Circle- SSEENNSSEESS (Full Contact Records KRYPT-052)

Circle are back with a new live record, featuring 4 tracks recorded live on Nov 22^nd, 2013 as part of the Mika Taanila art exhibition in Helsinki. Kudos starts slow and building with a very beautiful melodic thread and keyboard line. Slowly the lead guitar starts to play and then Mika kicks in with some really unique Finnish vocals. He is singing in a bit different style than normal Circle. The keyboards play a major part in this 15mins song that slowly builds with short keyboard and guitar solo sections interspersed between the singing. It makes a few dramatic changes at several points into an almost jazz like theme. Radiant is the next piece on Side A and nearly 9 mins long. It has a melodic repetitive groove to start but then it sort of evolves into as the operatic vocal kicks in. Again, the keyboard is playing a major role in the sound on this track, creating the main melody but also padded space at times. This can only be Circle! Flip the record over and there are two 11 min songs starting with the Sleepwalker. It has a slow repeated theme as the guitars noodle, the vocals appear and go away over the course of the track as Mika gives an occasional shout. There is some sort of recorded talking also you hear now and then but maybe it from the audience or the art exhibit? Terminal brings back the intensity with a more heavy metal like riff but 80s Falcon like keyboards in another diverse track with some cool dual psychedelic guitar jamming. This was my favourite track on the record. Pretty cool record..

http://www.circlefinland.com

Black Prism- Satan’s Country 7” (Easyrider Records EZRDR-006)

This is a totally new band for me. I just read a description and thought it sounded cool so I ordered it. The band have a very raw, low fi, nasty sound but play just heavy rock in the Sabbath worship vein. The title track starts off side A is very Black Sabbath inspired (the singing) but the sound is way too low fi and gritty for Sabbath. Cool guitar riff drives the track but sadly no guitar solo at all. Yrtnuog S’natas, is the same song as the A side spelled and played backwards…… what a complete waste that is? I have no interest in listening to this. Overall, I would not recommend this 7”. The band has a cool sound but no solos, and they need some more ideas, clearly.

http://blackprism.bandcamp.com/ http://www.easyriderrecords.com/

Mammatus- Heady Mental (Spiritual Pajamas 012)

The San Francisco bay area band, Mammatus are finally back with a new record after a long break. Each side features 2 tracks related to messing up your brain with intense music. The overall sound production is much cleaner on this record than the past ones.  Brain Drain starts things off with a frantic pace and a lot of harmony guitars and is pretty complex at times reminding me of Danava but with more spaced out vocals. Lots of guitar solos with chorus driving this first track. Main Brain brings things down and there are some spacey sounds as the vocals are mixed into the background and quite trippy at times, but they raise the intensity level when it is necessary. A ripping guitar solo is played in the end section and when he kicks in the wah pedal, it brings back the memories of what band we are listening to as the other guitar is making a wall of sound in the background and the drums are pounding. Brainbow is next. I wonder if any of the band are referring to the Brainbow mouse used in neuroscience research? Anyway, this one starts off with a quick pace with the bass line mixed way up front as the driver. The vocals are really trippy as sounds criss cross the soundscape and some synths as well. The guitar takes the lead later with a lot of really cool melodies and fast runs as well. Brain Train is your last trip for this record and starts with a train horn as well before taking off at a fast pace with the bass and guitar lines pushing back and forth in a really cool rhythm. Fans of Danava will dig this record for sure. It gets beautifully spaced out and then goes back to the ripping guitar before coming to a dramatic end. Wow..

https://www.facebook.com/spiritualpajamas https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mammatus/78621323321

Goat- Live Ballroom Ritual (Rocket Recordings Launch 062)

