Awesome Bands You Should Know...PRIMITIVE MAN

PRIMITIVE MAN is a intense, devastatingly heavy band from Denver, Colorado. The group is comprised of current and former members of CLINGING TO THE TREES OF A FOREST FIRE, DEATH OF SELF, WITHERED, & REPROACHER. The group formed in Denver back in  February 2012 with Ethan Lee McCarthy on Vocals and Guitar, Jonathon Campos on Bass, and Bennett Kennedy on Drums. The trio soon set about crafting savage material drawing elements of Doom, Death Metal, Black Metal, Noise, Drone, Sludge, Crust, and more. Their efforts would soon begin to take form and in October 2012, they entered Flatline Audio, in Denver, with egineer/producer Dave Otero. These sessions would yield their debut LP, "Scorn". This nihilistic, oppressively heavy record would initially be released in January/February 2013 by the band themselves, in conjunction with Mordgrimm and Throatruiner Records. The album was released only on Vinyl in a limited pressing, and featured 7 tracks of audio violence, utter devastation, and ominous atmosphere.

The record opens with the title track, "Scorn", which clocks in at a monsterous 11:44, and demonstrates right out the gate that this band is not to be fucked with. Collossal riffs and ear shredding feedback collide with McCarthy's scorched vocals and misanthropic lyrics, and within this massive first tracks the weak shall be weeded out. This is not for the faint of heart. The meek shall inherit nothing. PRIMITIVE MAN are here to trample the weak, hurdle dead, and get fucked up in the process. During this opening onslaught, the band demonstrate they can not only play slow, pulverizing Doom and Blackened Sludge, but that they can also briefly bust out faster tempos that hearken to the Grind of McCarthy's other main group, CLINGING TO THE TREES OF A FOREST FIRE. Its interesting because in some ways, PM is almost like the reverse version of CTTTOAFF, as PM play a Blackened Sludge/Doom with brief elements of Grind and Death Metal, while CTTTOAFF play Grindcore with occasional elements of Sludge and Doom. "Rags" follows and opens with a hellish groove that would make EYEHATEGOD proud, before slowing the pace to a Death/Doom crawl. Next is "I Can't Forget", the first of a couple disturbing, atmospheric, interlude type tracks. Its quite haunting and truly adds to the overall disturbing aura of the record as a whole. The second longest track of the album follows this, in the form of "Antietam" a 9 minute war of attrition that is all hate and power. After the first 2 minutes of slow motion devastation, things pick up and we get some Crust Punk infused bursts. After a bit we return to a crawling pace for several minutes, before hitting a nice groove inflected stomp for a bit, and then ultimately returning to a slow trudge by songs end. "Black Smoke" is another horrifing interlude piece that is difficult to describe but adds to yet another layer of menace to the proceedings. "Stretched Thin" is the shortest track on the record at just under 3 minutes and is easily the fastest and most Grind and Crust/Punk infused of all the tracks. Its not super fast in the grand scheme of things but in the context of the album, it seems like they're fucking flying off the rails. Finally, we come to the closer, "Astral Sleep", which features huge chunks of Blackened Sludge and Death Doom for most of the track but also rallies the troops for one last blast of faster paced action before closing things out in feedback. Shortly after the release of "Scorn", PRIMITIVE MAN would part ways with Bennett Kennedy, and pick up Isidro "Spy" Soto as his replacement on Drums. About a month after the release of "Scorn", the band would offer up an EP for free via digital download, by the title of "P//M".

This EP would feature 3 tracks of more atmospheric, Ambient and electronic material, including a PORTISHEAD cover. Fastforward to June 2013 and PRIMITIVE MAN would get signed to the prestigious extreme music label, Relapse Records, who would re-release "Scorn" on CD, Digital Download, and limited edition Vinyl LP. The re-release Vinyl LP would be see a pressing of 1000 copies, 700 being standard Black with the other 300 being a "Beer" colored LP that is a beautiful golden brown. This Vinyl reissue would have the same tracklisting as the initial release, however the CD and Digital versions of the Relapse version would include 3 extra tracks, "Lifetime", "Innard$" and "I Am Above You". In a very short amount of time, PRIMITiVE MAN have asserted themselves as one of the foremost bands in Extreme Metal. "Scorn" is one of the best albums of 2013, without a doubt, and for fans of extreme Doom this is your new favorite band. 2014 also looks to big a big year for PRIMITIVE MAN as they are starting the year off with a bang by dropping not 1, but 2 new releases.

First, they have a new split 7" with XAPHAN coming out in January, through Init Records that will feature one new song. This 7" is being pressed in a limited edition of 1000 copies. The 2nd release is due out in February through Tartarus Records. This release is a new cassette tape that focuses more on the Noise and Drone side of the band. It will include the materian from the digital P//M release plus a number of new tracks including a CROWBAR cover, for a total of almost 90 mins of brutality. This cassette is being pressed in a limited number of 100.

There are countless Extreme Metal bands these days and an ever growing number of Extreme Doom bands that take Doom more extreme directions like Death/Doom, Blackened Doom, Sludge, Funeral Doom, etc, etc but tuning low, and playing slow doesnt necessarily result in great music, in and of its self. PRIMITIVE MAN have shown they have what it takes to create interesting, and truly powerful music that while rooted in the slow and crushing end of the spectrum, is also quite capable of utilizing other elements such as Noise and Ambient, to create a more lethal end result.

