Cybernetic Witch Cult Wants to Awaken Your Inner Ape
~Doomed & Stoned Debuts~
By Billy Goate
Ever stumbled upon an off-beat television show you just know your friends would love, if only they’d chance one episode? It’s tough having something so wonderfully strange in hand, without anyone to share all the hell-yeahs! That’s kind of how I felt when I first discovered CYBERNETIC WITCH CULT a few years back. The three Englanders quietly dropped Morlock Rock in 2015, with songs inspired by The Evil Dead and Star Wars. It didn’t take long for the band to endear itself to sci-fi and horror fans. By the time they hit the stage at Bloodstock, it was clear Cybernetic Witch Cult had garnered a fanatical following. Their rep has been mushrooming like a nebula ever since.
‘Spaceous Cretaceous’ (2016) was the next oddity to drop from the heavens. Despite splashing into a pool of formidable releases last spring, the trio bobbed right back up to the surface. I remember writing enthusiastically:
Believe me, these guys know how to have a good time – and if there’s anything we could use more of in these final days of our demise, it is the fun factor! A Cybernetic Witch Cult chorus would surely prompt Red Fang to raise a Pabst in salute.
Now that they’ve officially revived my boyhood excitement of hearing heavy metal for the first time, Cybernetic Witch Cult are going back to the roots of the first album. Their goal is simple: to resurrect what “makes rock and metal enjoyable in the first place.” Emphasis on the riffs…and the groovy doom…oh, and lots more of that mysterious dark matter called fun.
The forthcoming ‘Troglodithic Trip’ (2017) takes us deeper into the strange, with two brand new songs and four reimaginings of earlier tracks from Morlock Rock. One of the main motivators for the latter, besides giving those originals a freshly energetic take (Freefall Recordings in Cornwall did a tremendous job on the sonics), was to let Cybernetic Witch Cult show off the powers of new drummer Lewis May.
Indeed, his star shines bright from the word go, especially in the wicked “Tyrannosaurus Hex,” a song that makes me want to take to the dance floor immediately and bounce 'till my nostrils bleed.
Others like “Cult of the Druid” (premiered by The Obelisk just last month) let us know just how wickedly the beast can snarl when the full rhythmic section is engaged. Kale Deane is really kickin’ it with the bass, right in sync with May’s perpetual motion, and Alex Wyld is, well, going wild with some incredible laser fire leads.
“Forbidden Fruit” is a real fist-raiser, beginning with a stomping native beat that introduces another one of those trademark choruses that’s nigh impossible to resist singing by the second pass. Keep up anthemic tracks like this, Cybernetic Witch Cult, and you just might bring back arena metal singlehandedly.
And now, we’ve kept you waiting long enough. On New Release Tuesday, Doomed & Stoned presents this savage new music video for “Human,” the third track from Troglodithic Trip. We open to characteristic alarm of Dr. McCoy exclaiming, “Spock, you’re reverting into your own ancestors five thousand years before you were born!” What would happen if a Planet of the Apes scenario were to actually go down? “Human” is a song “debating consciousness and the evolution of man,” the band tells us.
Am I man or am I ape?
Homo simian sapien fate?
Did I dream up the human race?
As Alex and the band plays with this existential quandary, the band morphs into the very thing it fears. All options on the table, Cybernetic Witch Cult proclaims: “I wish to be human!”
Aimee Wyld returns to document the insanity in the wonderfully disturbing album art, which makes us feel like we’re caught between dimensions, pummeled by sonic asteroids from these three mischievous ruckus raisers. Troglodithic Trip releases May 4th in CD and digital formats and can be pre-ordered here
Cities of Mars Reveal
Cover Art for Celestial Mistress
This is Nadia, our “current day” heroine, who lands on Mars in 1971 and discovers the ancient civilization. The Third Eye from the August single is a “Nadia-song”, while Cyclopean Ritual is based on more ancient events. The guy behind is, well, not official yet, he is however slowly appearing in the title track. He is about to be brought to life more in detail on upcoming songs.
The title track is a three-piece song, “Celestial Mistress: Worlds Collide/Gardens of Bahb-Elon/Return of the Witch.” The other two songs, “Beneath a Burning Sun” and “Gaze of Leviathan” are also included in the lower part of the poster. “Gaze” takes place right after the events of The “Third Eye,” and just before the events of Celestial. Beneath is another “older” piece that has become a staple of the band’s repertoire.
This is all crystal clear, right? Well, Gothenburg’s CITIES OF MARS are having one hell of a good time blending visual concept art with sci-fi inspired psychedelic, fuzzed-out doom to match
The saga will unfold along two major tracks - one being the events that occur when Nadia lands and finds herself caught up in this mess of a slumbering ancient civilization brought to life, and how she deals with a conspiracy that dates back for millennia. The other track will consist of a medley of songs based on major events throughout the 9000 years (thus far Cyclopean Ritual and Beneath a burning sun).
The artwork (of which you’re seeing just part) by Gothenburg-based illustrator Axel Widén will be a two-piece affair - imagine a 10" gatefold record folded out downwards (also available as a poster).