I quite liked the Goat record and thought I would give this double live album. Goat is a band from the Gothenburg Sweden area. This double live record, recorded at the Electric Ballroom, Camden, London features all the songs from the record and the two from the Dreambuilding 7”/12”. The record starts off with the instrumental Diarabi and while the band stretch it out a bit, that is almost all the jamming you get. The Golden Dawn is next and the guitar does an extended psyched out solo and then back to the main theme. Disco Fever is played very straight up with the hand drumming mixed quite up front as well as the afrobeat like guitar, with the vocals a bit further back in the mix. The guitar solo comes late. Stonegoat is very short and ends the side with another uptempo track and the intense female vocal. Sounds a bit like she is getting tired of screaming already though and it is early in the concert.. Side B features 4 songs starting with Let it Bleed, which is slower and more groovey and features the saxophone. I had never heard this track Dreambuilding and it is a bit more mainstream and dreamy and the vocal is more relaxed and not so much in your face. Cool drumming. The track Run to your Mama kicks up the heat again but I was a bit disappointed they did not do anything interesting in the mid-section, just a simple guitar riff and drumming (maybe there were some special dancers or something going on that we can’t see here..), when it could be some cooler guitar or something. Goathead ends the side with another quick track but with a cool wah solo at the end. Side C starts with a straightup version of Goatman and after some feedback from the end of that track, Goatlord is a very short and leads into the long spaced out  instrumental track, Det som aldrig Förandras- Kristallen den fina.  Some of this will remind you of the way Hills space out. Side D has the sole track, The Sun and The Moon (6mins). Again, I get the feeling there are a lot of dancers or something going on as they have this killer groove going but the guitar is not really going for it, he is really holding back most of the time.. If you are a fan you will dig this record for sure..

http://www.rocketrecordings.com  http://goatsweden.blogspot.dk/

Purson- The Contract 7” (Rise above Records)

This was a limited edition 7” sold at the Rise Above Records 25^th anniversary concert in London in December 2013. It features the song The Contract from the bands last studio record and the unreleased song, Blueprints of the Dream. The leftover copies are still available from the Rise Above web store (green vinyl only).  The Contract (written by Cunningham) is a sort of beautiful spooky track with a driving bass line and lots of layers of instruments and then a dramatic change and upbeat section and then back to the more spooky stuff with mellotron, strings and then back again. Nice song. Blueprints starts with some organ and bells and then another pretty spooky but lovely track begins and it has a nice fuzzed out guitar for the short solo. If you like the band, this is worth getting… There are still some for sale at the Rise above web site.

http://www.riseaboverecords.com

Trondheim Calling Live 2014- Jan 30th- Feb 1st

I was invited up to play with a great new Norwegian band called Black Moon Circle, who I just released their debut EP on my Space Rock Productions label, as well as played on. This festival is mainly a showcase for new bands from all music genres and mostly local acts. You get a wristband and then you can go to any of the clubs (10) where the bands are playing in Trondheim. There were a few very cool bands playing like Spider Gawd (features the rhythm section from Motorpsycho) and High Priest of Saturn, but I did not recognize any of the other names. Spider Gawd played two shows but we missed them both due to rehearsing on Friday and them playing just before us at another venue on Saturday. After rehearsal on Friday though Vemund and I went out to see High Priest of Saturn, a local doom band at a club called Blæst. I had seen them before and was hoping to hear some new material and they did play a new song, which I shot a video of called Serpent World. They only had 30mins like all bands so only played 4 tracks. The sound needed to be much more massive and the drummer was just too laid back so when you also have a laid back vocal, it just lacked intensity. It was a bit disappointing considering that I liked the record they made on Svart quite a lot.

               The next day I saw part of the band playing before Black Moon Circle and they were called New Brian. They were young kids all dressed up to the max with ties, perfect hair and looks playing 80s like music, something like Wham! It was not for me and the small crowd seem to like it but I just don’t understand the point of doing stuff like this… Ugh..

               We hit the stage right at 23 and played 32mins. We opened with Jack’s Cold Sweat, a track that will be on the band’s first full length record later this year. Øyvin (singer and bass player) has been fighting a cold the entire weekend so his vocals were quite harsh at times but he really sang with intensity and gave it his all. We had a nice spaced out section on this track. American Eagle, which is on the EP, was really extended with two different improvised sections and quite different from the record. We really had it together on this track and I had come up with some cool spacey sounds, that are not on the record. Plains, also from the record really let Vemund play some amazing guitar parts as we took the psychedelic space rock to another level. Sound was great on the stage (and also the audience recording). Short, powerful show..  We quickly packed up and headed back to the rehearsal room as we were going to have a studio recording session the next day. It was a great concert. I feel like I have a special musical connection with these guys that I have not had with all the bands I have played with, so early on. Awesome.

