Dorian Shroom - Nothing Is Sacred (Album Review)

Release Date: June 26th 2022. Record Label: Self Released. Formats: DD

Nothing Is Sacred: Tracklisting

1.Panic Attack 06:33

2.Unknown Love (ft. Etta Soi) 06:33

3.Birdman 05:10

4.Waste No Time 06:02

5.Lightning Bolts 07:53

6.Got Me Rolling 05:52

7.S7eps 05:56

Members:

Drums: Andreas Athanasiadis

Vocals: Chris Diamantis

Guitars/Backing Vocals/Programming: Kostas “The Ghoul” Dimakis

Bass/Backing Vocals: Giorgos Melitos

More/Heavier Guitars: Giorgos Tsompanidis

Review:

Nothing Is Sacred is the debut album from Greek Hard Rock/Alt-Rock/Stoner Rock crew Dorian Shroom which was released back in June 2022. I missed this album the first time round but I noticed it’s received a ton of great praise within the global Hard Rock/Metal scene. As the band plays primarily 1970’s Hard Rock sounds that focus on the more modern groove than the classical style of RAWK MUSIC. 

Dorian Shroom adds a free-flowing 1990’s Grunge, Alt-Rock and Stoner based sound which allows the band to add a freakier and progressive feel to their music. Strong songwriting appears throughout the album which is perhaps Dorian Shroom’s greatest strength along with their wicked way of playing trippy and surreal Hard Rock grooves.

The vocals from Chris Diamantis move effortlessly from the catchy atmospherics of 70’s Hard Rock to the more aggressive and modern day Metal based approach which you can hear on the excellent opening tracks of Panic Attack, Unknown Love (ft Etta Soi) and Birdman. Dorian Shroom has a soulful appearance on these tracks with some trippy guitars being quite jagged and progressive at the same time.

Dorian Shroom keeps up that creative approach with subtle Blues Rock melodies appearing that remind me of Thin Lizzy before turning into a heavier style of music. Though, there’s a lot more to this album which has too many different sounds to mention here but the strong batch of songs on the album show you why Dorian Shroom received such great praise from fans and critics alike.

Other great tracks to check out are: Waste No Time, Lightning Bolts and  S7eps. 

The production for the album is good for the most part with a few rougher moments appearing but nothing that will disturb your enjoyment of the whole album. 

Overall, Nothing Is Sacred is a damn good album from another killer band from the Greek Underground scene. Check them out and you’ll pleasantly be surprised.

Excellent and Highly Recommended.

Words by Steve Howe

Links

Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram

An Interview With BRANT BJORK - Discussing his new band STONER

The Stoner Rock world was possibly excited when two of it's most legendary and iconic musicians Brant Bjork and Nick Olivieri announced in late 2020 they had formed a new band called STONER.

The pair last played together in the short-lived VISTA CHINO project. This time the guys are joined by Brant's regular drummer Ryan Güt for this project.

STONER will be making their debut live performance on Saturday 20th Match 2021 when they perform for the final Live In The Mojave Desert performance which has been happening over the last couple of months. With performances by the likes of Earthless and Nebula impressing fans already.

I caught up with Brant recently where we discussed the formations of STONER and the future plans for the band.

Hi Brant. Thanks for doing this interview. How you doing today.

Hello. I'm doing good. Doing really good. No problem. Always good to catch-up.

How did the band come together.

Nick called me up and wanted to jam. So we got together and we were having a blast and this felt right. It was cool all of us playing together. Felt like we were kids starting out again just playing for the fun of it without any outside pressure.

We all put our musical influences into this via original jam sessions. This feels like a mixture of Punk Rock, Metal, Blues Rock and Hard Rock. Some stuff we’re already known for and some stuff that will surprise and hopefully entertain people.

Why the name STONER and how you come up with it.

That’s all down to Nick. He just came up with the name saying let’s not complicate things let’s call the band STONER. And that was that.

DId you feel calling your band STONER was having a good laugh at yourselves or just calling what it is.

That’s exactly the reason. It’s what we think is STONER ROCK. When I was growing up a STONER was a person changing the rules and being rebellious. Doing your own thing and being different to the mainstream. KYUSS is considered Stoner Rock but I never originally considered ourselves as a Stoner Rock band. We were just young kids playing music that we wanted to play and hear. And I’ve luckily made a career and a living from playing music which I’m ultimately grateful for. 

