Listening to Triptykon‘s Eparistera Daimones (Century Media/Prowling Death, 2010) is like running a marathon in a tar pit. Try as you might to escape its sludgy abyss, there is no hope. Before you know it, you’re in over your head, gasping for air, praying for the end to come. Listening to it is a grueling, draining experience. Of course I mean this in the best possible way. These are the sorts of feelings good doom metal can and should elicit, and Eparistera Daimones is most certainly a doom album, a blackened, harrowing take on the genre that effortlessly drags the listener down into its cavernous depths.
By now, the ugly dissolution of Celtic Frost has been well documented. But who could have expected guitarist/vocalist/dethroned emperor Tom G. Warrior to rise out of the ashes with such great vengeance and furious anger? Indeed, Eparistera Daimones sounds like Warrior spent not months or years, but eons harnessing his hatred into seething waves of pure sonic destruction, conjured to devastate anything standing in his way. Put the album on and you can almost cut through the rage and contempt coming out of the speakers with a chainsaw. There is an old, familiar cliche that says revenge is a dish best served cold, but Eparistera Daimones burns with real emotion; Warrior doesn’t just wear his heart on his sleeve, he violently rips it out of his chest and sets it on fire.
It is telling that the album’s lyrics are referred to as epistles in the liner notes. Epistle is a term typically associated with the New Testament, referring to a formal letter addressed to a group of people (i.e. The First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians, etc.). These letters consist of the writer’s teachings and are often read during a mass. Warrior’s diatribes read like a twisted sermon, recounting his own emotional/musical life, death and resurrection, complete with allusions to the biblical character of Lazarus (“Abyss Within My Soul”). However, it is clear from the opening lines of “Goetia” (“Satan, savior, father, constructor of my world.”) that Warrior’s salvation comes via intervention that is anything but divine. Taken as a whole, the album is a black mass, a curse upon the houses of all those who tried to block Warrior’s artistic quest for the truth.
Sonically speaking, Eparistera Daimones is one of the heaviest albums you’re likely to hear this year. Warrior’s trademark Celtic Frost guitar tone is completely intact, and has grown darker and heavier with age. His vocals are some of the most aggressive he’s ever put to tape, dripping with venom. Second guitarist V. Santura (whom I interviewed here) colors in and around Warrior’s hefty power chords, adding myriad layers of texture and heaviness. Bassist Vanja Slajh and drummer Norman Lonhard lock together to forge the molten rhythmic magma, the heaving backbone over which Warrior and Santura deliver their distorted sorcery. Produced, engineered and mixed/mastered by Warrior and Santura, the album sounds modern but doesn’t suffer from the over-compression and soulless gloss that plague most contemporary metal recordings. Songs and individual instruments are allowed to breathe in spite of its overall density.
Eparistera Daimones is over an hour long and generally sticks to the slower end of the tempo spectrum, yet remains compelling from start to finish, and is best experienced as a whole. As you might have gathered from my review of the recent Dawnbringer album, I’m a fan of recordings that can take you on journey. Whereas Dawnbringer’s Nucleus is a heavy metal fever dream, Eparistera Daimones is a waking nightmare that isn’t your own. It is a full-on experience, not just a piece of music that you can casually throw on the stereo. I take a strange comfort in being immersed in Warrior’s personal hell, in his fury and pathos. Instead of wallowing, Warrior gains inner strength from exorcising these demons, and I think that I gain some from listening.
In today’s metal landscape, it is difficult to find music that can transport you, music that challenges, music that speaks to you on a deeper level. Triptykon has tapped into that rare metallic midnight of the soul with Eparistera Daimones. Only death is real.
Neurosis is without question one of the most important and influential metal bands to arise out of the 1990s. Some might even argue they that they are among the most influential of all time. In honor of the band’s 25th anniversary, they have reissued their landmark third album Enemy of the Sun via Neurot Recordings.