Black Moon Circle

http://trondheimcalling.no   http://www.facebook.com/blackmooncircle

Death Hawks- BETA, Copenhagen, DK 1/23/14

Sue had arrived from London this afternoon and I really wanted to go see this new Finnish band that my friend Santtu had recommended. I had not yet received their new record but had seen a couple of videos (Black Acid) on you tube and liked what I saw. Anyway, we arrived about 10 and completely missed the opening band, which my friend Ole, said was very average and nothing special at all. Met up with Anders, Nanna, Rhona, and Jens. The band hit the stage like 22:10 and played about 45mins or so. I don’t know how to describe them, a bit like Wolf People maybe. It is a bit bluesy, but with a lot of space rock like synths giving it a special psychedelic flavour. The keyboard player also played short saxophone pieces in a few tracks. The singer and guitar player (also in the band Seremonia) has a great voice but plays very little lead guitar, which I really missed on the longer tracks. They played a really killer long slide guitar track (Holy Water). They ended the set with Black Acid. The audience really wanted more so finally after like 5mins, the singer came out and played the old blues song, Death don’t have no Mercy by himself and that was it. I spoke to the band to get the set list and they were really cool guys. I filmed the last three songs of the show so check them out and enjoy!

Set List: Night Children, Death has not Reprieve, Cain go Home, Shinning, Quiet Sun, Holy Water, Black Acid, Death don’t have no Mercy

Black Rainbows- Holy Moon (Heavy Psych Sounds HSP012)

The very cool Italian band, Black Rainbows is back with a new album. It features 5 tracks including an amazing version of the MC5 song Black to Comm. This is a band that just keeps getting better and making really cool stoner rock songs with an awesome psychedelic flavour. The CD has 6 songs in 38 mins. The opening song, is the title track and it really has an awesome slow groove and cool guitar as it slowly builds up. Monsters of the Highway reminds me of a more psychedelic version of Nebula with a vocal delivery like Fu Manchu!  Chakra Temple is nearly 9 mins long and starts with a strange droney vocal before the bass and guitar slowly creak in. Some spacey synth or guitar effects is also mixed in as a track that might remind one of Colour Haze develops. The Hunter is next and no it is not the old Willie Dixon song that Free and Gov’t Mule of done great versions of but a really good rocker with a catchy hook and hard riff. If I was a Bird is a really cool acoustic song and the perfect lead into one of the best versions (16mins!) of the MC5 song Back to Comm that I have ever heard. Damn… Great album….

http://www.theblackrainbows.com http://www.heavypsychsounds.com

Spelljammer- Inches from the Sun/Vol II (STB Records)

Spelljammer are a great new four piece Swedish band. They had previously released a really cool record on the US label (STB). This tape was released in 2013 in a limited edition of 100 copies (I have number 87) in a cloth bag with two stickers and a pin. As with the first record, this one was mixed and mastered by Billy Anderson! Aun’s Mountain starts things off with some heavy doomy stuff.  I like the long delays on the vocals.  It does not stay all slow though; there are some faster parts as well. Electric Ground reminds me a lot of Sleep but the sound is not as massive. Space Reefer is the most melodic of the tracks on this side but still with a really heavy bass sound and an awesome wah guitar solo. Mountaininside is one of the most doomy tracks on the tape and quite psychedelic at times.  Witcher starts with a slow bass line and guitar feedback before the monster riff kicks in.  This one has some really cool spacey guitar in it. Nine is also a cool number with some really intense drumming at the end. Rise of the Sonic Surfer ends the cassette in a heavy doomy fashion and vocal and groove that is very SLEEP inspired. Overall, this is a really cool release and one I have enjoyed a lot and heard like 5 times in the last couple of weeks.