Check out all PM news, go here... http://primitivemandoom.com/
For merch, go here... http://primitivemandoom.bigcartel.com/
To here these jams, go here... http://primitivemandoom.bandcamp.com/

Andy Sweitzer

Awesome Bands You Should Know...THE GODDAMN GALLOWS

One of the single most interesting, original, and amazing bands in existence today is a band called The Goddamn Gallows. Their music defies easy classification, containing elements of Punk, Harcore, Blues, Folk, Country, Bluegrass, Americana, Gypsy, Rockabilly, Roots, etc, it continues to evolve with each record, and as they have added members along their travels. The band originally formed in Lansing, Michigan in 2004 as a 3 piece, featuring Mikey Classic on Vocals and Guitar, Fishgutzzz on Upright Bass, and Amanda Kill on Drums. In the beginning, the band was simply called The Gallows, using this moniker on their 1st couple releases, before adding the "Goddamn" to prevent confusion between themselves and the British Hardcore band, The Gallows. This early version of the group began jamming and headed West. In 2004, they dropped their 1st release,"The Gallows" EP, which was at the time, self titled. From there, the nomadic group continued bouncing around from Portland to Hollywood living anywhere they could from squatter camps to abandoned buildings, alleys, storage units, and anywhere else they could. Their filthy mixture of Hardcore/Punk, Psychobilly, and bits of Roots music began to gain them a bit of attention. The following year, 2005, they would release their 1st full length album, "Life of Sin".

This record would be the final release with Amanda Kill on Drums and also their final release as The Gallows. "Life of Sin" would feature strong elements of Punk and Psychobilly, and although it doesn't have nearly as much influence from Roots/Country/ Bluegrass/etc as later records would, there are still traces. Also included on the record is a cover song, performed with their own flair, something they would continue to do on each LP. The cover jam on here is "Wreck of the Ol' 97" which has been performed by many, many people over the years, including The Statler Brothers, Flatt and Scruggs, Woody Guthrie, Pete Seger, Hank III and many more, with one of the most well known versions being done by by Johnny Cash. 2006 would see the Baby Genius join the group, replacing Amanda Kill as their Drummer, more shows and the writing of new material. In 2007, the group would release their 2nd full length "Gutterbilly Blues", Baby G's 1st album with the band and the group's first effort with their new altered name, The Goddamn Gallows.

"Gutterbilly Blues" would serve to continue the musical path set out on "Life of Sin", but also hinting at what would come later as they were coming into their own and blurring the lines between genres. Much of the record still is strongly rooted within Punk and Psychobilly but there are also jams like "Born To Lie" which indicate a greater Roots influence that would continue to grow with in the group and show up in greater amounts on subsequent releases. The cover song on this record would be a rockin' version of Ray Charles "I Got A Woman", with some interesting lyric alteration. The record also would give a name to the group's style with people now calling their music "Gutterbilly", with other strange descriptors coming along over the years like "Gypsy Punk" and "Hobocore".

At this point, The Goddamn Gallows essentially became a full time effort for the 3 men involved, as they would hit the road and more or less stay there for the next several years, with only brief breaks. This breakneck pace would continue with the band usually playing well over 200 shows a year, a feat that would destroy most bands, and brings to mind another band who did it themselves, their own way, with a tireless work ethic and great artistry. That band is Black Flag. Fast forward to 2009, in which, our band of miscreants find another piece of the puzzle, during their travels, in St. Louis, MO. This addition would be a wild man known as TV's Avery; a fire breathing, accordion squeezing, washboard & spoons player, who would also occasionally play drums. Avery would prove to be a very important acquisition, and helped push along the group's continually evolving style, as evidenced on their 3rd LP, 2009's "Ghost of th' Rails".

GOTR finds The Goddamn Gallows quickly making great use of Avery's Accordion, Washboard, and Spoons skills on many tracks increasing the Roots,Country, Folk/Americana elements on tracks like "Ghost of the Rails" and "Underneath the Stars", while Banjo is also incorporated by Mikey Classic furthering the twangy sound of some of the record. Meanwhile, other tracks on the record are aggressive as hell, fully embracing their Hardcore/Punk roots, particularly violent jams like opener "Heavens" and "City of Hell-A". Many tracks also find embrace both extremes of the Gallows influences, such as "Smoke Satan" which has Rootsy parts but then also violent aggro parts. The boys also continue their tradition of interesting cover songs with the inclusion of "Planet of the Apes" by The Mummies. Not long after the release of "Ghost of th' Rails", The Goddamn Gallows picked up another stray musician. This time it would be super picker Jayke Orvis, who, at the time, had recently exited The .357 String Band (a group he helped found), and within the next year would release his 1st "solo" album "It's All Been Said" to much acclaim, which also happened to be the 1st release from Farmageddon Records, who would later release/re-release much of The Goddamn Gallows material. The group's next release and 1st to involve Orvis would be "Swappin' Spit", a split/collaborative record with Gary Lindsey's Black Eyed Vermillion.

"Swappin' Spit" would feature The Goddamn Gallows covering 4 BEV jams, "20-20", "Jesus In The Waiting Room", "Helping Hand", & "Bones To Pick". Gary and Black Eyed Vermillion would cover 4 Gallow's tunes, "Born To Lie", "Pass Me The Bottle", "Wanders", and "Don't Feed Me". The final track would feature both groups as well as James Hunnicutt performing an amazing Roots version of Venom's "In League With Satan". "Swappin' Spit" was released on Vinyl only by Farmageddon Records, but has since been made available for Digital Download as well through CD Baby. The next step in the Goddamn Gallows journey would come with the release of their 4th LP, "7 Devils", in 2011 through Farmageddon.

At this point, the line up including Baby G on Drums, Mikey Classic on Guitar and Vocals, Fishgutzzz on Upright Bass and Vocals, TV's Avery on Washboard, Spoons, & Accordion,  and Jayke Orvis on Mandolin and Banjo. Joe Perreze would also play Banjo on much "7 Devils" and soon become a fulltime member. Andy Gibson, who recorded the album, would also contribute Lap Steel to the record, and in doing so adding another element to their already robust sound. "7 Devils" is the next logical step for The Goddamn Gallows, it follows their sound to new extremes in multiple veins. Its got furious, Hardcore/Punk jams like "Sidewalk Slammer" and "Stew Hogg", but also has very Country/Folk/Bluegrass inspired jams like the title track, "7 Devils", their stellar cover of Townes Van Zandt's "Waiting Around To Die", and Mikey Classic's acoustic tune "Nature of the Beast" which is beautiful yet powerful in its quiet reserve. Orvis's Mando playing, coupled with Joe Perreze's Claw Hammer Banjo, and Andy Gibson's Steel work give the record and increased dose of Rootsiness that pays off in spades. Also, Avery's increased use of Accordion, on tracks like "Instant Major Felony" or "End Of The World", also plays into the strengths of the album making it very diverse. Its an album that can appeal to people from numerous scenes but without compromising their integrity in anyway.  The record also features a blistering version of "Raise The Moon", written by Orvis, which had previously been recorded by his old group The .357 String Band.

