Release
date: May 17th
2016. Label: Fuzzorama Records. Format: CD/DD/Vinyl
Truckfighters:
Live In London – Tracklisting
1.
Mind Control
2.
Atomic
3.
The Chairman
4.
Last Curfew
5.
Monte Gargano
6.
Get Lifted
7.
Manhattan Project
8.
In search of (the)
9.
Traffic
10.
Helium 28
11.
Desert Cruiser
Band
Members:
Ozo
- vocals and bass
Dango
- guitar
Enzo
- drums
Review:
Reviewing
is always a difficult task, especially when dealing with live stuff,
against whom I am always a little doubtful. This is because trying to
explain why one should listen, or buy, a live album is useless for
the most of hardcore fans, and extremely difficult to explain to
everyone else. Making a live album is like making a compilation of
your favourite band, with few simple rules: choose the right songs
and put them in the right place to capture the real essence of an
artist. In my humble opinion a live album has only few simple tasks,
one of which is to transmit the same feeling and experience of being
under the stage, head-banging with other people. Of course, without
skills and attitude the result can be more disappointing, making a
live album just a ‘simple’ collection of songs.
Well,
the new (and first) live release of the Sweden-based trio,
Truckfighters, doesn’t betray any of my expectations, with 77
minutes full of fuzz, heavy riffs and energy in pure Truckfighters
style. Fifteen years after the release of their first EP, Desert
Cruiser, and ten years after their first album, Gravity X (Fuzzorama
Records/Meteor City Records), Truckfighters have become one of
the most instantly recognizable stoner bands in the world. A powerful
and melodic fuzz-drenched tunes coming from big fuzzed-out riffs fuse
with a masterful rhythm section sustained by big clattering drums and
deep bass, with hypnotic and powerful vocals.
A
major plus of this live album is, probably, the ability to propose
old stuff in a different way, where the fuzz-oriented approach of the
first releases fuse with a more stylish and lysergic sound. Indeed,
we all know how stoner rock/metal (and its derivatives) can be
repetitive and stereotyped by nature. Fortunately, through out their
career, Truckfighters evolved a unique and specific sound that
reached its maturity in the last release, setting aside for a moment
their ‘fuzz-addiction’ for more original and open compositions.
Truckfighters have undoubtedly made a significant jump from the
beginning, while not neglecting their roots in the heavy stoner rock
and a passionate love for fuzz. From Gravity X to Universe they have
developed their own specific way of understanding music, working hard
despite the constant changes in line-up.
The
track list sweeps back and forth between their production, just
enough to be loved by long-time fans and catch the eye of those who,
so far, are not familiar with this Sweden-based trio. This, along
with the choice of individual tracks from each album, helps the
overall listening of the album, which flows fluid, powerful and
exciting. The album starts with Mind Control, the open track of their
latest release, Universe (2014, Fuzzorama Records/Sony Music Sweden),
which marks a small turning point in their production, with a more
psychedelic vein compared to previous releases.
In
between, we can find (almost) all their production, with Atomic and
Traffic from their second, excellent album Phi (2007, Fuzzorama
Records/Poison Tree Records), an album dominated by fuzz laden guitar
broken up by short, stoner vocalist segments. The album goes on,
straight and powerful until the laid back track Last Curfew from
their 2009 release, Mania (Fuzzorama Records/Rough Trade Records),
followed by Monte Gargano. At the end of the album we find the
classics, Manhattan Project and In search of (the) from Gravity X,
followed by Helium 28 from their 2003 split with Firestone,
Truckfighters vs. Firestone - Fuzzsplit of the Century (Fuzzorama
Records). The album ends with Desert Cruiser, an anthem for all
(including me) first-hour fans of Truckfighters. Only one flaw. The
lack of one of the best track I ever listen from this band.
Mastodont, a song able to include the essence of what Truckfighters
were, are and will be.
Last
April I was lucky enough to see these guys live at the Desertfest in
Berlin for my very first time, and I was completely bewildered by
their show. A perfect rhythm section masterfully supported by Axel
‘Enzo’ Larsson (drum) and Oskar ‘Mr. Ozo’ Cedermalm (bass),
with tons of fuzz spewed by the ‘flying’ Niklas ‘Dango’
Källgren (guitar).
