This is a site where I post reviews of CDs, DVDs, LPs, and concerts. I have been writing music reviews on and off since 1984. I ran a heavy metal fanzine from 1984-1988 called Metal Madness and have been a staff writer for Aural Innovations for many years. I have also contributed to Chrohinga Well (RIP), Bad Acid (RIP), Lowcut (RIP), Roadburn and a number of other zines as well. I recently moved to Portugal so please request the new address and do not send any music to Denmark anymore. Tak..
The
Russian psychedelic-progressive rock band returns with two Pink Floyd cover
songs. You would like that because this is a 7” that the band would not be able
to do justice to these tracks but they actually play at 33 rpm and run over 7
mins each, which is required if you are to do them justice. The version of
Careful with that axe is quite smooth and all the sinister nature of the
original is gone as this is focused on the floating space of the keyboards.
They make it a more beautiful journey. One of the Days from the Meddle album is
on the B-side and they also strip away the sinister, dark edge and create a
super cool new version with totally spaced out electronics and wild
experimentation. This was awesome…
I
have never heard of this Japanese artist before. The record features 5 tracks
and starts with a really nice acoustic track with spoken words and flute and a
mellow beautiful vibe and it even later includes some nice sitar playing as
well. This song made me smile. Zo No Senaka continues the mood of the opening
track with more sitar but now there is a mid-paced driving song with some space
rock elements as well. Later on a really nice wah guitar solo compliments that
change in the track well. Tree Smoke is an instrumental track and has great
dynamics mixing cool guitar, heavy riffs, sitar, and a really spacey
atmosphere. Cool stuff. Flip the record over and you start off with Lazy Stoned
Monk. Think that you are at a monastery
and you hear the sound of dripping water, some distance voices, sounds, then
the deep drone of sound begins to trickle in, some bells, and then some slow
building guitar lines and percussion creep into…you get the idea… Dawn ends the record with a nice long
psychedelic guitar driven piece but also with some sitar. This album really
caught me by surprise.. I have not seen anyone write about it and it is really
excellent. Good for Sunday morning and fantastic artwork.. I love the cover.
The
night that these jams were recorded I was at home and got a call that my good
friend Ralph Rjeily had passed away. I was going to come out and join these
guys but it pretty much shattered my evening and I called up Mogens and let him
know the bad news. Everyone in Electric Moon and Papir knew Ralph. He was an
important part of the Copenhagen music scene. Anyway, even with the sad news
inhand, the jam session was going to go on and did and now you can hear at
least what they thought were the coolest parts. The players on this session
were all of the members of Papir (Christian, Christoffer and Nicklas), Sula,
Komet and Mogens (ØSC, The Univerzals). The opening piece is dedicated to Ralph
(the entire CD actually) and is called Farewell Mr. Space Echo. It starts with
a slow modulating organ, simple guitar line and a bit of a sad depressing
atmosphere. It slowly opens up at the drums build up and Mogens creates a lot
of modular bubbles and the guitars become more active. I am not sure there are
two unique bass lines so Lulu is most likely making effects, even though it
seems more like her kind of bass playing then Christians? It eventually builds up into a really killer
space rock jam track. Phew… Red Dust is 6 mins long and starts with some delay
guitar and a slow building theme before Nicklas enters in with the 2nd
guitar and then some spacey layers of synths also float in and out. Pretty
spacey stuff. The Circle is 21mins long and closes this first trip by these
cool bands. This one features Christian on the bass for sure! There is almost a
happy theme at times on this track and it is another uptempo piece and it takes
a while for the two guitar players to bring their lines together but then at
4mins it is all faded down and a totally new spacey piece begins and it takes
quite some time before it really picks up but a nice psychedelic vibe slowly
builds and then it really lets loose with killer guitar. Cool stuff. This is
pressed in 1000 copies on CD and 1000 on vinyl (red or black vinyl, 500 each).