Since the release of "7 Devils", the group has been constantly on the road playing here, there and everywhere in between. For awhile, many of the tours included Jayke Orvis and The Broken Band, allowing Jayke to tour for his solo album as well as doing the Gallows. Joe Perreze would also pull double duty for most of these shows as he was playing Banjo in Orvis's Broken Band and The Gallows. Over the next couple years of shows and writing the group has continued to raise their profile and increase their fan base. 2013 would see Jayke Orvis & The Broken Band release their 2nd album, "Bless This Mess", in the spring, which features some guest spots from some of the other Gallows members. This would bring to a close another chapter for the group as Jayke would exit the group, on good terms, to focus on his own project and allow both groups to seperately tour. Perreze, who had been playing with both groups, would also have to limit himself to one group in regards to touring and therefore exited The Broken Band to focus on the Gallows. Just in time for summer, Farmageddon has released a limited edition acoustic Goddamn Gallows EP that was recorded in a Tattoo shop back in 2010. Its limited to 200 copies so if you want one, you better get on it 'cause they won't last long.

Currently, The Goddamn Gallows have been working on their upcoming 5th LP, with the primary recording having just been finished I believe. At recent shows, they've been playing some new material including "The Maker" and "Ragtime Sinner", which can currently be checked out in live form on their official website and/or Youtube. The new record should be out by October, at the latest, and I'm quite certain will rank near the very top of my Best of 2013 list. The Goddamn Gallows have reached a point where they literally sound like no one but themselves. They have taken their wildly varied influences and molded them into a sound all their own. They don't really fit perfectly anywhere and yet they can squeeze their way into almost any music fan's record collection with skillful musicianship, honest and interesting songwriting, and a uniqueness that is a testament to the characters involved.

Aside from crafting some of the best music in any genre or scene, Underground or otherwise, they also boast the best live show of any you are likely to have seen in years. Equal parts Punk Rock destruction, Circus Side Show, Hardcore power, Vaudeville Comedy, and Roots/Folk passion, their's is a show NOT to be missed. So in short, buy their records, go to their shows, and most of all, enjoy yourself...But remember...Don't Feed Avery...


http://www.thegoddamngallows.com/
https://www.facebook.com/goddamngallows
http://www.farmageddonrecords.com/

All artwork belongs to it's respective owner(s) ie Goddamn Gallows, Farmageddon, etc. Live photos are courtesy of Bethany Sweitzer and were taken in Terre Haute, IN @ Ole Simrell's 6/19/13.
Andy Sweitzer/Dodo Bird 2013

Awesome Bands You Should Know... JAYKE ORVIS & THE BROKEN BAND

Growing up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Jayke Orvis always had eclectic music tastes, even at a young age. Introduced to classic Country and Bluegrass early on by his father, he soon took a liking to Punk and Metal as well, and eventually began cutting his teeth on stage in Punk bands. However, his early introduction to Country and Bluegrass stayed with him, after a time he picked up playing Mandolin and soon found himself involved in the Underground Country/Roots music scene. In 2004, Orvis along with Joseph Huber on Banjo,  Derek Dunn on Guitar, and Rick Ness on Stand up Bass formed The .357 String Band.
 

Over the next several years, The .357 String Band honed their talents, playing countless shows at seemingly ever dive bar in America. The group were setting a new precedent within the Country Underground, yes, you could call them "Punks turned Pickers" but they were these guys were not your average Punk Rock kids, playing 3 chords, then picking up Banjos and Mandolins. All 4 of them were extremely talented musicians who took the technical ability and skill involved in playing Traditional Bluegrass very seriously, but they molded Bluegrass and its many traditions with their Punk/Metal backgrounds, incorporating much of the attitude of Punk and Metal, as well as some of its themes, and in doing so created their own unique style that they dubbed "Streetgrass." In 2006, .357 released their debut album, "Ghost Town", and continued to grow their fanbase. The album featured a number of great songs that embodied the idea of "Streetgrass", combining blazing Bluegrass that could appeal to Bill Monroe fans, but coupled with lyrics about drinking, drugging, depressing, misery, and Hell. They were forging their own path, while simultaneously courting a growing legion of fans and influencing many a young band. The band continued on as tireless road dogs, playing shows, further their abilities and writing new jams. After 2 years of touring behind their debut, 2008 would see .357 release their sophmore album, and crowning achievement, "Fire and Hail".

 It is a masterpiece that finds the band at the pinnacle of their abilities as a group. The chemistry and songwriting is topnotch as well, and the record truly stands as a high water mark for Underground Country and Roots music. "Fire & Hail" also sees Jayke Orvis begin coming into his own as a writer and a performer. Songs like "Blackship" and his amazing duet with Rachel Brooke, "Hold Me Tight", illustrated just how good Orvis had gotten on his own. Sadly, this record would be the final .357 String Band album featuring Jayke and the original line up. In June of 2009, Jayke was ousted in a suprising move to many, including him, from the .357 String Band. He was replaced by Billy Cook, and .357 would go on to release one more album, 2010's "Lightning From The North", before calling it quits in November 2011. Despite his suprising removal from the band he helped start, Jayke quickly rebounded and ultimately came out ahead. Only a month after finding himself without a band, he joined one of the best, most interesting groups around today, The Goddamn Gallows. Orvis's 2nd "post .357" move was another big one. Only 1 year after his departure for .357, Jayke Orvis would release his debut album as a solo artist, "It's All Been Said".