“Yes, we know it’s geeky as fuck,” bassist Danne Palm told Doomed & Stoned. “But we also love the concept to death, most fun I’ve ever had in a band.”
The producer for Celestial Mistress is Esben Willems of Monolord and Berserk Audio, and the record will be released via Gothenburg-based label Suicide Records later this month! Stay tuned for details…
The Return of Slabdragger!
Over the weekend, the first track was revealed from the new album by legendary London ground-shakers SLABDRAGGER. A boisterously heavy number, titled “Evacuate!” it is the one of five tracks that make up'Rise Of The Dawncrusher’ (2016), officially releasing February 24th.
Here’s some background for your reading delight:
Three years in the making and almost five years on from their debut album ‘Regress,’ Slabdragger are finally back with ‘Rise of the Dawncrusher’ (releasing February 24th). Between drummer changes, recording difficulties, collapsed lungs and other personal problems, this is a record that has (slowly) come kicking and screaming into existence.
Has it been worth the wait? Well – when have Slabdragger ever let you down? Containing four sprawling, epic tracks of ever-innovative, cosmic doom/stoner/sludge, as well as the urgent, frantic 4-minute ‘Evacuate!’ - this record clocks in at over an hour and truly feels like the journey it portrays. Rise of the Dawncrusher is a sci-fi adventure set in the distant future and you should expect more than a few elaborate twists and turns that will leave Regress behind with space debris in its wake.
Recorded and mixed at The Cro’s Nest Studio by their very own six string strangler and gravelly growler Sam Thredder, mastered by the total dude that is Steve Austin of Today Is The Day, the album will be wrapped in some incredibly epic cover art by comic artist and writer Jimmy Pearson. This combination makes for a total immersive experience in fantastical heaviosity.
Fall Favs: ‘Ancient of Days’ by Spelljammer
By Gram “Son of Sam” Pola (D&S Australia)
Have you ever read any books by Ouspenksy and Gurdjieff?*
Have you ever sat cross legged, directly across from someone and stared without blinking into their eyes for as long as you could?
The room starts to fade into the background after a minute or two and then suddenly their face melts away and slowly morphs into an older version of themselves, a younger version of themselves, or someone else entirely.
This actually works (you should try it). What I can’t vouch for is that the faces you see are, in fact, the past lives of the person sitting across from you (which is what I was told when I first tried this exercise).
One further thought: if this past lives thing were to actually go down, what would the perfect record be playing in the background? (You can decide whether to include your Mother or not, that’s none of my business.) Anyone who said “Spelljammer!” go straight to the top of the doom class, ‘cause like me, you are surely under the impression that “Aun’s Mountain,“ the opening track off Spelljammer’s sophomore record, samples Jodorowsky’s movie 'Holy Mountain’ (1973).
Spelljammer started life off with more of a stoner bent to their shtick. Inches From The Sun (2010) was good, just seemed a bit thin. Touching distance to greatness, but not actually sitting on top of “Aun’s Mountain,” if you know what I mean. Then something changed and the band went 100% “El Topo.” Which is to say, out on their own - standing out from the pack like a mole.
With their subsequent release II (2012), Spelljammer where suddenly this beast of a thing that had more to with bands like Conan, Yob, and Electric wizard. Now let me tell you, if a band can remind you of those three and still sound unique, they are on to something worth taking notice of.
The vocals have a pinch of Conan, the song structures a touch of post-rock. However, what makes it all pull together for me are the solos and the fact the Stockholm trio will change gear and have more retro elements married into modern form.
In short, Spelljammer haven’t forgotten the Stooges and Jimi Hendrix. They have those solos where they feather the wah pedal. Going sort of all-gonzo on the wah like the Stooges is a must-do in my book. I don’t consider a band any good unless they have at least one wah-drenched solo! Goya, Witchskull, and Electric Wizard are all over that shit and so are Spelljammer. I dig it. That’s the buzz.
So where are they now on this Seer’s visionary quest to find musical nirvana?
Well, you pick up the new record and the sleeve looks like the Gaspar Noe poster for an imagined remake of '2001: A Space Odyssey’ (1968). That should actually happen. Hello, Hollywood? Oh wait, he already did. It’s called 'Entering the Void’ (2009).
You flip it over and notice that the band has changed. Two out, one in. They are now a trio, comprised of Robert Sörling, Niklas Olsson, and Jonatan Rimsbo. How will the new configuration affect the vision?
When that needle hits the groove, the first thing you notice is the riffs are still killer. The sound if anything is even bigger than before. The engineering was handled by Christoffer Zakrisson and his deft mixing of the band really caught the tension and monster payoffs that Nik and Robert’s big amps and carefully crafted song writing delivers. Now, if you don’t believe what I have just told you, well just listen to the final track “Borlung” and at around five-and-a-half-minutes, the riff they drop is a real atom smasher. That will inform you of everything that is good about this record…and then some!