What’s it like for you performing in a new band. As it’s been a long while since you performed drum duties for VISTA CHINO and performed with Nick as well.

It’s been nothing but fun and I’ve had a blast playing with Nick and my drummer Ryan Güt. I wanted to do something different and STONER allowed me the opportunity to do this. This project feels right for me especially during the pandemic. It feels good vibing new ideas off Nick who is one of my closest friends and I can’t wait to perform these new songs to a live audience. As I feel these songs deserve to be heard by a live audience.

Photo by Miroslav Peric

What can we expect to hear from your Live Performance on Saturday

Just 3 friends playing the music they love that they created in lockdown during this pandemic. Everything was put together at the last minute and I’m hoping our fans enjoy this new musical project we call STONER.

This is one of the most enjoyable bands I’ve been part of. As I’m playing with my friends and our public debut performance in a very unusual circumstance.

We’ve never done this kind of performance before and it’s so very new to us but we wanted to play music again and this is the next best possible way to folks to hear our music.

How did you become involved with this Live concert performance

This was all arranged at the last minute. We were asked do you want to do this live performance. We agreed but then were told “Well good but you needed to leave about 5 minutes ago.”

So it was very-paced and a bit of a blur in places but we got it all done.

We performed in the desert back in October 2020 and it was a good way to get our creative energy out that was built up during the pandemic. We played a cool set and it was good playing these new tunes in sort of a new setting for us all. It was also nice being part of an actual band again. As it’s also been that long for me being part of a band such as this. We hope our fans enjoy this performance and hopefully more shows that will be coming from us in the future.

There have been some fallouts and bad experiences since we’ve performed that set. That’s the music business for you. You perform something good with your close friends and then something bad happens. But l want the fans to view our live performance and the other bands involved. As they all played great sets. 

Sorry to hear you've had issues from being involved with this project or performance.

Yeah. It happens. We have this really cool band that we wanted to share with the world and then something negative appears for us to deal with. However, you move onto the next challenge and that's what we're doing. We continue to make music and hopefully our fans will enjoy this and come along for the ride.

What are the long term plans for STONER. Is this a one-off performance or a full time project.

This is a full time thing. We’ve got long term plans for STONER and the music that we create. We’re booking tour dates for 2022 onwards in Europe and possibly in the United States.

Those plans are in the hands of our booking agents but we’ve been told the pandemic should be under more control next year and more areas will be open up for live performances to happen.

Will that be festival dates or your own tours.

It’s a mixture of both. Mostly festival dates but we will be doing our own shows at small intimate venues. Though I don’t know the full schedule. As I said before, that's in the hands of our booking agents. Though, I’m looking forward to getting back to performing live.

What influenced you all when recording new music as STONER or originally jamming together.

People can expect a mixture of solid hard-rocking tunes with a bit of everything thrown in. Punk Rock, Hard Rock, Blues and Stoner Rock. It’s got that manic RAMONES raw energy with stuff you know what to expect from us all. It’s pure STONER RAWK…..

The pandemic has put a stop to our lives in some way but it’s probably harder for you being a musician and your job relies on you performing live.

It’s been both a blessing and a downside. Downside being that I’m not active that I normally am and I do miss performing.

However, I’ve spent amazing time with my family as I have two young boys who are 9 and 10 years old. I’ve gained some wonderful memories and experiences with my family that I probably wouldn’t have experienced if I was constantly on the road. 

STONER is working with Heavy Psych Sounds again. It’s cool Nick and yourself are continuing your excellent working relationship with Gabe. Was that an easy decision for you all to make and how did you hook-up with Heavy Psych Sounds.

I’ve extended my contract with Gabe at Heavy Psych recently. As it’s been a wonderful experience and Gabe is on the same page as myself both creatively speaking and music-wise. So it was an easy decision to make. It’s a funny story but Nick told me all about Heavy Psych Sounds. As they just released all the Mondo Generator reissues and I was impressed by the reissues and I asked Nick who did all this. Nick advised it’s a great guy called Gabe at Heavy Psych Sounds over in Italy.