Just
a little advice. Truckfighters must be seen at least once in life.
So, no matter whether or not you have bought this album, if you have
the chance, go to a concert, because only after having seen them live
you will understand why they are called the ‘best live band in the
world’.
Words
by Bruno Bellisario
You can buy the album from the following link via Fuzzorama Records.
Release
date: July 22nd
2016. Label: RidingEasy Records. Format: CD/DD/Vinyl
Pronounce
This! – Tracklisting
Tranny
Takes a Trip
Just
for Kicks
The
Vampire Strikes Back
Coal
Mind
So
Gone, So Dead
Desire
Band
Members:
Peter
- Bass
Direktörn
- Drums
Knate
- Guitars, Vocals
Review:
Hello
again all,
I'll
start this off by saying I don't know a lot about this mysterious,
Swedish stoner fuzz rock group except that they are a mysterious,
Swedish fuzz rock group. This is their 2nd full length released by
the great RidingEasy records, and I have to say, it's Amazing!! This
band absolutely kills it with this record. It is exceptionally tight,
while stumbling through a dreamy, retro, drug induced haze. The
production is spot on. The albums 6 songs clock in at a hefty 50
minutes, and every moment is a keeper. The influences can be felt all
over the place from Sabbath to The Rolling Stones, The Ramones to
Floyd. The Pink Floyd influence is all over this record, and it pulls
all the great things about Floyd and none of the tedious or, dare I
say, boring aspects of Floyd's persona. This record is completely and
totally accessible (in a good way) and will appeal to the Metal,
Classic Rock, Stoner, or Blues fan. It is a Rock record in all it's
glory!
After
a brief synth intro, the first track "Tranny Takes A Trip"
kicks in to a stunning fuzzed out groove that starts this dark
journey to the center of the mind and beyond. The next two tracks
"Just For Kicks" and "The Vampire Strikes Back"
keep the groove rolling and at times almost have a bit of a sleaze
rock vibe to them. The next track is my absolute favorite. Clocking
in at a hefty 12 minutes, the instrumental "Coal Mind"
bounces around and sucks you in, just to spit you back out. This song
shreds. "So Gone, So Dead: has a country-esque Rolling Stones
feel to it. it takes you back for a moment, but then reels you in
before smashing you with the closer, "Desire". A dark, dare
I say, epic sounding closer that leaves you only wanting more.
This
is, by all accounts, my favourite record of the year so far. It is
everything you are looking for in a groovy, riff-tastic, stoner rock
record. This record has the potential to be huge, and it should be.
If you love rock, in any way shape or form, track this record down
and crank it up, kick back and bliss out, you will not be
disappointed!
Words
by Todd Stealey
Thanks
to Dave at US/Them PR Group for the promo. Pronounce This! will be
available to buy via RidingEasy Records on CD/DD/Vinyl from July 22nd
2016.
Release
date: August 22nd
2015. Label: Setalight Records. Format: CD/DD/Vinyl
Ecosphere
– Tracklisting
01
- Astrogate (00:00)
02
- Shockblast (03:52)
03
- Nexus (06:58)
04
- Warp Rider (11:41)
05
- Citadel (15:09)
06
- Corona Azylum (18:46)
07
- Waldo (23:39)
08
- 7th Sun (25:49)
09
- Starmist (33:44)
10
- Needler (39:26)
Band
Members:
Cpt
Ulven - Vocals
Roffe
- Guitars
Liz
- Bass
Bjudas
– Drums
Review:
Kal-El's
second album – Ecosphere – was released in August 2015 and it
seems it flew under my radar. I was asked recently to check them out
and I was pleasantly surprised as I was expecting something run of
the mill. Not a kick-ass album packed full of Stoner Rock grooves
with the band offering plenty of Doom based Desert/Blues Rock vibes.
The
band excel in creating different atmospheres for each of the songs.
I'm sure I can hear influences diverse from bands such as Black
Sabbath, Kyuss, Monster Magnet, Dozer and Uncle Acid but Kal-El add a
refreshing Spaced Out Sci-fi twist. Kal-El offer a bleak alternative
stoner rock outlook on life especially on tracks such as Shockblast
and Warp Rider.