Although the band had already begun to experiment with their sound on earlier albums, Enemy of the Sun marks the completion of Neurosis’ transformation from crusty hardcore to even crustier tectonic post metal. Aided by an impressively heavy production, the album still crushes much of what has come before or since. This should come as no surprise considering the band worked with sludge uber-producer Billy Anderson (the reissue does not appear to have been remixed or remastered). It is a musical monument carved out of wooly mammoth bones and megalodon teeth, fused together with molten magma. The dense mixture of doom, psychedelia and noise on display sounds like it could buckle under the weight of its own heft at any given moment.
But this is where the greatness of Neurosis lies. Few if any other bands could pull off this level of bludgeoning, universe-collapsing yet multi-layered and atmospheric heaviness without sounding like a train-wreck (although far too many have tried). Even back in 1993, Neurosis made this sound almost completely innate. This is their purpose, their destiny, their birthright; to document modern society’s painfully slow decay and regression into the murky depths of the primitive through songs that sound like trudging death-marches into total oblivion.
However, Enemy of the Sun is not entirely perfect. Closing track “Cleanse” is about 10 minutes longer than it needs to be, and bonus live track “Cleanse II” isn’t particularly interesting either. The band would go on to more fully incorporate the tribal influences displayed on these tracks with later releases, resulting in much more compelling material. Nonetheless, the two songs do represent an important part of the band’s sonic evolution.
Although they have continued to refine their sound over the past two decades, Enemy of the Sun is an important document of the beginnings of a musical journey that would usher in the age of “post metal” and spawn seemingly thousands of woefully inferior copycats. There is no question that Neurosis’ legacy is already something for the metal history books, but it never hurts to go back and revisit the place where it all began.
Ben Wrecker is a rad dude. Not only was he kind enough to contribute to the Australian Metal Scene Report I wrote for Invisible Oranges, he also graciously sent me a ton of stuff from his equally rad band, Hotel Wrecking City Traders. If you’re not familiar with HWCT, the duo (which also includes Ben’s brother/guitarist Toby) play a smoked-out yet devastating brew of instrumental thunder in the vein of such vocals-free monsters of rock as Karma to Burn and Capricorns. One can’t help but feel there is some sort of sibling mental telepathy at play when listening to the Wrecker Bros’ heavy ‘n’ hypnotic stoner jams, such is the effortless interplay between instruments.
I caught up with Ben for an e-mail interrogation just as he was returning from a trip to the United States. Wrecker had been tapped to play drums for ex-Kyuss/Queens of the Stone Age madman Nick Oliveri’s Mondo Generator, but the tour was unfortunately cancelled. He once again went above and beyond, taking time out to talk about instrumental music, running a label, and the dynamics of being in a band with your brother.
[Note: For some reason I was under the impression that HWCT were not native Australians, but as it turns out I was wrong.]
THKD: You guys are based in Australia, but aren’t natives. How did you wind up there?
Ben Wrecker: Actually we are. We were both born here but moved overseas when we were young and spent the better part of our teenage years in Hong Kong and the UK. Since then we’ve continued to move around a lot. Ending up back in Melbourne around 5 years ago and started the band.
THKD: What made you and your brother decide to start Hotel Wrecking City Traders together? Would you ever consider adding other members to the lineup?
BW: We started jamming when I was around 13 years old. We were just kids learning how to play our instruments and never played any shows. Toby was 11 at the time. Later on as I got older, I was in bands in high school and after that we both went our separate ways and I ended up touring with a band in the UK where I was based at the time. That didn’t work out and both Toby and I ended up moving back to Australia and started HWCT, proper. Toby had never played shows before. He was a demon on the home recording front, though. Constantly sent me tapes of DIY demos he made on his 8 Track at home. The band started when we moved to Melbourne and decided that the time was right to play live shows. We liked the idea of a duo and the intention was to sound as full as any other band with 3 or more members but make the sounds by ourselves. Whilst we never really had a specific set of rules as far as getting extra players in we have always been open to the idea. We have been involved in some live collaborations, most recently with Bonnie Mercer (of GREY DATURAS/BREATHING SHRINE) on 2nd guitar when we opened up for Robert Lowe aka LICHENS and Emil Amos aka HOLY SONS (both from the band OM) at a show in Melbourne a few months back. We have also recorded a new project with Gary Arce (TEN EAST/YAWNING MAN) playing bass and guitar. It’s due out on BRO FIDELITY later this year and sounds amazing. It’s called HOTEL WRECKING CITY TRADERS with GARY ARCE, funnily enough.