I only knew then of Gabe being in Black Rainbows as they supported me once when I played an Italian date. I had no idea he started a record label. So it started from there and I’ve been blessed having my recent new albums released and some of my old albums being reissued on vinyl thanks to Gabe at Heavy Psych Sounds.

Have you been working on any new solo material during the pandemic.

Yeah. I have. I’ve been working on a number of different projects. One is a new solo record which I’m looking forward to releasing. I’ve also been working on a “Rock Opera” set around the Vietnam War which I’m pretty excited about. 

It’s your birthday this Friday. Happy birthday Brant. You got any exciting plans.

Thanks man, Really appreciate that. Just spending time with my family. All I can do at the moment which I’m always eternally grateful for.

I want to say thanks for your time. It’s always an honour talking to you and catching up with you. Looking forward to hearing STONER in all it’s STONER ROCK GLORY.

Thanks Steve. Thanks for interviewing me. Take care.

Words by Steve Howe and Brant Bjork

You can pre-order to view STONER - Live At Mojave Desert here.

Thanks to Mona at All Noir PR for arranging this interview. Thanks to Brant for taking the time out to talking to me.

Links

Instagram

Album Premiere of VIRCATOR New Album - ARCANO

Portuguese experimental rock band Vircator are set to return with their third, full length album on October 4th via Raging Planet. Titled Arcano, on their upcoming record the four-piece collective takes a new step on experimenting dimensional dramatic instrumentals, searching for new sounds, emotions and textures, and exploring the polarity of quiet and loud, complexity and simplicity, ugliness and beauty to the same time.

Vircator's sound is a powerful and emotional ride that takes you deep into the human conscience, balanced by calm and sweeping moments. But Arcano is even more than just an emotional introspect searching: It's inspired by the cult of the plants and spiritual cure of the human conscience according to the ancestry.

“The acknowledgment of the plant power and spirituality is numb, and we wanna invite you on a trip to the past where our ancestry lived together with mother earth.“ The band explains.

Co-produced by renowned Pedro Correia at Studio B, Vircator were able to capture this broad tonal palette and wide array of emotional motifs into a powerful journey through the tumultuous corners of human existence.

You can hear the album in full with this exclusive premiere thanks to Mona at All Noir PR. 

Album Release: 04.10.2019, Raging Planet

Formats: LP, CD + Digital

Vircator is:

Pedro Carvalho – Guitar
Gustavo Ribeiro – Guitar
Marcelo Peixoto – Bass
Ricardo Pereira – Drums

For More Info Visit:

www.facebook.com/Vircator
www.vircator.pt
www.vircator.bandcamp.com

Going Stir Crazy With Brian Corbett from GENE WILDEST

Gene Wildest is a band that I had never heard of until they contacted me to review their upcoming new album – Spectral Terrestrial. I was intrigued by the band’s overall sound. As Gene Wildest play a different kind of Spaced Out Stoner Rock. As these guys include elements of Fuzz, Grunge, Psych, Indie, Alt Rock and even elements of Shoegazing.

These guys are totally new to me and I wanted to find out more about them and Brian (Guitar/Vox) from the band has have kindly agreed to this cool interview.

Read on and find out more information about GENE WILDEST….

Hi Brian. Thanks for doing this interview. How are things with you today. Congratulations on your new album.

Hey Steve, thanks! Things are great! Just watching the World Cup final at the moment actually.

Can you give a brief history of how the band formed and where it is today.

So Rob and I (Brian) were introduced back around 2005 by our friend John. We ended up starting a band called Human Sounds with John and our other friends George and Pat. Physical distance kind of got in the way of Human Sounds, but Rob and I lived close and continued to make music and jam every now and then. I was making some home recordings that Rob liked around the same time I met our first drummer Ben Zemel in grad school around 2011.

We all decided to jam, things clicked, and that was our set up for about two years. In 2013 our friend Eric Richmann expressed interest in playing in a band. He was a great songwriter and guitarist and had a killer voice (you can hear it on “Deadleaves” off our first album Everything). We got really excited and just as a shot in the dark told him we would love for him to play bass and share vocals. Luckily he said yes and was in the band until November 2016. He tragically and suddenly passed away from a heart condition he had since he was a kid. It was just devastating for us, his family, and everyone in his life. But we decided with his wife Corey that if there was one thing that Eric would come back and haunt us for it would be letting the band fall apart.