The
German psychedelic rock band, Vibravoid are back with a new 7”. It has been a
few years since they released one on this label. All three of the songs are
cover songs, which Vibravoid are usually great at doing remakes of. So the 7”
starts off with the title track originally recorded by the Australian band,
Tyrnaround. I remember this Australian band from the Psychedelic Psauna
compilation from Delirium records. Anyway, this is a great version with nice
guitar and organ solos. Next is a cover of what was apparently a hit in France
in 1966 and Jimmy Page supposedly played the guitar. La Poupee qui Fait non by
Michel Polnareff). Yes… Christian sings in French, I think… hard to tell with
all the delay. The last track is an obscure song by an LA band called Human
expression who released 3 7”s in 1966-67 and disappeared. Optical Sound is
about a bad LSD trip. Vibravoid is must be the perfect band to just continue
forever making cool covers of obscure songs from the 60s. They do it so
amazingly cool.
I was a bit tired after being out til 4am the night before at my friend Magnus's 40th birthday party but since my friend Tom was playing in Horisont, I had to pull myself together and come out and see him, hang out and rock with my other friends, two of which were DJ'ing.. Saw quite a number of people and intact, the drummer Birk, who has played a lot in ØSC the last two years and he and his brother Thor were the guitarists in this new Danish band Demon Head.
I arrived early and Tom and i hung out for an hour in the dressing room while he played guitar and we talked about live in Scandinavia, all the different band projects he had going and what I was doing as well. Just such a super guy.. I went upstairs about 21:45 and set up my microphones and was surprised that the place was half filled. Great turn out.
Demon Head started right at 22 and played for about 45mins. All young kids and playing music in the style of 70s Pentagram. The lead singer, he does a decent Bobbly Liebling stye vocals and they had a lot of pretty cool songs. I think the weak point for the band at the moment is the lead guitar but at least they did have solos and not just all riffing. I think they have a lot of potential and this was only the bands 2nd live gig. Enjoy the video.
Set List: ?, ?, Master of Confusion, Demon Head, Ride the Wilderness, ?
Nocturnal
Nocturnal, are from Linköping, Sweden and have made a couple of records and 7"s. I saw some of their set at Heavy Days in Doomtown this year but man, they were really great tonight. The guitar player has this special guitar cabinet with like a 12" horn in the bottom and a Leslie like cabinet in the top that he can switch back and forth and that gave him a really cool guitar sound at times. They were more loose and jammy than I remember the last time and I really dug then. Crowd seemed into it as well but there were fewer people than for Demon Head. They also played about 45mins. I did not shoot any video as there were these tall guys right in the front of the stage and there was not decent spot to shoot a video.
Set List: Until the Morning Light, Magic Times, ?, ?, One of a Kind, Wait
After 30mins or so, as they had to change out the entire drum kit and remic it, Horisont were ready to hit the stage. They opened up with the Wolf, a sort of NWOBHM style track, in fact I think a lot of the new stuff, and we heard 8 out of 10 of the songs from their 3rd record, is NWOBHM inspired. The singer is just amazing. What a fucking voice but he is also intense. Tom sounded fantastic playing with these guys and I guess he did about 60% of the solos. The other guitar player is also great and they both play Les Paul guitar's. Very high energy stuff and some great older songs as well like Unseen and Nightrider from the 1st record. They also did 2 from Second Assault, including the title track. They played about 45mins and then came out for a three song encore. About an hour in total. I am not sure why they play such short shows and never really do any jamming.. All the songs are around 3-4mins and played really straight. Great band and I highly recommend them.
Set List: Wolf, On the Run, Writing on the Wall, Unseen, Second Assault, Brother, Crusaders of Death, Time Warriors, Vand Tilback, Backstreets, Just ain't Right, Diamonds in Orbit, Visa Vågen, Eyes of the Father, Nightrider
Carl Heinz was a German silent
film producer and he made a really far out avante garde film called From
Morning to Midnight in the early 20s. The theater was nearly sold out and I
only knew one person in the entire place (Martin from Devolution magazine) and
we did not meet until after it was over. The place was more than half women, which
surprised me but then when I saw that the band is also has three women (two on
keyboards and one singing), I understood.
The bass, guitar and drums were all
men! There was a little introduction by
the man from the Film Institute of both the film and the band (in Danish) and
then the movie started and it was in 5 acts and the band played along. The
first two acts the music was pretty mellow with mainly just the keyboards, voice
and percussion but then during some of the intense parts in the last 3 acts,
the music was more uptempo and rocking. The last act had some surf like guitar
mixed in as well. I think they did a great job but was a little surprised they
did not try to follow a few of the movie cues like when he is knocking on a
door, to make a knock sound and when the guy was playing a trombone, to make
those kinds of sounds. Anyway, they were great and very professional. I could
see they had recorded a few records as well that they had for sale. A really
cool event.