The
instrumental work is one of the albums strengths as Kal-El offer a
different sound for each of the 10 songs on the album. That's a very
hard thing to do but Kal-El pull this off with style and conviction.
Kal-El's stock has been rising considerably within the Stoner Metal
world recently and it's not hard to see why. They've written a
collection of excellent songs that will appeal to the vast majority
of Doom/Stoner Metal fans.
If
you miss the early days of Monster Magnet where Dave, Ed and company
were more about the spaced out vibes and hard rock riffs then Kal-El
are the band for you. Ecosphere feels like a long lost 1990's Monster
Magnet album that was never released. The final 4 songs on the album
Waldo, 7th Sun, Starmist and Needler are perhaps the
albums most exciting moments as Kal-El play the albums heaviest riffs that will leave you in a daze.
I've
only seen a few reviews of this album so far and that's a damn shame
as Ecosphere is quite the Stoner Metal album experience. It's packed
full of twists and turns that will leave you on the edge of your
seat. The band have done themselves proud here. If I heard this album
last year I would have put this in my best albums of 2015. It's
simply that good.
Cardinals
Folly return for another full on doom metal explosion with their new
album Holocaust Of Ecstasy & Freedom and this time they have
reached further peaks of riff laden goodness as the album is even
more jam packed full of them than we have come to expect. The band
are known primarily for their mixture doomy passages with the best
that heavy metal offers and this album is no exception.
The
sound of an ominous liquid pouring into a chalice opens the albums
first track The Poison Test and from the moment the first doom riff
kicks in, you know you are in for a good time. As with the previous
Cardinals Folly's albums, the influence of classic N.W.O.B.H.M looms
heavy not only in terms of the lyrical content of the song but this
time it appears clear that in terms of a lot of the riffs especially
on tracks like Goats On The Left and Twins Of Evil, that bands like
Angel Witch have been a big influence on the band and this album but
you also can't ever forget the doom factor which is obviously at the
forefront of the sound of Holocaust Of Ecstasy And Freedom and on the
title track and Nocturnal Zeal (Winter Orgy) there is a
quintessential doom feel about them, check out the riffs on both of
these songs although adding to the versatility of the bands sound.
There
are elements of different types of metal coursing through parts of
the tracks as well (the riffs and solos in the latter part of the
title track are pure N.W.B.H.O.M for example) and you can throw in a
few timeless death grunts in there for good measure!
The
album ends with two epic doomy tracks and concludes proceedings in
the best way possible. Some truly momentous riffs, focussed solos and
some unhinged singing are the order of the day on penultimate track
Psychomania, which is as the songs title suggests is quite a trip and
is at turns utterly haunting and brilliantly deranged.
While
the closing track La Papesse is a creeping behemoth of a song with a
huge, lurching riff that takes proceedings over with deathlike
authority and ends the album on an anthemic note with the songs final
minutes coming across like prime Sabbath, it's as good as that.
It
must be said though that while the riffs are the order of of the day
on Holocaust Of Ecstasy & Freedom and are of course, both
memorable and crushingly heavy, you cannot over look the importance
of the rest of the elements of the Cardinals Folly's sound with each
part as important as the previous. and as a result combine to make a
perfect melding of doom and metal mastery. This is what makes
Holocaust Of Ecstasy & Freedom a must listen.