We begged my brother Sean, who never played bass but was always a great musician, to fill in for Eric. He learned all of our songs, which have some pretty complicated basslines, remarkably quickly and he’s been our bassist ever since. In June 2017, Ben went to Portland for work after grad school. Despite being a barefoot drummer, he had some big shoes left unfilled.

A friend of mine introduced us to our current drummer, Dave, who learned like twenty songs by the fall and saved us from the murky depths of a drummerless hell. And that’s been our line-up ever since – Sean, Rob, Dave, and Brian.

How would you describe the music that Gene Wildest creates. As there are many different elements and levels to your overall sound.

That’s always a tough question, especially because its always changing. We currently have math rock and shoegaze albums in the works, ha-ha. This album fits pretty nicely into the stoner rock category, although it doesn’t have as much fuzz as many other stoner rock albums. I guess I would say stoner rock with only as much fuzz as necessary. But just to be clear – we really love our fuzz.

Where did you get the name for Gene Wildest. Obviously influenced by the legendary comedic actor.

Yea we’re all Gene Wilder fans. Honestly, I thought the band name Gnarls Barkley was hilarious and witty. I’ve always liked celebrity puns, but I didn’t want to just rhyme a first or last name. Gene Wildest just seemed right at the time, back in like 2009 before I knew we would be releasing a stoner rock album. Truckfighters, Dead Meadow, Gene Wildest. One of these things is not like the others, but what’s in a name, right?

You have just released your new Spectral Terrestrial. What is the album about.

Well, almost every song deals with both love and death. I like the two concepts together, it keeps the songs from being annoyingly happy or overtly depressing. I see the love for a deceased spouse/friend/family member last forever in the living and I like to think that love is not lost by those who die. It’s a concept that worked really well in the stoner rock genre because you can get away with singing about the supernatural.

Who is releasing the album and what formats will the album be released on.

As of now, we’re self-releasing it under our record label Nappy Dawg Records. It will be on all of the digital music media – Spotify, Google Play, Bandcamp, etc. and also on CD. If we get enough interest we would love to release it on vinyl but that’s just a pipe-dream as of now.

Was recording the album an easy or hard experience.

Easy and fun! We recorded and mixed it ourselves. I’m really into mixing.

Do you have any upcoming gigs to celebrate the release of the album.

Yes, we’ll be at Boot & Saddle in Philly on Auguest 30th.
Will you be performing any-more gigs to promote the new album.

We’re trying to get a north-east tour lined up. Hopefully doing some shows in Lancaster, Bethlehem, Atlantic City, NYC, and Boston.

Do you have an active scene to perform gigs on a regular basis. Or do you have to travel further afield to perform gigs.

The Philadelphia music scene is pretty awesome. There are about 10 great venues we can play at. We’re really lucky that it exists and are forever grateful to our family, friends, and fans who are nice enough to keep supporting us so we can keep playing at these great local spots.

When you’re creating new music. What comes first. The music or the lyrics.

Usually music, I think songs turn out more interesting that way. Starting with a sweet, creative riff and letting it develop from there. Sometimes they happen together, that’s always when the best songs come together. Whenever I start with lyrics the songs are usually more listenable, but I tend to just use chords, which usually isn’t as interesting as using sweet riffage.

What is the songwriting dynamic within the band. Is it a group collective or down to one individual.

It’s collaborative. Each song is usually the brainchild of one of us, with the guys filling in their parts later. Sometimes at practice you get that magic moment when a jam turns into a song in like 15 minutes. Those are always great.

What is your current equipment/setup when recording music and playing live.

Ohhhhh buddy. Our favorite question! Everything is recorded in Logic. Sean and I actually just record direct in, using a tweed amp modeler. Sean uses an Ibanez that looks like a P-bass. For pedals, he mostly uses a DOD Boneshaker, a fuzz that I designed, and a BOSS PH-3 phaser. I use a Schecter Omen 6 with these wacky pickups that I haven’t been able to identify. I bought it used. I use a ton of pedals.