Spids Nøgenhat
produced their first studio record nearly 15 years ago. I got to see them play
a few times in the late 90’s and travel with the band to Hannover to play their
only show outside of Denmark. A few years ago, Ralph Rjeily, enticed the band
to come back and start playing again and they did including a very successful
concert at Roskilde Festival that was released on a limited edition vinyl
record. The guys who make up this band are very busy with their regular bands
which includes Baby Woodrose, Aron, and many other projects. Anyway, here is
the new record and I think it is really cool. A bit more laid back and less
psychedelic than the first record but totally
in the vibe of the early 70s bands like Alrune Rød. The LP opens up with a spaced intro just like
on the band’s debut before Mere Lys (More Light) starts with a really catchy
guitar line and Guf singing and playing the acoustic guitar but features a
quite cool psych section but short. Lolland Falster (the band has a cool video
for this one) is about this beautiful part of Denmark sound of Copenhagen. Lever
vi Nu (Do we live now?) is a more dreamy track and the acoustic guitar is
complimented with some organ and psychedelic guitar, of course! Den
Gennemsigtige Mand is a cover song (written by Hans Vinding and Furekåben) that this band
and also Dragontears have played live for many years. It is the longest and
probably the most passionate and best song on the record. The solo by Aron just
cuts through the sound and goes straight into your brain, while the background
just remains totally spaced out but a beautiful melody is retained. I just love
this song. Spids Nøgenhat I Græsset (mushroom in the grass) is a mellow track
about taking a mushroom trip. Spids Nøgenhat is the Danish name for the liberty cap, psychoactive variety. Again, Aron comes through with a solo that
pierces the cranium right through your left ear (if you have headphones on).
Jørden Kalder (The world calls) is slow track with no drums on the song, just
drones, layers of spaced out guitars and some space sounds and floating organ.
Vand, Brød og Te (Water, Bread and Tea) is another one the band has been
playing for many years including at Lorenzo’s solo shows. He wrote it! Henrik
plays a super cool wah solo on this track. Fred (Peace) ends the record and
this is a really cool hippie tribal psychedelic trip track. Lovely stuff.. A super
cool record and just what you would expect from this group of Danish psych
supertars! Our good friend Ralph would love this record if he were here with us
today…. Peace, love and good music..
This
Swedish psychedelic rock band is back with a great new record. The record is a
mix of more laid back shorter tracks and some long killer grooving and spacing
tracks. As the titles suggests, this is only part 1 of a 2 part series, in
which the 2nd part will be out in early 2014 (they say). The single
that I recently reviewed starts the record off (The Ballad of John Hall D.Y.).
Next is my favourite track on the whole record, an amazing song called Boogin’.
After this a short track called Shady Wind is a really nice change of mood. Two
Tongues is a melodic but really uptempo rocker with some slide guitar. Great
Deceiver features a really dreamy keyboard line, a cool guitar solo and reminds
me of Vibravoid a bit. Great song. Just note that if you have the CD there is a
mistake and track 6 is like 8 seconds of nothing and called Paus. This leads
into All the Lost, a short 3 min psych pop song including farfisa organ and a
different vocal approach. Like Elephants 1 is a really cool short track with an
Eastern feeling and sitar like guitar and very nice lyrics. Beautiful track, so
Run like Elephants! Ingenting kommer ur
Ingenting, despite the title being in Swedish is actually sung in English! This track is 6½ minutes and has a mid-pace
and lots of cool things going on if you really listen closely and I really like
the far out distorted edge that the sound has as it just gets buried further
and further in this heavy layer of distortion as Krita plays a cool guitar solo
in the background. Far out.. It takes a Spark ends this most excellent 60s
inspired psychedelic rock record and brings you back to where the album
started. I really look forward to the 2nd part. A very cool band and
if you like some of the Danish psych bands like the Setting Son, Baby Woodrose,
the Hedgehogs, or a large number of the acts of Fruits der Mer label. Check
these guys out.