 If that wasn't a big enough deal as is, Farmageddon Records would be founded around the album's release, making it the debut release for the label. Farmageddon would go on to become a force in Underground Country and Roots music, releasing albums from a large roster of great artists new and old, including The Goddamn Gallows, James Hunnicutt, Black Eyed Vermillion, Stevie Tombstone, Owen Mays, Rachel Brooke, J.B, Beverly and many more. To Jayke's credit, "Its All Been Said" is a excellent debut and as deserving an album, to start a label behind, as any.

The songs are all great from the amazing Bluegrass instrumental "Yankee Taste", the dark, somber "Feelings Like This", to the quiet, singer/songwriter folk of "Beatin' My Head" and "Broken Bottles on an Empty Shelf". Then there's faster, fun songs like "Thunderbolts and Lighning and their take on the Traditional Bluegrass jam "Shady Grove Gypsy", a murder ballad in "Gone Forever More", or catchy, fan favorite "Streets" with its singalong chorus and guest spot from J.B. Beverly, and what you might call the album's "single", the vigilante justice jam of "Dreadful Sinner", for which a great music video was made. There's also a  hidden track that features James Hunnicut, which is sampled in the album's audio collage, intro "A Recipe For Tea". All in all, it was a phenomenal debut album, and one which ultimately helped garner Jayke the 2010 Artist of the Year award from Saving Country Music. On the album, Jayke's songs were brought to life with help from a great cast of musicians that included James Hunnicut, "Banjer" Dan Mazer, Old Timey Avery, Johnny Lawless, Geo Balentine, & J.B. Beverly. Orvis soon hit the road in support of the record with his backing group, The Broken Band, which aside from James Hunnicutt on lead guitar and backing vocals, was largely a revolving door of musicians, early on.  2010 also saw the release "Swappin' Spit", via Farmageddon Records, which marked Jayke's first appearance as a member of The Goddamn Gallows. "Swappin' Spit" was a split album, of sorts, between The Goddamn Gallows and Black Eyed Vermillion, and was released only on Vinyl.

 Side A of the record features The Goddamn Gallows covering 4 Black Eyed Vermillion songs, "20/20", "Jesus In The Waiting Room", "Helping Hand, and "Bones To Pick". Side B has Gary Lindsey & Black Eyed Vermillion covering 4 Goddamn Gallows tunes, that include, "Born To Lie", "Pass The Bottle", "Wanders", & "Don't Feed Me". The album, and Side B, closes with a collective jam featuring members of both The Goddamn Gallows and Black Eyed Vermillion, plus James Hunnicutt, who all come together to record a mind blowing Countryfied/Roots cover of Venom's "In League With Satan". The entire album is great, and its really cool to hear the 2 different groups reinterpret each other's material, not to mention the group effort. Jayke's presence on the Gallow's songs is immediately heard, as his mandolin playing helps flesh out the songs and continued The Goddanm Gallows' evolution from Psychobilly Punk to a Roots act with some Punk influences. This continued growth is even more prevalent on The Goddamn Gallows next full length album, and 1st to feature Orvis as a full time member, 2011's "7 Devils".

Orvis continued touring with the Gallows as well as touring on his own material as Jayke Orvis and The Broken Band often touing together so as to allow Jayke to do both the Goddamn Gallows and his own stuff. Fast forward a couple years and in the spring of 2013 Orvis and his Broken Band partners would get around to recording the follow up full length to their debut, "It's All Been Said". Jayke along with a solidified Broken band rounded out by James Hunnicutt, Liz Sloan, and Jared McGovern, as well as a few others including Joe Perreze wrote and recorded the sophmore LP, "Bless This Mess" and saw it released in late April again through Farmageddon Records.

"Bless This Mess" is an amazing album that may will for sure be on many year end Best Of lists and may prove to be the best Roots Music album of 2013. From the killer Bluegrass instrumentals like "Murder of Crows" or "Clankertown" to more singer/songwriter type jams like amazing "West Wind" or the swinging "Crooked Smile". The record is full of stand out tracks that both show the great musicianship and songwriting ability of everyone involved. The originals are all exceptional but so are the few covers like Hank Williams' "Kaw Liga", Ralph Stanley's "Bound To Ride", or The Weary Boys' "Pick Up The Steam". The album also closes with a sort of cover song "Blackship" which was written by Orvis but did previously appear on a .357 String Band record, similar to the way Orvis' "Raise The Moon" was also first featured on a .357 album but later appeared on  The Goddamn Gallows' "7 Devils". With a track record like Jayke has being a founding member of The .357 String Band, a sometime member of The Goddamn Gallows, 2 amaing "solo" albums, and a solidified Broken Band backing him up, the Country/Roots Underground would not be the same without his contributions. The future is Orvis' to dominate if he continues to make great records on his own or as part of a group effort. I cant recommend seeing Jayke Orvis and The Broken Band enough, as you would be hard pressed to find a better band live or on record in 2013.


Andrew Glen Sweitzer

Awesome Bands You Should Know...OTESANEK

OTESANEK was a band from Philadelphia that made some of the heaviest, most extreme music I have ever heard in my life by combining elements from a variety of Extreme Metal subgenre along with their own artistic  sensibilities that border at times on the Avant Garde, while remaining visceral and raw. The band formed in 2001 and would feature Demian Fenton and Chad Pfeiffer on Guitars, Rudy Steinhauser on Drums, Ryan Riggs on Bass, & both Brad Dumville and Leslie Weitz on vocals. The 1st release from the band would be a Demo tape in 2002. This cassette tape would be self released by the band and feature 4 tracks. & a total length of about 32 1/2 minutes.