The most commonly used ones on Spectral Terrestrial are a reverse Fuzz Factory clone, a modded Spaceman Wow Signal, Big Muff Pi, Ehx Mel9, Chase Bliss Spectre, Roger Mayer Voodo Vibe+, and that fuzz that I designed. Rob mostly uses a PRS S2 Custom 22 Semi-Hollow or Fender American Standard Strat into a mic'ed up Blackstar Artist 15 or his old Peavey Bandit 112.

He loves pedals as much as I do, but the ones that got the most love from him on this record are a Wampler Tumnus into either an EQD Hoof or a Smallsound/Bigsound Buzzz for his dirt tones, and a Chase Bliss Warped Vinyl HiFi and a TC Electronic Viscous Vibe for his mod section. The Empress Echosystem and Reverb units are all over his tracks, too.

Thanks for doing this interview. Before you go do you have any words of wisdom to say to your fans.

“Be excellent to each other”. Thanks for everything, Steve.

Words by Steve Howe and Brian Corbett

Links:

Official | Facebook | BandCamp

Record Label Spotlight - Forbidden Place Records

Forbidden Place Records is a record label based in Denver, Colorado, USA that was started in 2014. This label is a record label with a difference. As the label describe themselves as:

"An art and music label that focuses on underground and experimental works by national & international artists"

Looking at their BandCamp Page, Forbidden Place Records have a lot of cool artists featured on their roster such as STAVH, The Dead End Alley Band, SIXES, MEPHISTOFELES and RUFF MAJIK.

Though Forbidden Place Records do have a lot of other cool artists that fall outside the Doom/Sludge/Stoner Metal spectrum.

Links:

Official | Facebook | BandCamp

Label Spotlight - Necio Records

Necio Records is a record label operating in Peru since 2013. They deal in Prog /Psych / Stoner Doom / Jazz / Experimental / Noise based releases. If you look at their BandCamp Page they have a wide range of great artists to check out such as Ancestro, El Jefazo, Cholo Visceral and Spatial Moods.

Ancestro



El Jafazo


Cholo Visceral



Spatial Moods 



Necio Records have some other fantastic bands to check out if you're want to immerse yourself with other bands from the Psych, Noise, Experimental and Stoner scenes.

Head over to their Facebook Page and give their page a like.

Links:

Facebook | BandCamp

An Interview with Alex from TELEKINETIC YETI

Telekinetic Yeti maybe a band you haven't hard of yet but all that is about to change. As they're about to release their incredible new album – Abominable. Which is due out for release on March 17^th 2017 via Sump Pump Records. We will be reviewing that album very soon.

Telekinetic Yeti play a heavy blend of Psych, Sludge, Stoner and Doom. For a duo these guys are one of the heaviest bands I've came across recently. If you're a fan of Sleep, OM and CONAN then you're going to go crazy over this band.

I wanted to find out more about the band and Alex (Guitars) from the band has kindly agreed to this interview.

Hi Alex. How are things with you today.

Pretty good man

Can you give a brief history of how the band came about and where it is today.

The band was formed in March of 2015. Anthony and I had known each other for years from playing in some different bands years before. After that last band broke up in early 2010 he had moved out west. When he moved back to the mid-west in 2014 we tried to revive the old band. When that didn't work out with the other members we decided to see what we could do as just 2 people. We got together for a jam session and the first song we wrote was what ended up being the first song on our new album. We were stoked about how things were sounding so we kept with it.

Within 4 months we had our first set written and played our first show. The response right away was really good, people seemed really into it and were telling us they were blown away. Once we started playing our first out of town shows especially, the reactions we were getting were extremely encouraging. We felt like we were onto something.

We entered Flatblack Studios in Lone Tree, Iowa in early 2016. The recording process was spread out over several months because initially we didn't book enough studio time, and the studio was booked solid months in advance.

Fast forward to now, the albums done, our first music video is out, and the album is being released on Sump Pump Records on Vinyl on March 17, 2017. We are self releasing it on CD and digitally. We have 8 album release shows in the mid-west in late March in support of the Album. And we also just started booking a longer tour for June of 2017.

Why did you choose the name – Telekinetic Yeti for your band. Any specific meaning.