Here
is a new split 7” with Marc McDowell, whom I have never heard of and my friend
Jaire’s band, Octopus Syng with their first new material in some years. The
single starts off with Marc a track entitled Girls of Belvoir (clocking in at
5½ mins). It is mainly acoustic guitar, violin and vocals to start. The mix is
quite psychedelic and eventually some flute and drums enter. A beautiful track
and it reminds me a bit of Circulus but more spaced. The Finnish band Octopus
Syng is back with a track that goes back to the roots of the band mixed with
the magic of Syd Barrett. Few people can pull this off like Jaire and his group
of Finnish freaks. Acid-folk psychedelia at its best! Enjoy…
I
probably don’t need to review this record damn, when a band you like makes
their best record ever 10 years into their career, you need to stand up and
yell about it! I was quite uncertain
when Tom left COM for Sweden what would happen and they had a new guitar player
but he only lasted for a short tour and then they got Ikuma ((ex-DHIDALAH, a
band I have never heard of) and now have made a totally killer record. Tatsu
the bass player still writes all the songs but having Ikuma around must have
done something as the music is just more groovy, more spaced out at times but
still those killer Sabbath inspired heavy riffs (yes they use a lot of them
over and over and over) but I am just pretty hooked on this new record and the
opening track BTK is an instrumental and
but does feature some spoken word samples, presumably from or about the serial
killer Dennis Rader. Lambs to the Slaughter (about Ian Brady and Myra Hindley-
a nasty duo) slows things down a bit and Hideki actually sings more clearly
than ever on these track and this one features a really cool psychedelic guitar
solo but too short. Brother Bishop (about
Gary Heidnik) closes side A and starts with a really killer guitar riff and
will have you headbanging for sure. Later on a really bluesy and killer solo
kicks in with a bit of panning on the sound as well. Now to side 2 where three
more serial killers get a chance to be sung about. Dennis Andrew Nilsen who did
some nasty stuff at Canley Gardens apparently, is next and starts with a slow
spacey bluesy intro after the spoken word intro. Then it really takes off with
some cool solos and mean nasty vocals. A
big surprise is a Quartermass song called One Blind Mice is squeezed in before
All Hallow’s Eve (John Linley Frazier). Something tells me Quartemass never
imagined their song being played quite like this! This one starts off like a
jam with some killer bass playing and distorted solo and sound before the main
theme of the song takes shape. Düsseldorf Monster (Peter Kurten) is the last
track and takes the entire side C and is one of the best on the record as it
gives the band space to really jam a bit. I still don’t understand not putting
something on the 4th side. Such a waste, like buying a beer with
only half the bottle filled. I look forward to seeing the band in Copenhagen on
Jan 14th with Monster Magnet!
Wow..
how I was surprised to hear about this one! I did not know that this far out
Australian band from Brisbane even existed anymore. I have their
Psychedelometer CD from 2007 that I reviewed way back then. Now they have a new full length record so get
ready for a trip. Since the names of the musicians were coded on the earlier
release (Captain Monotone, Stucifer (Stuart?)and Max Volume) I don’t know if it
is the same people or not. I think it is the same three guys plus a 4th
member now. Anyway, side A starts off with the title track, which is going all
over the place and changing speeds and is quite chaotic and difficult to get a
grasp of but Paul brings in some vocals inbetween some lead guitar passages and
lots of spaced out sounds. Folow Me starts off dreamy before the nearly heavy
metal but very 1980s Hawkwind style guitar riff kicks in but with a more raw
sounds. Reminds me of some Huw Llloyd Langton stuff as well. Excession is next
and features a spoken word vocal and is a really space slow track with some cool
space synth sounds but the main focus on the psychedelic guitar lines. Polydream
is heavily synth lead (like stuff Harvey Bainbridge might play) and more
uptempo but seems like it ends just as it was going to take off somewhere
interesting?? Ok, flip the record over now. Subsequent Retraction has a deep
bass line and starts with a wild lead guitar line and slow drums before the
drummer (Stuart) takes the lead to drive the pace of the track and Paul
(Singer, guitarist, synth programmer and bass) heads off on a wild solo. This
was certainly just a cool instrumental jam the band had. Atmosphere of Decay
has what sounds like mostly programmed but many some real drums and layers of
synths in another instrumental track. Tanquil has a totally different sound production
and the volume output has dropped quite a bit in another instrumental track
with a melodic guitar thread and nice solo but there is also something menacing
that never quite clears the fog to bite you! Verzweiflung has a vocal and
feeling of some of the recent Nik Turner and Space Ritual material and even the
latest Darxtar record, Aged to Perfection. I believe in UFO’s ends this record
with a track that has a very cool heavy guitar riff, some spoken word vocals
and lots of spaced sounds but still a melodic thread to it. A pretty cool
record and quite different than Psychedelometer. Enjoy the trip.. The vinyl is
limted edition in a cool yellow-green color (100), green (200) black (200) and the
yellow-green one comes with a poster, sticker and three postcards. A very nice
release.