THKD: Are there any advantages/disadvantages specific to be being in a band with a close family member?
BW: We have always been the best of friends, first and foremost. People who don’t know we’re brothers come and tell us that we appear to have some form of mental telepathy going on in the way the live sets unfold. I believe to some extent there is some truth in that. I’ve never felt so comfortable as when I am playing in HWCT with Toby. It feels totally natural and is the most fun and challenging band I’ve ever been involved in. I think also when we are touring that we know each other so well it makes the process enjoyable and free of bullshit, that some bands encounter when egos and personalities clash. It’s an all round good time and we are yet to have any major blowups or disagreements.
THKD: I have to ask about the band’s name, Hotel Wrecking City Traders. Where did this moniker come from?
BW: Toby came up with the name years before we started the band. It’s a tongue in cheek thing. The ‘Hotel Wrecking’ part is kind of a joking homage to the era of rock bands trashing hotel rooms and general rock n’ roll debauchery. The ‘City Traders’ part refers to our lives growing up moving around city to city, country to country. So it’s like we move from one city and trade it for another. Some people have asked if we are Wall St bankers or something and wonder if the ‘Trader’ part refers to that. How they could come to that assumption is beyond me but it makes me laugh thinking about it. The name still continues to baffle people and we often get the ‘HWCT’ acronym used in place of the full name. Either way is fine with us. The name isn’t really important to us the music is where the focus is at.
THKD: Who are your primary influences as a drummer? What drew you to the instrument?
BW: I have played guitar longer than I have played drums. I know I’m a better drummer than I am a guitarist. Drums are very primal and physical and a great way to release stress and discontentment. Some of my favorite drummers are: John Bonham, Ginger Baker, Dave Grohl, Dale Crover, Gene Krupa and Damon Che . Plus I am surrounded by friends in bands from Australia who we play with who constantly raise the bar for me personally. Good dudes such as Joel Ellis (Nunchukka Superfly), Jem Moloney (Fire Witch), Deryck Hunt (Spider Goat Canyon), Pat Warner (Wicked City), Steve Ob (Tumbleweed) and Robbie Avenaim (wOg), to name a few.
THKD: How would you describe the writing/composition process for HWCT?
BW: We are largely improvisation-based. We hadn’t rehearsed in over 2 years until about a month ago. We started jamming when we did our first shows then kind of got tired of formulas and rehearsed songs, so we gave up and allowed the songs to unfold live. We play so many shows all the time that it strengthens us to try stuff out of the cuff, in front of people and get a response out of them that way. We have recently started jamming again, for fun more than anything, but feel that both methods are productive ways of developing new approaches and sounds. I think we work well in both scenarios and try and use both.
THKD: Hotel Wrecking City Traders are an instrumental band. Do you think the lack of vocals allows you to cover more ground/emotions from a strictly musical perspective?
BW: I have always loved instrumental music. I write lyrics all the time for my own songs that are outside of HWCT. I think so far it’s worked well in not having vocals because it frees us from traditional structures and we thrive off of that. Our shows tend to cover a range of moods and nuances ranging from human emotions to concepts or environments we are playing in. Outdoor shows, indoor shows, shows on the floor or on a stage will have the potential to affect a performance and we both enjoy those outside factors and acknowledge their influence on the music we make. We are not averse to having someone sing for us. Believe me it’s happened at shows where we get heckled about it by some drunk asshole and invite them onstage to join us and usually just embarrass them! But we do have a friend of ours from the US who is gonna sing on some songs we will be recording at some stage later this year and will be the first HWCT songs to incorporate vocals. There are no strict doctrines or rules for us. We enjoy trying new avenues of experimentation and expression as we go along.
THKD: Were you at all influenced by any of the other more infamous instrumental bands out there such as Karma to Burn or Pelican?