We just wanted a name that reflected the way band sounds. The music we were making sounded huge and fuzzy, kind of like a yeti. We thought a Yeti with some sort of occult powers would be cool, when we thought of telekinetic we were sold.

How would you describe your overall sound.

Thunderous, thick, fuzzy, riffy, prehistoric at times. Its a mix of stoner, doom, and rock and roll.

So we are here to talk about your debut album – Abominable. Congrats on a great album. What can people expect from the album.

The album feels like a journey. Each song takes on its own unique mood, we try to not write the same song twice. Wed like to think the album is a good balance of kick ass rock and roll riffing, and also some more moody and colorful stuff. People have mentioned there is an element of unpredictability to it that keeps the listener engaged. 

Was it an easy or hard album to write and record for.

Some of the songs came together very quickly, and some took more time. I wouldn't say any of the songs stuck out as being particularly more easy or hard to write or record. Each song presents its own unique challenge. Usually we've had a pattern of writing the first half of the song fairly quickly, then usually a descent amount of time is spent deciding where we want to take the song from the halfway point.

Every song you write could be taken in so many different directions, there really are no rules. We don't always end up using the first part we write, we might write 4 or 5 different parts and choose whichever one we think is the best for the song. Ultimately we pretty much always know when a part or a song is done, and its totally based on how it feels. Does it feel good to play? Does it make you really feel something? That's when we know the part is good.

What is your favourite song off the album and the reasons why. Mine is Colossus.

Honestly we can't pick one, it would be like picking your favorite child. We like them all for different reasons.

Are you anxious what your fans will think of this record.

No. We wrote and recorded the songs that we thought were awesome. We are proud of the collection of songs we recorded and we wouldn't have done it any other way.

Will you be touring this record heavily In the future.

Yes. Be sure to keep on our page for dates when we come to your city.

The album is being released on Sump Pump Records How did that come about.

We played a show with our friends in Druids who had their album release show in Des Moines, IA. Sump Pump Records saw us play for the first time at that show. We hit it off with Dan from Sump Pump, and decided we wanted to release a record together. 

How did the excellent artwork come about. Who designed this and how much input did you have into the overall final design.

The artwork was done by Headbang Design. We gave him feedback and ideas throughout the entire process and we worked off of his art abilities and bounced ideas off of each other.

For a two man group, you're an incredibly loud act. What is your equipment setup to create this sound when recording live or performing in the studio.

For the guitar, I play a 7 string guitar tuned super low, somewhere in between where a bass and a guitar normally sits. And I use super thick strings, some of the thickest strings on my guitar are actually bass strings. The thick strings really beef things up and allow me to have proper string tension with the low tunings. We are then splitting the guitar signal into 2 orange ad140s, and a fender bassman 300 pro, into four 4x12 orange guitar cabinets and a 2x15 ampeg bass cab. At certain points in songs I also use an octave pedal that beefs it up quite a bit.

Anthony has a vintage Fibes acrylic drum kit, similar to the one John Bonham in Led Zeppelin used. They are physically large drums so they are super loud and powerful sounding, and Anthony hits his drums really hard, so the drums sound very big and full.

Where can people purchase or listen to your new full length album.

You can buy the album on CD from our online merch store at telekineticyeti.bigcartel.com, you can buy the album on vinyl at http://sumppumprecords.com/albums/vinyl/telekinetic-yeti-abominable , and you will be able to stream the full album and buy it digitally at telekineticyeti.bandcamp.com come March 17, 2017.

Before you go, do you have anything to say to your fans.

Thanks so much for all your support, it really means the world to us! We hope to see you at a show soon!

Well Alex, thanks for doing this. All the best with the new album.

Words by Steve Howe and Alex Baumann

Links:

Facebook | BandCamp

Interview with Sander Evers from MONOMYTH

Today's guest is drummer for one of the best Instrumental Psych/Stoner Rock bands of recent years. Monomyth are about to release their 3rd album - EXO, and it's a stunning sci-fi themed musical space odyssey featuring the usual Monomyth magic. Heavy spaced out riffs trapped under a layer of Psychedelic Stoner vibes mixed with Doomy atmospherics.

It's the final trilogy that they started with 2013's S/T debut album and continued with 2014's Further. EXO takes Monomyth's sound even further into the cosmos.