What will you expect from the band with a name such as Kannabinõid? It doesn’t matter indeed… This band from Tallinn, Estonia already perform under the banner of heavy, dirty and more or less psychedelic stoner doom. Their debut full-length album “Troon” (“Throne”) was released on vinyl in April 29th, 2016 by Golem label. They have low-tuned guitars, some fuzz, Estonian lyrics and three songs with the album running for almost 46 minutes. Be prepared for crude and dark doom! Meanwhile, I was lucky enough to get the answers from all three members of Kannabinõid. It was fun. Hi men! How are you there? What's new in Tallinn? Jerl: Hey. We're doing good, a lot of new super-heavy riffs emerging on all fronts. Rol: Savisaar (our city head) has lost his leg and might go to jail, so I think things are getting better. Drugs are still expensive though... Taniel: Tere! I’m good. Tallinn got a lot greener while we were touring. Kannabinõid was born in about 2009, but since then you have only one self-titled EP and now a full-length album “Troon”. What obstacles have you met on your way to this album? Why did it take so long to finish it? Taniel: The human resource management was poorly organized. Jerl: Good things take time. The obstacles range from financing to collectively agreeing on the composition of the songs and the physical side of the record. Teamwork is key, understanding that saves a lot of time and effort. Rol: With this album we had all the obstacles you can basically imagine. It was like a teenage boy struggling through love and sex life. The only thing that was keeping us going was that we knew it will come out fucking epic. When the old drummer left, I joined the band and I managed to do 2-3 gigs with old songs, then our guitarist and concept god left from the band, so Taniel had to learn to play guitar, first 3 months were weird. Then I asked Jerl if he wanted to join us and he did but first steps and getting everybody into the same vibe was hard, every song was a struggle. We didn’t want to create “just another doom song” . With that we decided, fuck it, lets book some recording time and we had about 4-5 months to create all the songs. So time flew, and finally here we are after some struggle and difficulties at the studio. To be honest, we still didn’t know the songs by heart. We recorded I think at April last year (2015). We recorded 4 songs live and made two of them into one (Matus). There was also a song called MONOLIIT, that didn’t make it on the record. The vocals we recorded at our rehearsal space. We needed one more song and we had some riffs. We added riffs after riffs and there was no end. So we thought how long are we going on and thought that fuck it lets make it 20 mins. why the fuck not? During the process of making “TROON”, our bass player had to quit the band but we didn’t let that get to us. So both guitarist added two bass cabs, tuned amps lower and after some time we were at the recording studio again. The first day we tried to play it in, at the end of the day the song was recorded but I didn’t feel that its good enough (22 minutes in a row without mistakes is not easy, especially if you’re high as fuck). In the morning when I went to pack stuff and Jerl was playing in his solos we decided, fuck it, let’s try one more time, after 2 takes it was wrapped and that’s what you hear on the record. Then began the money collecting issue, then the problem with this shitty vinyl company… After loads of shit and issues we managed to make the vinyls ready with the packaging a few hours before the presentation gig. As you can see we can basically make a book about how this album was born because a lot of stuff is still missing in this text. A short version of all of this would be: Lots of weed, lots of drama and brain-work, sweat and blood.
Metal-archives show that there are five musicians in the band, but there are only three on the photo. What is Kannabinõid lineup? Jerl: The line-up has changed a lot since the EP, Taniel is the sole founding member, Roland joined the rhythm section shortly after the first release and I boarded after the hiatus when Siim, the founding guitarist, left. Rol: Taniel –vocals/guitars, Jerl – guitars / back vocals, Rol – drums. The band has a pretty clear name, what's your relationship with mind changing substances? I remember that Mart Kalvt of Taak band fights for legalization of marijuana in Estonia… Jerl: My opinion in this matter serves no purpose in relation to the music. Rol: Every drug should be legalized Taniel: I have heard it from somewhere too that people in this subculture are prone to substance (ab)use.
Kannabinõid - Troon
Your first release, self-titled EP has a bunch of songs with average duration as there are just three really massive tracks. How slowly did the band develop to this state? Rol: 66.6. Jerl: We simply did not hit the breaks until the song felt ready; it was a very organic process of conception. Taniel: It has never been about length, it’s only about the vibe – if the riff is good and it grasps its tentacles around us, we culd play it forever. How long did it take you to composed the “Troon” album? What kind of feelings did you want to transfer through it? Taniel: If we summarize the time taken for composing-processes, the songs were created in about a minute. I’m not too happy about how we manage our time. Jerl: There was no clear sense of form to aim for as we begun, personally a lot of automatic channeling happened, I didn't come up with the riffs before playing, most of it manifested when I released the controls and didn't think about anything, sort of a silence between the thoughts situation. The core composition took roughly two years, but naturally it was an ongoing process until we entered the studio. Rol: We started when Siim left the band May 2013 and I think we fully finished composing it at the end of our Europe tour. We didn’t want to transfer any feelings, everything you hear or feel is how it should be, its a pure emotional mix and it doesn’t matter if the listener feels something totally different. I think you’ll get the full feeling of the song if you see us live because its just honest. And for me doom is kind of like blues, easy to play but hard to feel and without the feel there is no real music.