This was a really fun
night and a bit emotional for the Rich and Andy from Carlton Melton. It was the
first time they had played back in Denmark since they were here with Zen
Guerilla more than 10 years ago. they were good friends with Ralph Rjeily and
had stayed in contact with Ralph via music and bands for all these years and
Ralph as also the tour manager on the first Freeks tour, on which Andy played
drums. Anyway, I arrived at the venue about 19:30 and the bands had just
arrived from a long drive from Berlin. I hung out equally with Rich and Andy as
well as the White Manna guys who were all super cool folks from Humboldt
California (US Weed capital!).
The
opening band are a new young 7 piece Danish psychedelic rock band (yes.. yet
another one!) called Fribyttedrømme, which means something like Pirate Dreams
in Danish. I have to say I was really blown away by these guys. This is a band
that really channelled a cool 70’s vibe with a mixture of like Pink Floyd
(Obscured by Clouds era) and Alrune Rød (great Danish band from the 70s, who
sadly don’t exist anymore). All the vocals are in Danish and well sung. They
have three guitars but they were all playing different stuff and two of the
guitar players did all the lead guitar work, with the singer having a really
fuzzed out guitar sound at times. They played for about 45mins and were really
excellent. I did not find a set list. I don’t think they have released anything
yet. The guys in both bands checked out the whole show and really liked this
band as well. Set List: Fribyttedrømmen, Kosmonatuen, Ørken, De Konstruerede, Fem er det Magiske Nummer
It
took 45mins before Carlton Melton hit the stage as they had all arrived too
late to sound check and had to set up new drums and all the stuff now. I went
outside for a while and chatted with my friends Sven, Tom, Anders and martin.
It was a really disappointing turn out tonight with only about 40 people. Where
was everyone? All these new Danish bands like Troldmand, Road to Suicide,
Spörkratet, Spids Nøgenhat, etc.. who play psychedelic rock, none of these guys
come out to see bands that they probably listen to and dig. A bit strange.
Anyway, that is the way it is.
Carlton
Melton opened with a slow dual guitar space out as they always seem to do. I
was supposed to jam with them this night but in the end, Rich (plays guitar,
synths, samples) made the decision they were not prepared, so I was just a
spectator. Next time we will do it for sure we agreed. Anyway, the opening
piece was like 15mins and ended with Rich just letting loose with some killer
guitar solos. Andy then switched from guitar to drums and things became much
heavier. I think they play more or less the same songs every night from what
the White Manna guys said but the way they play them is really different.
Tonight you could tell that it was emotional for them at the end Andy yelled
out “Ralph Rjeily” and a lot of people knew Ralph so they got a nice response
back. Rich said he was thinking a lot about Ralph when he was playing. Cool
concert of about 50mins. I am guessing they never play that long.
White
Manna used a lot of the CM gear so it was 30mins or so and they were ready to
fly but it was nearly 1 in the morning now. Anyway, this band really blew me
away with their high energy space rock with the hypnotic flavour or Wooden
Shjips (it is mostly the cool hypnotic way the bass player plays and not the
guitar and keyboard at all). They played mostly new material and only one song
from the 1st record. The opening track felt a lot like a long jam
and I filled this track and Dunes. There is a great interaction within the band
and after 2½ weeks on the road with a gig nearly every day they are flying
high. They change the set every night to keep things fresh, which is the way it
should be. The version of the Mick Farren song, I’m Coming Home (it is also on
the new record) was really cool. A fantastic concert but too short at like
55mins. A very late night. Enjoy the videos.