I saw Monomyth perform live in a small pub in my home-town of Newcastle Upon Tyne and it was a spell-binding gig as they kept the small audience in attendance entertained throughout their stunning 85 minute set. It was such a shame that there were more of Monomyth amp's in attendance than actual people. Though they still delivered the goods.

Anyway, I digress. I caught up with Sander (Drummer) from Monomyth recently to discuss what the future holds for the band and what EXO is really about. Here's what went down...

Hi Sander, thanks for doing the interview. How are things with you today?

I'm fine, thank you Steve, we're busy preparing for the upcoming shows.

For people not in the know can you tell how your band came about and where it is today?

We started Monomyth back in early 2011 after a phone-call between Selwyn and me. But it was not before march 2012 until we made our on-stage debut. Our first album was released in September 2012

Photo Credit by Michel Mees Photography

 You're about to release your third album EXO What can people expect from your new album.

You can expect new music, a few new influences, but all with the now familiar Monomyth sound. We never work with a blueprint so what we create is always different when compared to what came before. That also keeps it fresh and exciting for us. On EXO we continue our journey and also try out new things.

Why did you choose the name EXO for the album? Any specific meaning.

EXO is the last chapter from what we now call a trilogy. At the end of Further we travelled towards the sender of the 6EQUJ5 signal and now, on EXO, we're finally got there, land, and start some research. EXO, in this case, stands for a very remote place.

Your music is very hard to describe. KrautRock, Doom, Psych, Stoner. How would you describe it?

That is tough one. Our music contains elements of all the styles you mention. We certainly don't want to stick to one style. And having that said it comes to mind that we never create new music with the idea to do something doomy or psychy or whatever. We usually start with a few riffs, a rhythm or maybe someone humming an idea to the rest of the band, and then we'll see where it might bring us. But in the end it is psychedelic music and it is rock, so maybe psychedelic rock fits best.....with elements of kraut, doom, psych and stoner.

I’ve heard EXO been described as the final part in the trilogy that you started with your S/T album back in 2013. It has been quite a musical journey that you’ve taken listeners on. What have been the main themes of the trilogy? As the albums have a different tone and structure to each other.

There is a storyline spreading throughout all three albums. Both sound-wise and story-wise. Looking back at it now I think travelling and discovering are the main themes. The first album is the safe haven from where we departed. We explored myths and science (fiction) on S/T, but we also looked to the stars via Huygens. Huygens was a well known astrologist from our home-town The Hague. He designed the lens for a telescope which was able to spot the rings of Saturnus for the very first time.

On Further we introduced our spaceship ArkM, a map of the skies and a goal where we like to travel to: 6EQUJ5. So now we have our own spaceship. Yes, it is a classic metaphor, but it works great. And who doesn't want to have his own spaceship? On EXO we finally arrive on this unknown surface with all it's challenges and right from the beginning of the record we start exploring the environment. An interesting journey through a barren landscape, with a very unexpected twist for listeners who pays close attention.

Photo Credit by Michel Mees Photography

Does this mean this is your final album as a band or do you plan to continue with a new musical journey?

No this won't be our last album. This team is such a wonderful and talented group of people, I think we’re just starting up. We don't know what we're gonna do next. Maybe something completely new or maybe we keep on developing this storyline. We don't know that yet. But we are already playing with ideas.

You did an extensive tour of Europe late last year and especially the UK where you guys made a lot of new fans. How was that tour? What were your favourite memories from that tour?

We had a great time on tour in the UK. We have seen many happy faces and there were always people hangin' around with us after the gigs so we made friends everywhere we played. We were lucky to travel with a small night-liner so that we didn't have to rely on hotels and travel from venue to venue. Altogether it made the tour a great experience. I can't think of one exceptional memory, it was all great and even the lesser attractive venues we're great to hang out. As long as we can play music we're a happy bunch altogether. Besides the music we took the opportunity to see something of the cities we were visiting. Music as a travel agency in all it's facets.

I see your touring again with the new album. Which places are you heading to and what can people expect.