Do I get it right that your lyrics are in Estonian? Why did you choose your mother tongue to express Kannabinõid message? Rol: Taniel knows best why its so. Taniel: Unless you are Sleep people just don’t give a fuck about lyrics. Estonian sounds weird and unique and I like the way we are doing it. Jerl: I guess it once again just felt natural. What is the song “Matus” about? Taniel: About a man on acid. Rol: I’ll leave this part for Jerl Jerl: There's a deep and detailed narrative in my mind about the whole album, but it's an ambiance. The mind state during creation that doesn't always transfer verbatim so I feel it's better for everyone to allow themselves to reach that meditative fulcrum subjectively How do you promote the band? Do you care about promotion at all? Taniel: The best promotion is our music. If people like it, they will share it. We haven't really tried hard to get the word out there, just press-releases of our album, regular posting on social media etc. Jerl: I have this naive point of view where I feel things should happen naturally, so they'd retain the core essence and not get lost from sight in the fog and dust of trying to reach everyone everywhere so, aside from being true to the sonic worship and believing in yourself, touring and playing good shows is the best promotion. Rol: We do have Facebook and Instagram but we don’t really put any effort in promoting on these sites with the hashtags and what not. Golem Records released the album on vinyl; do you plan to see it also on CD? Taniel: No, not really. Jerl: No. Rol: NEVER !!! It took almost four years to record three songs; will you make your listeners wait for the next record a few more years? Rol: No idea how long it will take this time, or how we are going to do it. We’re just going with the flow. You need lots of different emotions and shit in your life for it to be real and honest, because if you play it on stage you have to feel the emotion that’s inside the song. Taniel: Quality over quantity. But really, no. I’m sure the next one will be out sooner. Jerl: We definitely won't delay anything intentionally. New material is already in the works. Words by Aleks Evdokimov and Kannabinõid
Infinite
Flux is the fresh psychedelic stoner doom outfit from Tacoma,
Washington. They started with the full-length self-titled album which
was released online on 2nd
January 2016.
Infinite
Flux is a bloody strong debut record, and if you dig into qualitative
psychedelic stuff then I bet that you already know it. Meanwhile,
it’s always good to take a look behind the curtain and learn more
about the band which grants such great phonic pleasure. And it’s
always better when each band’s member has something to say. So let
me introduce the whole Infinite Flux crew: John Kennedy (guitars,
vocals), Ryder Hoffman (drums), Dan Fierro (guitars) and Darren Chase
(bass, vocals). Gentlemen are already here in our virtual studio.
Hello
gents! I beg a pardon for that standard question, but I believe that
this one could be asked till the band has one album in stock. So here
we go - how was Infinite Flux formed?
John:
Zack Deckard and I got together in 2012 while we were both getting
out of the army. He was a killer drummer. A mutual friend got us
together and we clicked right away and started writing. Tony
Copeland joined us on bass and that was the beginning of being a
band. Zack had to leave the state soon after we had enough material
to play out, and Ryder Hoffman joined us on drums for about a month
before we played our first show.
John
what did the military service give you besides free meals and a lot of
time withthe fresh air? Didn’t it affect your musical taste?
John:
My time in Iraq definitely impacted the content as well as the scales
I dip into. Everything effects everything and that experience is a
part of me now.
Just one look at
album artwork and songs titles give a strong impression as it is
something semi mythical, semi fantastic. How did you work over this
concept? What's your message?
John:
Life is semi mystical and fantastic, as well as horrific and
terrible. I was dealing with a lot of issues while recovering from
the knee injury that got me out of the army, and a lot of the songs
on this reflect where my head was at during that time.
Ryder:
A lot of it has more than one meaning or is presented in an abstract
manner so that the listener can find their own meanings in it.
The album was released on 2nd of January and only in digital format, how could that be? Don't
major labels call you day and night asking to release it on gorgeous
vinyl?
Dan:
Actually, Devils Child Records is currently in the final stage of
bringing this to vinyl! It should be available at
http://www.devilschildrecords.bigcartel.com/ June 18th.