BW: Most definitely. Our record collections are full of different sorts of stuff from the many eras of music. Many that do not contain vocals. Everything from Don Caballero, Oxes, Yawning Man, Dirty Three, 5ive, Gay Witch Abortion, Neu!, Russian Circles, Sonic Youth, Che, Capricorns & Earth. And even guys like Masonna who is only vocals but you can hardly even tell if you didn’t know what that guy was doing with his voice. Another person whom we both admire is Eugene Robinson and the way he uses his voice as an instrument as much as he does a delivery of lyrical ideas. I think that variety is the spice of life (sorry to use such a lame cliché) but it’s true. Another early inspiration for us was the soundtracks of John Carpenter. The inspiration comes from everywhere.
THKD: I’ve seen you guys called everything from sludge to stoner rock to post-metal. How would you describe HWCT’s sound to someone who hasn’t heard you?
BW: ‘Maximum Rock n’ Roll with minimal instrumentation’ was an early description. I’m not sure if that one applies now that we’ve done these songs with Gary and possibly the stuff with Vocals we’re working on. I guess it changes each time we play and evolves as time moves on.
THKD: Tell us a little about your label, Bro Fidelity. What made you decide to start your own label?
BW: Bro Fi started out as a vessel for releasing HWCT records and has recently put out a deluxe CD for Fire Witch, my favorite Australian band. Having the label allows me to put out my own records and those of other bands that I genuinely admire and want to help open up their audience and hopefully, expand it and gradually create a body of releases that I’m proud to attach the name of Bro Fidelity to. It’s a labor-of-love and one that is often restricted by insufficient-finances but never from a lack of effort or lack of good stuff out there to want to promote.
THKD: What are the pros and cons of starting your own label as opposed to working with one of the larger metal/rock labels out there?
BW: The internet has been the most impacting development within the record-releasing world, I would say. Suddenly everyone has a platform to spread the word about their music and bands. Even me! I think it’s somewhat leveled the playing field but also widened it so much that everyone has a band and everyone has a label. So, possibly we are no better off now than we were before with the old mode of releasing records like the Majors did/do. Ten there’s the ‘so called Independents’ parading as Independents but are really just Majors in disguise. I think the vinyl resurgence has really hit and people are buying records again. Selling CD’s is harder in Europe than the US and in Australia it seems the trend is following in the same direction. Downloading has become an acceptable way of adding to ones record collection and that’s really shaken things up for a lot of people who used to buy CD’s from record stores. I think nowadays the labels identity means much more than in the past and labels are like bands with their own personas, styles and musical outputs and identities. Labels that I always admired were ones like SST & Man’s Ruin. Currently, the smaller boutique labels in Europe like Electrohasch, Tee Pee, Supernatural Cat and Aussie ones such as WeEmptyRooms, Impedance & Heathen Skulls are bringing quality stuff out and touring bands in Australia. They are doing it with a very band orientated mode of operation. Keeping their releases limited in numbers (not always out of choice but because the costs are high) for the people who really don’t mind coughing up the cash for quality sounds and artwork and presentation of good art. That’s the way it should be. The kind of music labels like us do is very niche-based and isn’t designed or intended to be a mega-money-maker or global giant. They exist out of necessity and a genuine love for music.
THKD: Are you actively looking for other bands to work with the label? If so what are your criteria?
BW: I am always open to new bands, if it resonates with me in some way and the pieces fit and the costs are realistic, then I will endeavor to release it. It’s always a gamble releasing records, particularly in today’s download-driven Internet world so I tend to only focus on the stuff that really blows me away, bands I’ve usually seen live before I hear it on record. If it’s powerful and resonates with me then I can discover whether or not it’s going to be backed up by the band themselves with sufficient touring and promotion etc. It’s a team effort so you wanna make sure your team is ready to go out with all guns blazing.
THKD: You’ve also release material by the band Fire Witch on Bro Fidelity. What can you tell me about that band and your kinship with them?