The initial release of this demo consisted of 100 hand numbered tapes, although the band would produce more of them, but after the 1st 100 they were no longer numbered. The recording was dubbed onto pre-existing Fundamentalist Christian tapes. The recordings were done in the Bassist Ryan Steinhauser's basement by Sean Dorn in November of 2002, and the tapes were released by the band shortly after. This Demo established OTESANEK and their basic sound as they fused together elements from some of the more extreme subgenres of Doom, including Drone, Death/Doom, Sludge, & Funeral Doom. However, not everything was super slow paced on these demo tracks, as there are a few moments of Blast Beats, and faster parts interspersed throughout all the slow, crushing jams.  All these elements combined with the individual artistic streak of the band members themselves proved to be an interesting, and very extreme sound. Over the next couple of years the band would be working on new material and playing live, and then in 2004, OTESANEK would release their next album. 

This self titled album would be released on CD through the label, Electric Human Project. The album was recorded in the spring of 2004 by Steve Roche, in his basement, and would be released a few months later, in July, in a limited pressing of 1000 CDs. There are 2 tracks on this record, the first is entitled "Oceans" and clocks in at about 10 1/2 minutes, while the second song is called "Dead in the Park", and has a hefty run time of 19 minutes & 30 seconds, giving the record a total run time of right about 30 minutes. Both jams are incredibly slow, devastating examples of just how extreme Doom can be. Dueling vocalists, both screaming their guts out, ungodly heavy guitars with just killer tone, minimalist but quite fitting percussion, and deep lowend. Its the sound of being dragged down a gravel road, naked at 10 miles an hour. Its going to fuck you up, slowly. The faster parts, and blasting that were heard on the Demo are now gone, in favor of extremely slow, torturous Death/Doom, Drone and Sludge combined to make some of the ugliest, most misery filled jams that humans have ever created. Obviously, if you were to attempt to trace the origins of the band's sound to their influences, I'd say a few of the bands that come to mind would be some kind of a mix between Corrupted, Khanate, & Thergothon, with maybe also a bit of Eyehategod, but I think the EHG influence was a bit more prevalent on the Demo, than on these tracks. Regardless, OTESANEK still very much had their own, unique sound, while there were elements of the bands I mentioned, they didnt attempt to sound like anyone but themselves. The next release from the band would come a a few years later in 2007.

The Split album betwen OTESANEK and Japan's COFFINS, would be released in March 2007, on CD and Vinyl by Parasitic Records. Both the CD and LP versions were limited editions, with only 1000 CDs and 666 Vinyl LPs pressed. The first 111 LPs came with a handscreened poster, handstamped in black ink, numbered, and stenciled in human blood. The cover art, as seen above, was created by Steve Mullay, who killed himself shortly after he created it, and was used in tribute to him. This album contains 4 tracks total, with COFFINS contributing 3 tracks (2 originals, and 1 GOATLORD cover), and OTESANEK performing 1 song, "Narcotic Hues", which would be the longest song OTESANEK would ever record, clocking in at almost 22 minutes. "Narcotic Hues" was recorded in February 2005, again by Steve Roche, in his basement. The song features a very long, ominous build up for the first chunk of the song before finally delivering the feral bludgeoning we expect, as it comes in wave after crashing wave of sonic filth and malice. This LP would later be reissued by Kreation Records on limited edition clear/splatter vinyl. There were 500 total pressed and available in clear vinyl with red, blue, and gray splatter. After the split with COFFINS, there wouldnt be as long of a wait this time, before the arrival of the next release.

In 2008, Blake Judd's Battle Kommand Records would release this amazing 4 way split album,

"Four Burials". It features one track a piece from 4 of the best bands from the extreme end of the world wide Doom scene. Track 1 is OTESANEK's contribution, "Seven Are They", which runs at just over 8 1/2 minutes. It seems much shorter than its 8 plus minute run time, and its actually the shortest song on this 4 way split. It's not as drawn out as much of Otesanek's material, particularly compared to a piece like "Narcotic Hues", which builds up for quite some time before finally delivering the sludgy destruction. On "Seven Are They" we get OTESANEK at perhaps their most viscious and violent. Its 8 plus minutes of total nihilistic, misanthopy in audio form. Its taken from OTESANEK's final studio session in April of 2006 at Super 8 Studios, where they recorded with Mick Mullen. Track 2 on this split is the amazing Funeral Doom band LOSS, from Tennessee, with their song, "(To Pass Away) Death March Toward My Ruin", which is 14 plus minutes of suicidal despair. Next up is, Spanish, Drone band, ORTHODOX, who contribute the most sedate track on here and also the longest, in the form of "Heritage", which is 18 1/2 minutes long. Finally, the last track comes from Australian Funeral Doom monsters, MOURNFUL CONGREGATION, who deliver the 10 minute crusher, "Left Unspoken". The initial release of this album, came as I said, in 2008, through Battle Kommand, in the form of a limited edition pressing of 1000 CDs. It was re-released on on beautiful vinyl by The Flenser just a year or 2 ago, with new artwork, and I think possibly a different mastering job. One year later, following this 4 way split, we would get the final release from the now defunct OTESANEK.