We plan to get CD’s and shirts up in their store as well. Major
label? Maybe not yet, but they are awesome to work with and are
putting out some killer music from us, Mos Generator, Year Of The
Cobra, Mammoth Salmon and a ton of other killer PNW bands.
The
album is solid yet diverse and dynamic, Infinite Flux shows its
individuality alongside some direct influences. What did tell you to
stop composing one day and just record these songs? How did you
understand that it is ready to be summoning in the mortal world?
John:
It was a function of the necessary planetary alignment.
Ryder:
You have to have calm to appreciate chaos, or maybe the other way
around. There is no point in yelling ALL the time. Our songs
continue to evolve and at no point do we really consider them done,
when we recorded with Tony Reed at Heavy Head, we wanted a snapshot
of what the band sounded like live at that moment.
Dan:
Once the groove of the songs flowed so that I personally didn't have
to think about it, just play in the moment, I knew it was ready to
record.
It
sounds like Infinite Flux is a sacred practice for you indeed, what
kind of feelings do you transfer through it? Is it an anger management
course or something more spiritual?
John:
This is difficult to answer as I don’t tend to quantify things in
that manner. On stage is definitely one of the few places where I
can exist completely in the moment. Everyone is on their own
spiritual journey and it can’t be learned, it has to be understood,
if you get my meaning. I try to steer away from telling people how
to approach their own experience. If they pick up what I am putting
down with my actions then they have understood, and there is no
further need to discuss it. As far as the anger management part.
Societal norms prohibit me screaming “I’ll bury you in graves of
ashes!” in normal public setting. That sort of behavior is frowned
upon. On stage I can do it and mean it and people cheer. So that is a
huge relief valve for sure.
Infinite Flux –
Solar Sacrifice
One of most striking
song of the album is “Solar Sacrifice”, it is most epic and
longest track on the album. What is the story of its creation? And
what is the song about?
John:
“Solar” was the first Flux song. Zak Deckard and I used to just
jam on those riffs when it was just the two of us. In it's initial
form, we'd jam it for hours. When Tony Copeland joined us on bass, it
got trimmed down and some of the parts were cut to make it into
something we could play live and not have it be our only song. When
we added Dan Fiero we were able to get some of the things I had
previously looped rewritten into new guitar parts. Sean Booth
replaced Tony on Bass and brought a very different sound to the bass
lines. That's really when the version on the album was born. Even
now, that song continues to evolve.
Ryder:
When I look out and see people in the audience, I can see people with
their eyes closed and they are deep into the groove where their body
is anchored in the room, subject to the sonic arc of guitars and
percussion but their mind is taking them somewhere else. “Solar”
interesting in that is has movements, it goes places.
Metal or rock bands
prefer darker stuff, for example I believe that some stuff about the
Moon could be more popular than this ritualistic story about the Sun.
What is the message of Infinite Flux?
John:
It’s all in the name.
What is the
connection between songs “Hangman” and “Guillotine”?
John:
Both are songs about executioners, one is a love song.
Just like that? Are
there any real stories behind both tracks?
John:
Not that I want to share, sorry.
Your music is
labeled as psychedelic doom stoner; is it necessary to have an
experience of any mind changing substances to dig it or is it
substantive phenomena?
Ryder:
No, music is a journey and you can get there in a lot of different
vehicles. It's like the Floyd song fearless. "I'll climb that
hill in my own way".
Darren:
Absolutely not but a little THC never hurt anybody!
John:
I don't think psychedelics are needed to put you mind into the
correct state, I haven't taken any psychedelics in decades, but I am
glad that I did. I was fortunate to have good experiences with it
and I think it helped me get to a place where I could be honest with
myself. You don't need psychedelics to establish self awareness and
understanding, but often those who are seeking to do so are drawn to
them. Where it comes through in the music is a function of how
committed we are to the riff. LSD or psilocybin often induce a state
where you feel like you are fully experiencing a thing, be it music
or a film or the tree in your back yard. Focus and concentration
narrow until the mind focus's on one thing to the exclusion of the
rest of existence. I try to get into that mindset when playing. Full
awareness with single minded focus. It doesn't always happen but I
think it comes across to the audience when it does.