We're going to Denmark, The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and England. We're gonna play EXO entirely (not necessarily in the album order) and some old favourites. With three albums in our pockets now we have something to choose from. On a few occasions we will bring our own light technician and some special FX we're working on. But only in clubs where we can put this up technically. It's a growing thing.

EXO is more trance based and calmer compared to your other albums. Was that your original plan in creating something calmer than your earlier albums?

Is it calmer? I don't know. There is never an original plan besides that we want to set up a new album. A few ideas were already there, Uncharted was the first track that we had finished and we played it live several times already. Ideas for new tracks are floating around us constantly so when we start to make things up for an album we have to transform those ideas into some workable structure and add sounds and melodies. 

But it really is the music that dictates itself, we only search for a way to get the best sound out of ideas. That makes, in my opinion, every Monomyth album unique, there is no second track that is the same. Although there are some tracks that are related to each other and sometimes structures are comparable. But overall we try to let the music lead us with these results.

Was it an easy or hard album to write and record for?

The big difference between EXO and our other two albums is that we had less time to complete the tracks before we headed into the studio. Before our debut we had plenty of time to test our tracks in front of an audience. As goes with tracks from Further, which were already on the set-list before we released S/T. But after Further we had a much busier touring schedule and less time to rehearse properly, so we had the parts of the tracks, but besides Uncharted, nothing complete. So we took some time during fall 2015 to get things right.

Then we did a few gigs with the new tracks, just to try them out. And in November 2015 we recorded everything with Pieter Kloos (you might know him from his work with 35007, 7zuma7, Motorpsycho and others) in a top-notch studio. It was a very smooth production, we were quick, 90% of what you hear was recorded live in only one take. We’re never have been that quick. So we worked hard but it was a fantastic and fast recording period.

The album song titles have more of a science fiction based theme compared to your previous albums. Can you give some background behind some of the album titles and what they mean to you as a band?

Is that so? S/T and Further were also a bit on the sci-fi side. The whole trilogy could be sci-fi but we don't want to fallback on titles with words like space or planet or whatever. That sci-fi theme is not that important and must be subliminal in it's message. So I don't want to spoil too much of the story because I hope the listener makes up his or her own story. That is part of the Monomyth magic, everything is there, music, story, titles, sleeve design, there is a connection between what you hear and what you see. With all these components you have a story or a compelling themed rollercoaster ride, it is up to you what you do with it.

How hard is it for you all being in a band within today’s musical scene? Is it always a never-ending struggle?

Well, it is a struggle anyway, being in a band hahahahaha but it's a wonderful challenge to get things done as a team. Today's musical scene is different then years ago, but I'm not complaining. We have a good deal, we can tour, play at great festivals, record our music and all of this in all the freedom we need.

We have to talk about the album cover. What is that album cover about? Who designed it and what does it mean to you as a band and the album in general.

Maarten Donders made the artwork, a Dutch artist who we all admire for his wonderful artwork. He did all our album covers. We love to work with him because his vision matches that what we like you to see. What you see on the cover is what you hear on the record and vice versa. Everything is there. When you take a closer look at the album cover you will notice a few familiar things and you also get a glimpse of EXO. The storyline is also there, every album cover continues where the last one left off. It's great to work with themes and ideas in this way. It gives you tools to tell a story, even when your playing instrumental music. So we try to add extra layers and deepening the listening experience by bringing the music and the artwork closer to each other.

Do you have any more exciting plans coming up in 2016 – Tours, other projects you’re involved with we should get excited about.

We're now preparing ourself for the upcoming shows, and we try to create new music somewhere along the line. And, we're also busy reworking some material and some new stuff for a very special event. We've been asked by Cinesonic to play a live soundtrack accompanying an old silent movie called Das Cabinet des Dr Caligari at the Imagine Film Festival in Amsterdam. This is a wonderful challenge for us. Our music could fit a movie and now we have the chance to give birth to this idea we already had for a long time. Exciting.

Well Sander, thanks for doing this. All the best with your new record.

Thank you Steve. We hope to see everyone at one of the shows. Cheers.

Words by Steve Howe and Sander Evers

Thanks to Bart at Suburban Records for arranging this interview. Thanks to Sander for taking the time out to talk to me. EXO will be available to buy from on CD/DD/Vinyl via Suburban Records from March 18th 2016.

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