf the listener with waves of downbeat, saccharine melodies and mesmerizing distortion. TRUE WIDOW‘s signature alternation between male and female vocals helps further blur the boundaries between the heft of stoner rock, the droning atmosphere of shoegaze, and the twangy catchiness of blues and indie rock. It’s both concise and circuitous – the album takes you on a journey that you can’t ever quite predict or expect. Avvolgere is TRUE WIDOW sounding more infectious and consummate than ever before.

www.facebook.com/TrueWidowOfficial/

San Francisco’s KING WOMAN unveil their debut full-length Created In The Image of Suffering, a profoundly crafted opus of brooding, ethereal doom-rock. Led by the hypnotic and breathy vocal dramatics of Kristina Esfandiari, KING WOMAN harness the elastic textures and temporality of drone and metallic shoegaze alongside the transcendental, melancholic power of doom.

Recorded with engineer Jack Shirley (Deafheaven, Wreck & Reference, Oathbreaker) at the Atomic Garden, Created In The Image of Suffering’s seven compositions evoke rich, gloomy imagery with crumbling washes of blurred, billowing distortion densely layered atop hazy, psychedelic atmospheres that call to mind a surrealistic Black Sabbath fronted by Mazzy Star. Complete with deeply personal, introspective lyrics that serve as catharsis for years of religious and mental torment, KING WOMAN truly suffer to create their art.

kristinaesfandiari.tumblr.com

Arena Vienna / Dreiraum / adv 12 € / doors 15 € / 20.00h
Tickets@arena.wien

Formed in 1995 in Dorset, England, Electric Wizard have made a name for themselves as the undisputed trailblazer of the 3rd doom metal wave. Their unholy trinity of riff worship, 70s exploitation film aesthetic and inhumane consumption of marijuana left a mark on pop culture for decades to come.

Despite numerous line-up changes over the years, founder and frontman Jus Oborn has somehow taken his defiantly uncommercial vision to unprecedented heights of popularity, as confirmed by recent, sold-out tours both in the US and Europe.
“If you’d asked me a few years ago, I would never have believed what’s happening. But it’s been growing. Having these ideas and going for these bigger gigs and then seeing that people are buying the tickets, that makes it all even more exciting. It’s more of a diverse audience, now. There are still the same few hundred grumpy doom-metal fans, but we’ve been accepted beyond that, somehow. We’ve been going for 20 years, so we’ve become an institution by default.”

“We always had a fantasy that we’d end up in the tabloids, getting busted for having Satanic sex orgies,”
We’re always having them but no one cares!”

“We were always the greatest band that you’ve never heard of, but it’s starting to turn around. The world’s our oyster now.“

Channeling the rawness of shock rock´s pioneers Arthur Brown, Alice Cooper, Hellhammer and Black Sabbath through a fog of incense and weed smoke, Electric Wizard have gathered a cult following unlike any other rock band in recent history.

Formed in 1977 in London, England, Angel Witch are among the essential bands oft he New Wave Of British Heavy Metal. Despite critical acclaim in the music press, their only UK chart action consisted of a single week at No. 75 (the lowest position in the charts) in 1980.

Angel Witch have been claimed as a major influence by many notable metal musicians, including Dave Mustaine, Tom G. Warrior and Chuck Schuldiner.

Angel Witch has endured countless line up changes throughout the decades, and currently consists of Kevin Heybourne, Will Palmer and Jimmy Martin.

Arena Vienna / big hall /  adv 26 € / doors 32 € / 19.00h

Tickets available @ arena.wien