BW: So far the first band other than HWCT to release something on Bro Fidelity has been Fire Witch. My favorite band in Australia. Saw them when I first moved to Melbourne from having lived overseas for most of my life and instantly fell in love with their DIY ethics, personable natures and most importantly their music and live shows. Jem from Fire Witch runs WeEmptyRooms records and the two of us collaborate on promoting shows and organizing tours and shows for bands a lot. I really enjoy this part of what he brings to Bro Fi as well. Not only my favorite band but a like-mindedness and community spirit that we enjoy working together with. Buy ‘Liars!’ by Fire Witch!!! You will not be disappointed!!!! The screen printed covers were all drawn by our good friend Jace (Fangs Of…) and done by hand by Jem, myself and a few other generous souls. Labor of love! They will never be repressed so get your mits on one now.
THKD: What releases do you have planned for Bro Fidelity in the near future?
BW: I’m very excited about the next release, it’s a collaboration between HWCT & Gary Arce (Yawning Man/Ten East). We met Gary about a year and a half ago when HWCT opened up for Ten East in Australia. Gary dug our sounds and asked if we could get something happening, the result being this next release. It is going to be on vinyl only and will be limited to 500 copies. It contains two pieces roughly 10 minutes in length each and really sounds great. I couldn’t be happier with how it’s sounding.
THKD: You were recently asked to play drums for Mondo Generator. How did this come about?
BW: Nick’s Aussie label Impedance, called me and said that the drummer had dropped out and they needed me to start a tour in 2 weeks. I had previously filled in on drums for Winnebago Deal (who at one time were also Mondo Generator members) so I’m pretty sure that had something to do with me getting asked to do it.
THKD: What other projects, if any, are the two of you currently involved in?
BW: We have a band called Daggers Mid Flight which is an improv based noise project with Deryck and Jawsh from the Aussie band Spider Goat Canyon. It features two drummers , guitar and bass and is instrumental. We are gearing up to release our second full length this year which will be a double album on CD. It’s supremely heavy monolithic, spaced out madness captured on tape. It’s a super fun band to play live shows in. Toby also has a project that has that sort of ‘Desert Sessions-vibe’ to it. Him and Gerasimos from Peeping Tom/Sons Of The Ionian Sea started it and kind of randomly create different lineups from our pool of friends in Melbourne to play shows. The band is called The New Quiet. Expect a release on Bro Fidelity sometime late this year, early next.
THKD: What does the rest of 2010 have in store for Hotel Wrecking City Traders?
BW: We are currently working out a European trek. We’ve wanted to go there for ages and it’s finally looking like the pieces of the puzzle are coming together so fingers crossed. The record with Gary Arce will be out in a few months and then we will probably record some new stuff for another release next year. We’re also opening up for Zeni Geva soon on part of their Aussie tour and have a run of our own Aussie shows planned for the rest of the year.
THKD: Are there any final thoughts you would like to add?
BW: Just a big thanks to you man. Thanks for taking the time and interest in HWCT/Bro Fidelity. Here are links where you can find out more about everything we’ve discussed and purchase copies of the records:
It’s probably a bit silly to be all ridiculously excited about a band based on the strength of one song, but I’m pretty psyched for Christian Mistress‘ debut album Agony & Opium, which comes out later this month on 20 Buck Spin. Ever since I heard “Home in the Sun”, I’ve been looking forward to hearing what else this young band can do. My initial reaction to the song was “Bjork fronting a classic NWOBHM band”, and I still think that is as good a descriptor as any for their rough ‘n’ ready trad-metal sound. I haven’t heard the band’s demo, but if “Home in the Sun” is any indicator, Christian Mistress are going to have one hell of a debut on their hands.
Although, they’re going to have some pretty hefty competition in the traditional metal sweepstakes from Sweden’s Enforcer. The band’s second album Diamonds has more hooks than Orlando Wilson‘s tackle box, just check “Midnight Vice”, “Katana” and my personal favorite and candidate for song of the year, “Running in Menace”. I’ve seen some reviews and such questioning this band’s “trueness”, but give this album a few spins and try to tell me these dudes aren’t as sincere as it gets. Besides, they’ve got the Fenriz seal of approval and that motherfucker is like a true metal bloodhound. Heavy Artillery Records actually offered up Diamonds as a free download for one day only late last month, but if you missed out on that the record is definitely worth a purchase; pure oldschool heavy metal bliss for diehards of the likes of Mercyful Fate and Judas Priest!