In 2009, Nancy Jo and Reification of Misery Productions co-released this 12" Vinyl record, the final release from OTESANEK. It would features 2 songs, "Resonance of War" on Side A and "Sanguinary" on Side B. As with pretty much everything Otesanek every released, the release was a limited edition as only 500 LPs were pressed, and of those 500 records, 111 of them included an extra linocut insert that was stenciled in human blood. The album artwork was done by the amazing artist Pippi Zornoza, who has is an exceptional artist who's created killer art for many other bands and is also involved in a number of music projects herself, including THE ASSEMBLY OF LIGHT CHOIR, VVLTVRE, THRONE OF BLOOD, WOLD and more. The 2 tracks on here come from the same recording session as "Seven Are They", which was featured on the "Four Burials" 4 way split. The session took place April 2006 with Mick Mullen at Super 8 Studios. These final tracks are as good as anything the band every recorded and while they are definitely in line with OTESANEK's established sound, in some ways these songs take the band full circle, back to their demo days. After the Demo, the band pretty much only played extremely slow and never really played fast at all, ever, but on both these tracks there are some moments and parts where they pick up the pace and get a bit chaotic and fast again, which harkens back to the Demo tracks. Its interesting and definitely gives the songs some extra dynamics, These brief bursts of speed give the slow, crushing parts that much more impact. It would have been interesting to see where the band would have went next, whether they would have began incorporating more speed and chaos into the mix, or if they would have returned to Droning, drawn out pieces. Its hard to say, but regardless, its a mute point. What we are left with is a small, but amazing body of work that demonstrates just how far and how extreme music can be taken when a group of individuals come together who have the vision, the heart, and ability to take their collective influences and ideas and create something totally new. So if you like the more extreme ends of the Doom spectrum, like Funeral Doom, Death/Doom, Drone, Sludge, etc make sure you check out OTESANEK. 

http://www.last.fm/music/Otesanek

Andrew Glen Sweitzer

Awesome Bands You Should Know... FALSE

                            
FALSE is black metal band from Minneapolis, Minnesota that has, so far, only released 3 songs, but holy hell, they are 3 amazing jams. In a time, where there is almost no mystic to anything anymore, especially in music, FALSE is doing something different. Nowadays, every band in the world is on Facebook, Twitter, etc and informing fans of every fart they rip. Its even common now among black metal bands who claim to be super evil and grim. Its kind of humorous to imagine a dude in corpse paint & gauntlets tying on a computer at the local library to inform his 28 fans of his "infernal deeds". For a style of music like black metal where everything was supposed to be very much against the grain and confrontational, the aesthetics have essentially become just another image for people to pose with. That's why its refreshing that a band like FALSE has almost no internet presence. They dont have a band page, no facebook, no twitter, no nothing. The only shit you will find about FALSE online is either from other sources writing about the band or a bit on Gilead Media's web pages. They dont have their faces plastered everywhere with stupid promo pics, hell they dont even make their names public, but at the same time they dont make a big deal of hiding their identities. They dont wear corpse paint or spikes. They have no image. They are simply a group of people from Minnesota who have come together to make some blistering, killer black metal, and that its. They simply let the music doing the talking. FALSE's debut came in the form of "Untitled", last year through Gilead Media. "Untitled" was released only on 12" vinyl and via digital download. It features 2 songs, Side A is "The Key of Passing Suffering" and Side B is "Sleepmaker". I loathe the current overuse of the term epic, but there really is no better descriptor for these 2 jams, with both of them clocking in at well over 12 minutes each. The record starts off with a bang as they jump straight into the ruckus. They are able to easily marry crusty punk and viscious black metal, with brutal unhinged ferocity. However, they also are able to simulataneously be expansive and spacious with subtle use of synths as the song progressives further. This is exactly what makes FALSE so compelling they are able to find a middle ground between being primal, visceral & vile, but also being ethereal and otherworldly. They take the best of old school black metal, with a nice part of the progressive, avant garde wing of black metal and mold it into a sound of there own. The B side, "Sleepmaker" is another long blast of malicious intent. Its an unrelenting, violent attack for the first 5 minutes or so, before it breaks into a momentary respite that is depressive and melancholy. After the few moments to catch our break, FALSE return us the the hellish maelstorm. The vocals on both songs are harsh and brutal throughout without any mercy, as is comon in alot of BM. They are all screamed in a monsterous throaty snarl, but they never delve into cookie monster gutturals or super high pitched shrieking. They are also pretty clear compared to alot of vocals in black metal and extreme metal in general. Much of the lyrics are quite easily deciphered without a lyric sheet.
  Also of note, the vocalist in FALSE is a woman, although you probably wouldnt realize it by hearing her vocals. I only mention it because I think its a cool thing that they have a female vocalist, especially being a black metal band, but also because so many metal bands that have a woman in the band put alot of focus on her, & often sadly seem to try to use sex appeal as a marketing tool. This is not the case with FALSE, obviously, and makes their complete lack of image that much cooler. In some ways, FALSE reminds me of one of the most legendary of American Black Metal bands, San Francisco's WEAKLING. Weakling was also a pretty enigmatic band that had long songs that coupled hellacious intensity with somber sad moments. Unfortunately Weakling only released one album and then fell apart, hopefully FALSE sticks around alot longer. FALSE's "Untitled" album made quite an impact on me as well as a number of other black metal fans and critics, as it ended up on a number of Best of 2011 lists at year's end, including mine. Not too damn shabby for a band's debut that was only 2 songs. FALSE's "Untitled" record came with a patch and a button when ordered from Gilead Media, but I believe its now sold out, so unless they press more, you'll have to either get it from a secondary place or just buy the mp3's. So since its release the band has been doing some touring and from all Ive heard is super intense and just as amazing live, if not even more so. Sadly, I missed them when they were in Indy a few months back, but I wont make the same mistake again. The most recent release from FALSE came out this year, again through Gilead Media only on vinyl and digital download, in the form of a 12" split LP with the raw, lo-fi BM band BARGHEST, from Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
                          
Each band has one side of the LP, with FALSE's half containing just one song, the 17 & a half minute long beast, "Heavy as a Church Tower", while BARGHEST's side has 2 jams, "Shifting Sands" & "Inhuman Hatred". The first few minutes of "Heavy as a Church Tower" are a bit more restrained and not as ferocious in their opening as their previous efforts, these opening minutes are also instrumentals, with the vocals not bursting in for a few minutes, but when they do they signal the marked change of intensity as FALSE go on the attack, barreling full speed ahead for several minutes before slowing things down a bit, but even then they are never far away from blast beats and high velocity assualts. They also again make subtle use of synths that give the song an Emperor-esque granduer at times. This new track takes the visceral intensity of their debut, and couples it with a better command of atmosphere. It will be interesting to see where FALSE go from here. They have already set the bar quite high despite only releasing a total of 3 songs. Wherever they go, I can almost guarantee it will be worth checking out. In 2 short years, 2 releases, 3 songs, & about 43 minutes of music they have vaulted themselves near the forefront of the American Black Metal scene without any of the bullshit or marketing.
http://www.decibelmagazine.com/listen/streaming-false-heavy-as-a-church-tower/
http://gileadmedia.bandcamp.com/album/untitled-2
Andy Sweitzer