http://www.stbrecords.bigcartel.com

LYNRYD SKYNRYD/BLACKBERRY SMOKE- LIVE 12” VINYL SPLIT LP (Southern Ground Artists 2013)

I am big fan of Southern rock and especially Blackberry Smoke. Since I actually got to see the concert that the three Lynryd Skynryd tracks were taken from, I thought I would buy this one. LS starts off side A with three tracks live from the Sweden Rock Festival 2012. It is a pity that they pressed these 1000 records and no one noticed that the Swedish town, close to where Sweden Rock is held was misspelled. The proper spelling is Sölvesborg, not Slovesburg. On the backside of the record it is also misspelled differently. Anyway, it is all about the music, right? The LS side is just as disappointing as the concert itself was. This is a band that basically sleep walks live. These are great songs (What’s your Name, That Smell and Simple Man) but damn the band plays with so little emotion now. Johnny nearly just speaks the words, hardly sings them and the guitar players have no fire at all. It gets much better when you flip the record over. Blackberry Smoke have a great set of songs, sing very passionately and are having fun. All three of the tracks here are from the band’s latest album, The Whippoorwill and Six Ways to Sunday and Pretty Little Lie are played nearly identical to the record but Ain’t much left of Me has a great Led Zeppelin- When the Levee Breaks interlude, which is really cool. A fun album. It is pressed on 180gm vinyl and has excellent sound. Enjoy.

http://blackberrysmoke.com  http://lynrydskynryd.com

Monster Magnet and Church of Misery- Lille Vega, CPH 1/20/14

Guitarist, me and singer in Church of Misery

I arrived at Lille Vega around 17 and the folks from Church of Misery were out at their van. I came up and had a nice talk with them and told them we could hang out later. They had flown in from Japan the night before but seemed fresh and in a great mood. I found the tour manager, the super nice German guy and he said I would be on the list +1 and we would work out the backstage passes after the show. 

COM bass Player

I came back at met Nils at 20:15 and we waited for Tom and Sven and had a chat with Tatsu’s girlfriend who was working the Church of Misery merch stand. They had a lot of stuff including the new DVD. COM was to start at 20:45 and play for 45mins. The show was nearly sold out, which is great for a Monday night. I met up with the super cool Swedish lady that seem to hang out with Dave whenever they are in Malmo or here. We talked a lot and had met at Vista Chino also. I saw my old friend Julie and Nik from On trial, and many others. 

COM, this was the first time for us to see them with the new guitar player (tall guy for Japanese) and they really played a killer set with a lot of spacey sounds from the MS-10 by the singer. I am not sure what the set list was but they for sure played at least two from the new record but not my favourite tracks. They did a long jammed out version of Born to Raise Hell. I think most of the people here had not seen the band and quite liked them. Great set.. 

It took them a while to get the MM stage in order and this was the first night of the tour so all the gear was newly rented and had not been really tested. The band said they soundchecked for hours today. Anyway, a bit after 10, the show started and the band played the entire new record from start to finish, which I was not expecting. The opening song (I live behind the Clouds) is just a strange one for opening an album, much less a concert. Then the band played the totally killer Lost Patrol and that was so intense… There was no way the band could peak like that again. I filmed Paradise and Hallelujah. The mindless ones and End of Time were just killer high energy space rock songs. This record really has a lot of Hawkwind feel to it when they play it live and Dave gets plenty of chances to play around with his effects pedals to make spacey sounds. They ended with Stay Tuned and did not play the bonus tracks from the record (Strobe Light Beatdown or One Dead Moon). They took a 5min break to smoke a cig and played Dopes to Infinity, Look to your Orb for the Answer (Not a long whip it fuelled version), Tractor and Space Lord.. End of show. Great.. night. 

I hungout backstage for a bit with the band, the owner of Sex beat Records and said goodbye around 01:00….  Always nice to see and chat with Dave and the band.. Great people… Oh yeah, they will be back for shows in the summer (maybe Copen Hell) and Atomic Bitchwax have a new record in the summer and will tour in August. Riotgod have a new record out in Feb in Europe, March in the USA but no plan to tour Europe… Peace..