What’s about
side-effects of psychedelic? Does it – subjectively - have some
like alcohol has? You know that’s funny thing that alcohol looks
like more destructive thing, but it’s legal stuff, as the drugs are
not.
John:
The big danger would be when people who have preexisting mental
conditions that may magnified by the hallucinogenic. Even then the
possibility exists that they could be used therapeutically, but I
would not want to see people like that taking it without the
supervision of people who really know what they are doing.
Your bandmate Darren
also plays in Ancient Warlocks, do you play anywhere else besides
Infinite Flux?
John:
Terrasone. I love being involved in that because while I do a lot of
the logistical side of things in Flux, there I just play guitar.
It's nice to not be the guy fronting it.
Darren:
I have another band just starting now. We'll be recording at Big
Sound Productions (Ancient Warlocks HQ) for the next three days.
There's no name yet but it is myself on guitar, a lady vocalist and
then the guitarist, bassist and drummer from Princess
www.facebook.com/princessismetal
I have also had the pleasure of sitting in with local improvisational
noise rockers Power Skeleton and I'm looking forward to any
opportunity to do it again! www.facebook.com/powerskeleton
One more thing about
Ancient Warlocks – how do you differ subjectively the efforts and
energy you put into it and Infinite Flux? What’s the difference for
you?
Darren:
I prefer to step back in Flux and be less in the spotlight. A of
people know me from Warlocks, but I don’t want that to be why they
listen to Flux. Both bands should stand on their own merits, and I
think they do.
Did you ever tour
together? And how do you usually organize your gigs?
John:
Not yet. We have one show this summer Darren will be pulling double
duty. We’ll see how that goes and figure it out from there.
As
both bands perform similar musical style, so isn't it Darren who
write most of the stuff? How do you share duties in Infinite Flux?
Darren:
I do lots of writing for AW and the new band but I've only
contributed a little to Infinite Flux. I've been in the band only
nine months at this point and this is also my first time playing bass
in a band. So I spend a lot of time practicing the album, the several
new songs and just trying to get the overall bass feel to be correct.
I'm quite proud to be involved with Flux and I definitely look
forward to contributing more as I get more comfortable in the band
and more comfortable with the instrument.
Ryder:
How do we write music? It may start with a riff or idea or rhythm and
then it turns into a process of feeling out where we want to take it
and what makes the song stronger, but we're never opposed to taking
things in new directions. We don't like to get too comfortable with
one way of looking at a song. Hence the name, INFINITE FLUX.
John:
We're stoked to have Darren's influence in what we are doing now, I'm
a huge fan of Ancient Warlocks and the pedal that Darren builds, the
Ape Blaster Fuzz, is dan's whole sound on the album, one of the new
songs "Black Dust" is all riffs that Darren brought in. The
album is a lot from me, but with touches of everyone who has been a
part of this since it began. I like to write as a group, but tend to
be the conductor so to speak.
Ryder:
We're flexible enough to where new material from whoever often
mutates within the context of the group into a new thing that is
different than the original idea.
John:
Yes, and we try to realize every idea, even if everyone isn't stoked
on it, until it's the way the person who came up with it wants it.
Only then do we decide if it's something to keep or not. I think
this is important because it brings out some stuff that might not
have gotten a fair shake on the first go round. Of course, some
times everyone plays it perfect and then it's obvious that it was a
bad idea. But it's important to try all the ideas!
How are you serious
about Infinite Flux? What are your ambitions?
John:
Being serious about your art and ambition are separate concepts. I
want to make music I love. If others dig it, that’s bonus. When
promoters try to appeal to our greed or desire to “make it” I
typically block them and move on to people who are into the art of
it.
Do you already have
a vision how next album will sound?
John:
We've got a few written for it and a lot more that has yet to reveal
itself.
Thank
you for the interview guys, I think that the best interviews happen
when all band’s members answer. So I think that we done a pretty
good job!
Just
a thank you to you as well. We’d do this if no one ever heard us at
all, but it certainly is gratifying to see the album spread across
the globe. We hope to get across the puddle at some point because
we’d love to meet everyone over there!