Awesome Bands You Should Know... EHNAHRE

                                                 
EHNAHRE is an avant garde, death/doom band from Boston, Massachusetts. The band was formed in 2006, although an earlier version of the band existed in the late 90's when 3 of the original members were in high school. This early version of the band was called Negative Reasoning, which was gleaned from the Eyehategod song "Non Conductive Negative Reasoning", & at that time the band was often refered to by it's initials NR. Negative Reasoning sounded nothing like how Ehnahre would come to sound, as this early incarnation evolved through a variety of styles including hardcore, grind, metalcore, & sludge before calling it quits around 2000. The core of Ehnahre is Ryan Mcguire and John Carchia. Aside from playing in Negative Reaction, they would both join Kayo Dot in '03 and then leave Kayo Dot in 2006 to form Ehnahre. When deciding upon this new band name, they decided to have it be a slight nod to their past together, choosing the initials of Negative Reasoning, "NR", but spelling it out phonetically. That is the origin of the band name and also indicates its proper pronunciation. The band quickly set about making interesting, progressive music that was both experimental but extremely heavy. In 2008, Ehnahre would release their debut full length, "The Man Closing Up", through Sound Devastation Records.
The album is just shy of 45 minutes in length and is divided into 5 tracks, simply titled Part I - V. The tracks basically bleed into one another so the record is really best looked at as one piece. The precedent of using/adapting existing lyrical content would begin here. So far all of Ehnahre's albums have used the written works of different poets or writers for their lyrics. "The Man Closing Up" takes its words from the work of Donald Justice. The music is a brutal assault combining elements of violent death metal with sludge and doom, as well as jazz, ambient, noise, and other genres. The album often seems improvised and comes off as though everything could fall apart at any moment. The artwork is stark, black & white photos of a shoreline and surrounding area. Its bleak, desolate & haunting. The audio captures these themes as well, while also adding violent bludgeonings. Ehnahre's music is often atonal and dissonant, with much of what they do being based on music theory. They are heavily influenced by the 12 tone serialism of composer Arnold Schoenberg . All of this adds up to make them a very unique sounding band. On this album the band was Ryan Mcguire (bass, double bass, voice, & percussion), John Carchia (guitar, voice), DJ Murray (guitar, voice, keyboard), Tom Malone (drums, guitar), & Andrew Hock (guitar). Mcguire, Carchia, Murray, & Malone were all formerly in Kayo Dot, while Hock had been in Castavet and Biolich. The album also features some other guest and session musicians many of which were also in other bands like Kayo Dot, Maudlin of the Well, Baliset, etc. The additional instruments included trumpet & violin among others. Following this album, Ehnahre released a cassette titled "Pipeline"  in 2009, which was a live recording of Parts II, III, & V from "The Man Closing Up". It was initially self released by the band on cassette, with only 50 copies being made. It was re-released shortly after this by Semata Productions, again on tape only, in the amount of 175 copies, but with different artwork. The band's next release would be the vinyl only EP, "Alpha/Omega" in 2010. It was released by Fun With Asbestos on 12" Vinyl and limited to 100 copies. It featured 2 new songs, "Leda & The Swan" and "The Second Coming", both of which featured lyrics culled from the work of William Yeats. That same year, 2010, saw the release of Ehnahre's 2nd full length album, "Taming The Cannibals", through Crucial Blast. The album clocks in at about 35 minutes and has 6 individual songs with distinct titles. Also, unlike their debut LP, the songs on here are self contained and do not run into one another, although they do share similar themes and moods. The album is cohesive but the tracks are work as stand alone pieces. While still extremely heavy at times with definite death metal and grind influences still present, the album seems more spacious in a way and even more experimental and progressive. Its horrific, ugly, violent music that twists and contorts. At times dragging along, crawling and scraping its way through primordial sludge, but then can shift in an instant to blast beaten, flesh flaying brutality.  Again the lyrics come from poetry, this time a variety of authors, including F.R. Higgins, Georg Trakl, Walt Whitman, & Robin Jeffers. The line up by this point was narrowed down to a 3 piece, McGuire (bass, voice, keys), Carchia (guitar, voice), & Ricardo Donoso (drums, electronics, voice). Again they used some guests in the studio, this time it was Greg Kelley on trumpet, Jonah Jenkins of Raw Radar War & formerly of Only Living Witness, on a guest vocal spot, & C. Spencer Yeh on violin. Ehnahre would shortly begin working on the follow up to this album as only 2 years later it would be delivered unto unsuspecting music fans. This 3rd album is titled "Old Earth" and it would be released in September of 2012, again through Crucial Blast, following a number of delays.
 