On to deathlier things, have you fucking heard Disma yet?! The Jersey-based quintet are OSDM to the bone, a blast of macabre filth straight from the crypt. The band features former Incantation throat Craig Pillard, but that detail only partially betrays Disma’s sound and influences. Sure, they do bear some minor resemblance to John McEntee’s legendary doomed-out death squad, but Disma are their own band. Their three track demo cassette The Vault of Membros displays a knack for varied and catchy songwriting with some ridiculously thick, bulldozing grooves that will rattle your skull into next week. If you don’t have a cassette player, do whatever it takes to dig one up and give this demo a listen. If you’re not inclined to track down a tape deck, all three songs from the demo can be streamed on Disma’s official myspace page (see link above).
Indeed, part of what makes Disma so great is their overall approach. More than likely the band could have landed a record deal based strictly on its member’s extensive death metal resumes. However Disma chose to do things the right way, throwing down with an extremely competent demo to get themselves noticed. The band will also reportedly be releasing a two-song 7-inch prior to their Profound Lore debut. In the digital age there is something refreshing about seeing a band that has actually paid their dues and worked their asses off succeed, instead of getting a record deal based on how many friends they’ve racked up on Myspace.
In an unexpectedly awesome turn of events, NPR is streaming Summit, the new album from Louisiana sludge metallers Thou. Summit is easily the band’s most accomplished album to date, aided by a production scheme that makes the band sound heavy and powerful rather than clattering and somewhat toothless, which was how they sounded to me on their last full length, 2008′s Peasant. According to the band’s label Gilead Media, the stream will only be available until the album’s August 11 street date, so if you want to get a sneak-peak of what is arguably the year’s finest doom/sludge album, get to it now! Expect a full review of Summit coming sooner than later.
Lastly, Earache Records is having a pretty cool Summer sale at their webstore. They’re clearancing out a ton of stuff for ridiculously low prices, some great, some crap, some shit I’ve never heard of. Anyway, the sale allowed me to fill two glaring holes in my collection, as I was able to pick up Left Hand Path and Sleep’s Holy Mountain for a mere $6.66 a pop. I’m not sure how long the sale goes on for, so you might want to head over there asap if you’ve got the ducats to spare.
That’s all I’ve got for this installment of Blitzkrieg. If you’ve got any recommendations of your own or suggestions for things you’d like to see me weigh in on in future installments, leave a comment.
To say that Coffinworm blew me away with the impossibly heavy, smoked-out assault of their debut album, When All Became None, is an understatement. To say that they caved my f**king skull in might be slightly more accurate. Imagine a doomsday obsessed bunch of corpse-painted Norwegians decided to overdose on whiskey and quaaludes and then start a crustcore band and you’re about halfway to envisioning the beyond gnarly as all hell apocalyptic death-sludge these guys are capable of delivering. I spoke with vocalist D about the devastating debut and stripping nude for your killer.
Sonic Frontiers: Coffinworm has been around since 2007 and your debut full length is just out on Profound Lore. How did it feel to finally record a full album? Are you pleased with the result?
D: I feel relieved now that it is complete. From start to finish I am completely pleased with the album, and I would hazard that the rest of the band concur with this statement to a relatively high degree. Chris/Profound Lore has been very supportive of us since we released our demo, and we are proud to deliver our musical first-born under his blackened banner. Continue reading →
Listening to Triptykon‘s Eparistera Daimones (Century Media/Prowling Death, 2010) is like running a marathon in a tar pit. Try as you might to escape its sludgy abyss, there is no hope. Before you know it, you’re in over your head, gasping for air, praying for the end to come. Listening to it is a grueling, draining experience. Of course I mean this in the best possible way. These are the sorts of feelings good doom metal can and should elicit, and Eparistera Daimones is most certainly a doom album, a blackened, harrowing take on the genre that effortlessly drags the listener down into its cavernous depths.