Set List: Esu ra, Dunes, X-ray,
Illusion of Illusion, Sweet Jesus, I’m Comin’ Home, Evil
Psicomagia is a new group featuring
Brian Ellis (not on guitar or synths by on saxophone) with a group of
like-minded mates from San Diego. I think some of these folks also play in the
improvsed Brian Ellis group. The spoken words are all in Spanish as are all the
song titles. The music is mostly instrumental very intense. Fans of the Mars
Volta will probably dig this even though there is no guitar! El Memorioso start
things off with a really cool intro before the amazing bass playing and intense
drumming kicks in and then saxophone takes the lead. The song has a very cool
vibe and the duelling battle with the keyboards (sometimes sounds like a flute)
and sax is very cool. El Congreso Pt1 is next and split over the end of side A
and beginning of side B and this features the spoken word poetry in Spanish of
Bernardo Nuñez. It starts slowly but then gets super intense as you go on the
same trip as the first track with the synths really taking the lead with some
repeated patterns return with the sax lines. Phew.. Flip the record over and
the poetry returns but the intensity of the keyboard is really cool as it sound
nearly like a guitar at times and really is balanced to the right while the
poetry is to the left. Brian is taking a break for a bit but rest are not! I
have to say this is some of the absolutely most intense effected organ and
synth playing I have ever heard, this Tyler Daughn is fucking unreal. He gives
the music a total head fuck! The last track Simplón is a bit more composed and
less of a full on freakout but no less intense. This one hell of a record to
sit through and you need to hear some pretty mellow stuff afterwards but I am
fully ready for the next trip! Awesome.
This
is a really cool live archive recording with all tracks except one recorded at
Dingwalls, London in 2007 and featuring the line up with Joie (ex- Ozrics,
Dream Machine, Eat Static) and two original members Keith (Bass) and Steffe
(guitars). They are joined by Steve Cassidy on drums (he replaced Merv from Eat
Static, who was also in and out of the band around this era) and Gwyo on
Synths. A very good line up. The CD opens with very cool synths and slowly
builds up into a cool jam. It is great to hear some of the songs from the
spacey UFOasis album as well as some new tracks but mostly focused on the 90s and recent material. Great
sound production and playing by all. Steffe is giving plenty of room to play
cool solos in each song and there are plenty of synth solos as well by Joie and
maybe Gwyo. Crazy Lives is a really funky track with a heavier guitar riff. Telly
Song has a slow spacey intro and goes into a reggae like piece but not like you
are used to but the way space rock bands do it. Some cool solos and keys. Moonrise
is an instrumental like jam with really nice bass playing to complement
Steffe’s lead work, while the synths provide a spaced out background. Steve is
very solid on the drums as well. Underground Dub is like the title suggests a
sort of dub track with some wild synth sounds shooting into the soundscape from
time to time and a more straightforward dub rhythm and keyboard as well at
times. Rattle the Cage keeps the pace slow and spacey and would have been a good
time for a more upbeat track but Steffe lays down one of his coolest guitar
solos here. Dig the positive lyrics in this track. Only way is a short melodic
track. The CD ends with a song called Near and How and this is more GONG like
in nature with some wild synths returning and a more uptempo and hard guitar riff
and they get totally psyched out like on no other track. Very cool way to end
the CD..
Monkey3
are back with a new album, the 5th sun and this is one of the tracks
from that record. The keyboards have played a larger and larger part in the
sound of this band over the last couple of records and this continues here. The
track starts heavy and dramatic but then goes into a more floating direction
again with the keyboard dominating and almost no guitar for quite a long period
before kicking back in as the keyboard which is made to sound like female voice
is what grabs your attention as the track builds up again. The B-side is a
cover of the Black Sabbath song called Zero the Hero from the Born Again
record. It features Niklas Sjöberg on vocals from the Swedish band Graviators!
Musically the band stick with the main guitar riff but db adds in a lot of cool
synth effects that make this quite psychedelic. Niklas’s voice is not really in
the same league as Gillan though but he really gives it his all. Fucking
awesome stuff and worth the cost of the 7” alone…