"Old Earth" is just over 37 minutes, split across 4 tracks. Similar to "The Man Closing Up", the album is essentially one piece of music as the tracks are not individually titled, they blend into each other and the insert inside the case has one set of lyrics simply titled "Old Earth". This time the lyrics are adapted from a piece by Samuel Beckett. The artwork is all earthly images, dirt, roots, stone, etc all natural and untouched by man. Musically this album is a continuation of the growth the band has shown across all of their work. Its simultaneously primal and progressive. There are moments of utter beauty juxtaposed with moments of brutish ugliness. The band is still heavier and more crushing than 90% of the bands around, but it seems as though they are continuing to push more and more into experimenta and avant garde areas through noise, ambient, jazz, etc, but they do so without every going to far and losing their rough edges. The line up for "Old Earth" remained the same as "Taming the Cannibals" other than the 2 guest spots, which were both Greg Kelley and Forbes Graham (also ex- Kayo Dot) on trumpets. This album is one of the highlights of extreme music in 2012, and will no doubt rank high on my best of 2012, year end list. Ive previously written about it as an Album of the Day on Facebook and its deserving of so much more praise. Ehnahre has become one of my favorite newer bands that Ive come across in some time. They truly sound unique in a time when so many bands are just regurgitating the same things over and over. I cant hype this band enough nor can I recommend them to enough people, but at the same time I understand that this music is not for everyone. Even within the realms of heavy music & extreme metal, Ehnahre are very much against the grain and inaccessible, so while I would love for everyone who reads this to run out and buy everything Ehnahre's released because I feel they deserve it and I feel this is important music as far as the evolution of music goes, you should probably listen to some songs online and get an idea of what they actually sound like before you buy the records, otherwise you may get more than you bargained for.
http://www.last.fm/music/Ehnahre
Andy Sweitzer

Awesome Bands You Should Know...PANOPTICON

PANOPTICON is the name of Austin Lunn's one man music project. One person bands are somewhat common within the realm of Black Metal, and Panopticon most definitely play black metal much of the time, and do it quite well.  However, it is the other side of Panopticon's sound, particularly on new album "Kentucky", that makes the band that much more interesting. On "Kentucky", Lunn isnt bringing in elements of shoegaze, crust, or doom as is increasingly common among American black metal bands. He's doing something that I dont believe anyone else has ever done within the realm of black metal, which is play bluegrass. Yes, you heard me right, BLUEGRASS, and as odd as that may sound to you, its fits, and it fits extremely well. Metal bands having been bringing in elements of folk music for awhile now, hell there is even a subgenre now called Folk Metal, but it is almost always European folk music, which makes alot of sense for European bands, but less so for American band. Black Metal has long had a flirtatious history with folk music with many bands historically and currently being very connected to their native lands and the music and folklore of those places. As more and more black metal bands have sprung up in the United States we have seen some who have also been influenced by folk metal and these things, but its seems to me that Panopticon is one of, if not the, first band to take American Folk music tradions and fuse them to a chasis of black metal. The band was started in 2007 with Panopticon released their self titled debut the following year, in 2008, and have been pretty prolific since then. The band has always been different from alot of other black metal bands, take for example this statement from Lunn himself describing Panopticon, “a black metal band focusing on political and philosophical issues such as anarchism, subjectivism, society, paganism, pantheism, Norse mythology/heathenism and beer. I created this project because i was tired of consumer driven music, a-political and boring ,stale Satanism and racist bullshit that plagues the black metal community. no hair cuts, no big record labels, no bigotry, no drum machines, no rulers, no masters.” The beer reference may seem odd also but Lunn makes his living outside of music by professionally brewing beer. Panopticon's 2nd LP, "Collapse" was released in 2009 through Pagan Flames Productions, and is the point at which the bluegrass influence started to rear its head. The album themes of the downfall of civilization, survival in a post-apocalyptic world, & the survivor's need to reconnect with nature are well integrated not only through the music and lyrics but also through samples and field recordings. In 2010, Lunn self released a compilation of sorts called "...On the Subject of Mortality". It was extremely limited and was a handcrafted wooden box containing Panopticon's split with Skagos and their split with When The Bitter Spring, as well as a T shirt, 2 patches and a print of the album artwork. This "album" was re-released in 2011 via The Flenser on vinyl, but not in the wooden box or with any of the other items. "On The Subject of Mortality, as the title implies is largely a meditation on one's own death. From what I understand, Lunn's father died somewhere around that time period and the songs on that compilation reflect Lunn's attempts at dealing with the loss of his father as well as meditating on his own demise.  After the release of a couple more splits came the 3rd full length LP, "Social Disservices", through Flenser Records in 2011. "Social Disservices" is a much more hostile, angry album than much of what came before or after for Panopticon. It is basically a concept album about children who fall between the crack of the system that is supposed to help them and protect them. The album features ferocious, violent black metal, post rock atmospherics, and as is common in Panopticon's work, samples. The samples, as always, help direct attention to the themes and concept of the record along with the lyrics, and they are as powerful as ever. One sample is even of crying children, so you get the idea. Its an album that is as powerful as it is passionate, and in keeping with the ideals behind the band, attacking the institutions of society that have failed its people. Keeping on pace with Panopticon's seeming schedule of releasing 1 full length album a year, in 2012 we were graced with the amazing new album, "Kentucky". Released this summer through Pagan Flames Productions, "Kentucky" is another concept album, this time dealing with the state Lunn call's home. The main theme of the record is the coal industry and its impact on the people and environment. It delves into mountain top removal, labor disputes, unions, worker's rights, greed, and environmentalism. This is the album that features bluegrass and folk most prominently of all the Panopticon albums, but make no mistake, fierce black metal is still very much a part of the album. The album somewhat alternates between the two styles, but occasionally overlaps them to great effect. It also features 2 traditional labor protest songs that Lunn perform's excellently and doing justice to their 1930's origin. Samples again are a big part of this album with some of them coming from documentaries about mountain top removal and the coal industry in general, some from youtube clips, and also the film "Harlan County USA". All of them fit the mood perfectly and really draw the listener into the struggles at the heart of this album and state. For me personally, "Kentucky" is my favorite Panopticon album, and will rank very high on my best of 2012 list I'm certain. I'm very interested to see what comes next for Panopticon. Each album is different and has its own specific theme, while always being rooted in the overall ideology behind the band, so I'm eager to see what cause or issue will be at the heart of the next album, but also musically whether or not Lunn can fully integrate bluegrass and black metal into each other or if he will largely keep them seperate.

Andy Sweitzer