Amon Düül II and the Birth of Kraut Rock Book

Swedish author, record collector and label owner (Kommun2), has written a pretty cool small book on the history of Amon Düül II from their early origins in different hippie communes in Germany in 1968 up until 1972. This is probably the only book in English that really describes the early days of the band in such detail. The majority of the book is taken from articles published in a lot of different sources but all put together here in a very nice manner. Tobias also describes each of the album tracks made by the band from the debut up until Wolf City (1972). There is also a detailed discography describing the singles and LPs from this period. Sadly, the book had to be severely edited after some members of the band complained about material that was included from interviews with different band members that Tobias had managed to track down. If you are a fan of the early ADII, then this is a fun read for sure. I learned a lot of stuff I had no idea about. I was lucky enough to get the author to answer a few questions so here you go:

What did you get interested in Amon Duul II?

I have been interested in music from the late 60s and early 70s for a long time and when I heard Amon Düül II and some other acts from West Germany I was really intrigued by their distinct sound. I know that most Germans think that Krautrockis a derogatory term - which might be true - but nevertheless I would say that there is a certain teutonic sound. As well as a Scandinavian sound, a Brittish sound (i.e. Brittish invasion, Meresybeat etc), a West Coast sound in USA (Blue Cheer, Jefferson Airplane and so forth). This distinct sound is of course more or less prominent, but definitely present in Germany on the early albums released by Liberty, Ohr and Pilz in and around 1970.

Did you ever get to see them perform in the 70s? Did they play in Sweden?

No, I never saw them perform back then. Their first gig in Sweden was in Vimmerby in 1977. I have the concert poster, although it is outside the scope of the book.

Was there any sort of culture like this in Sweden at the time period like what you describe in the book?

The situation in West Germany had many similarities with the situation in Sweden at the time, but was much more extreme. Sweden never experienced losing two world wars nor having to make up with its past in the same way as the Germans.

The book is an unauthorized biography. Did you try to make an authorized version with the consent from the band?

Initially I wanted to make the band happy with what I wrote, but after a while I noticed that it wasn't possible. I also read Anders Tegner's unauthorized biography about Yngwie Malmsteen last year, and I thought that it would not have been that great if Yngwie himself had authorized it.

How long did you research and do interviews, etc.. for this book?

About four years. But not full time as I have three kids a day job. So I could only work with the book during weekends and holidays.

Thanks for making his historical book. Do you have any other comments?

I would like to thank everyone that buys the book and reads it. And listens to this astonishing band!

You can purchase the book at the link below for 18€. It is a hardback, 159 pages printed in only 500 copies.       http://www.motljud.com/

Domovoyd- Oh Sensibility (Svart Records SVR231)

This is a new psychedelic Finnish band. This album was recorded live in the studio in July 2012. This album is a true psychedelic trip so be ready when you put side A. The album is split up into 6 parts, with four of them on side A and 2 on side B. Introduction starts things off and is a really psychedelic intro before entering into Incarnation! The incarnation starts with a very heavy low end bass. The sound is a mix of low fi fuzzed out guitar, tripped out vocals but quite high definition on the bass, which really pushes through the sound in a very cool way. Very cool lyrics as well.. After the short vocal section it is all about a psychedelic freakout with the guitars and then a major change occurs as it slows down before building back up with multiple changes in the guitar riffs and sound but always totally out in psychedelic space. Often the drums just disappear completely in the haze of sound. of cool guitar solos and effects. Very inventive. Lots Very trippy stuff. The track Lamia ends side A and starts with a slow building guitar solo that slowly morphs into the monster doom riff and the vocals come back in a very angry way (but they are mixed quite low so it is hard to understand what he is saying but you can read them in the LP).  Intense. Sit back, smoke some more and then take on side B. It starts with the instrumental track, Eifluvial Condenser. Slow and spacey delay guitars build up the track and over and over he says electric fuse.. and then the psychedelic guitars take over completely as the track builds over a repeated slow doomy bass and drum groove. Argenteum Astrum is the last track that builds out of a really spaced out section with lot of sounds and drones and effects and then the guitars come as it all slowly grows, crawls along the mossy forest floor, oozing it’s way into your mind, until the silence is broken with the return of the huge riff and bass once again taking the psychedelic experience to a higher level. I was really impressed with this record. Wow… and the album sleeve artwork is some of the coolest this year. Great job guys, now come down to Denmark and space us out!

http://www.svartrecords.com

Tidsgæst- Tidsgæst (Afd O Records AFDO-201302)

Tidsgæst (Time’s Guest) are a new Danish band playing experimental psychedelic rock music with many influences. Most of the songs are instrumental but some like I det Hinsides have long sets of lyrics all sung in Danish. The opening sequence of Portal into Onironaut reminds me a bit of Aron, that sort of spooky low fi but also beautiful melodic music. I det Hinsides is a strange psychedelic track with a ska riff at times and pretty far out at other times. Dødsridt keeps the theme dark and features some nice dual layers of lead guitar while the drummer and bass player keep the rhythm uptempo. It is really tripped out with a like theremin otherworldy stuff happening. Cool…Ondt Blod ends the side A. Side B starts with the title track, which has a lot of lyrics and reminds me a bit of SEID (one of the tracks they did for the Lord of the Rings movies). Khronopompos starts as a trippy soundscape with some metallic sounds and effects and later piano. It slowly grows over the 5mins and leads into the very short Søndagsmesse. Hver Søndag is another longer track with a lot of lyrics but all delivered in a slow spoken word phrasing with a simple drone organ and other keyboard line. At the end a dark demon presence enters the track. Be scared! Far out stuff… Now for side C. Uopklaret Sag nr. 2431-b which is a pretty long trip, around 10mins and features a long police report from 1933 being read! The band creates a dark mood also in this one with two interweaving guitar, bass and drums. Forkert Messe follows and is instrumental and is like music that might accompany a 1920’s or 1930 silent film. Pretty cool with a spacey organ starting the track Den Forkerte Dor. It develops into a very cool song. I love the guitar hook and lead guitar line. The vocal has a funny effect on it.. Side D starts off with Den Blaa jomfru and this reminds me of Aron’s solo material (he was a sort of advisor on the record!). Slow, plodding and mysterious. The last two tracks are both instrumental (Gravmaernens Val and Evighedsglimt) and the first has an excellent jazzy guitar solo and the last a long organ solo. These are some fantastic tracks. That is the end. This is not music for everyone, you need to be in the right mood and be ready to open up your mind, then you can enjoy this quite a lot. Understanding Danish would also help a lot. There is almost no information on the record about where it was record, when, who plays on it, etc.. so this must remain a mystery for now.. This record is a double vinyl in a nice single sleeve and made in only 250 copies. Check the link below.

http://records.afdo.dk/

Sophie’s Earthquake- S/ EP (Private Release)

Sophie’s earthquake is a three piece German rock trio. This EP features 3 long songs that developed out of four years of the band jamming. Pressure Soul (8:41) starts slow and spacey and then the main bass and guitar riff kicks in with an ominous feeling and maybe a slight Eastern feel at times as it is builds in both pace and tension. It gets quite heavy before comeing down again and heading into the main guitar solo section. Great song and dynamics. Checkless (5:54) is led by a cool bass line and Janosch’s vocal comes in pretty soon after the start of this track.  The theme is dark and mysterious. Reminds me a bit of Soundgarden at times. Excellent song. La ira de los Tres is a very intense track with a more metallic feel at times and a quite heavy riff towards the end and very intense guitar solo but it starts off with some acoustic guitar. Reminds me a bit of the German band Trigon. Actually, if you are a fan of Trigon, you will dig this band as well.  Check this band out.. They were nice people as well when I met them.

http://www.sophies-earthquake.com http://sophiesearthquake.bandcamp.com