As I listened to Ancient of Days (2015 - Riding Easy Records), I couldn’t help but search for clues about what Scandinavians were thinking when they composed songs called “Meadow” and “Laelia.” Ok, I have to admit something here: as a child I was a regular little Gerald Durrell. I had birds, fish, and orchids. So I know that "Laelia” is an orchid, an epiphyte - which means it grows on another plant, sort of like a leech. Hell, as an Australian I am even privy to the fact that Borlung is an Aboriginal name for the Rainbow Serpent. The Great Creator that cut the rivers into the earth in The Dreamtime. I read the book in kindergarten, but I am Australian. What the hell do Swedish dudes know about it? I could wonder all day, but that’s not my style. Let’s just ask the band.
I messaged Spelljammer and, sure enough, Nik and Robert are up, despite it being two o'clock in the morning in Sweden. Big tick in the Sweden rocks harder column! What happened next was a rare and honest insight into the creation of art, Swedish style.
Gram: The last record opened up with a real occult vibe and the Jodorowsky sample from 'Holy Mountain.’ As a listener, you knew what trip the band was talking you on. What inspired the Spelljammer’s new record, Ancient of Days?
Nik: Musically, the influences were pretty much the same as for Vol 2. Certain bands like Melvins, Sleep, Acid King, for example, are lodged firmly in the brain and I guess, on some level, the music we make is a product of those influences, but you try to make it your own. I guess that’s how most music is done. Lyrically, parts of it were inspired by the poem “Aniara” by Harry Martinson.
Gram: “Aniara” is a science fiction poem about humans colonizing outer space. So does the new record have an overriding theme about man’s journey into the unknown?
Nik: No, I wouldn’t say it is an overriding theme. At least it wasn’t intended as a concept album.
Gram: Also, the band had a dramatic change in personnel, a kind of rebirth, much like the degradation of the planet that triggered the evacuation from Earth in “Aniara.” Does this story relate to Spelljammer in the sense that when the ship is knocked off course, the colonists’ fate is unknown, much like Spelljammer’s future was unknown in 2013 when just half the band was left?
Nik: (laughs) Wouldn’t that be a fitting metaphor. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t be true - at least not on a conscious level. And we’re still in control of our course, unlike the crew of that doomed spaceship.
Gram: (laughs) Well, the quality of the new record is incredible, a much better ending than “Aniara.” Thank you for opening my eyes to such an incredible piece of Scandinavian literature. I feel like the record is a journey, although not it’s not, as you say, specifically a concept record. Could you give us a brief comment on each track and its inspiration?
Nik: Thank you! Well, I can only tell you about the parts that I did. Also, when we write songs, the lyrics always come later on, so the influence for the music will often be something different than the lyrics. That’s fine. I wrote the lyrics for "Borlung,” but the music is all Robert. So was “Laelia.”
Gram: I imagined the record as a great expedition through space and time: “Meadow,” the first track, as an analogy for Earth. I imagined “Borlung” as a planet you arrived on. However, here in Australia, Borlung is like a native aboriginal rainbow serpent and very important to The Dreamtime mythos and something powerful to Miali tribe who refer to the serpent by this name.
Nik: I don’t want to reveal all. You’re in Oz?
Gram: Yep.
Nike: Ah, cool. Love Australia!
Gram: Yeah, Australian and Sweden have a special bond. Would you be able to give us a track-by-track breakdown of your musical influences?
Nik: Ok, maybe. I may have to get Rob’s thoughts on some of the songs?
Gram: Let’s do this!
Track By Track:
Nik & Robert Unpack Spelljammer’s ‘Ancient of Days’
Track 1: “Meadow”
The opening part of “Meadow” was written way back and I remember wanting to do something like “Hung Bunny” by Melvins. Not a riff that sounded like it, but rather capture the same feeling by having just guitars creating a massive wall of sound and feedback. I fought off the suggestion of having the whole band play that part. I guess it was sort of a compromise that the bass and drums show up just here and there. For the longest time, "Meadow” was meant to be an instrumental track, partly because I had a really hard time hearing any sort of song melody, but also because we thought it’d be cool to do this massive beast of a track that was instrumental. (Nik)
Track 2: “Laelia”
From what I remember, at first “Laelia” was not intended as an acoustic interlude. That riff just came to me and all I had was my acoustic guitar and my iPhone, so I recorded it there and then. I really wanted to try it full-scale with the whole band, but there was something about that iPhone-recording that we really dug, so I made a proper recording of it and that’s the version that is on the album. (Robert)
Track 3: “From Slumber”
“From Slumber” initially grew out of “Meadow.” The main riff was actually an outro riff on that song. I guess we just thought it was too good to not let it be a song on its own. In an earlier version of "From Slumber,” the track ended abruptly after the full on assault of the second verse, an idea that came from a Tomahawk song called “Capt. Midnight.” Both Robert and I are big fans of Mike Patton. We ended up abandoning that idea. Yet somehow, we’ve still seen comments on the song being too short. (Nik)
Track 3: “The Pathfinder”
The first song to emerge from the new writing session was “The Pathfinder.” This was back in the fall of 2013 and I can’t really remember where it came from. I think we just started to build from a riff that I had that sounded a lot different than it does on the finished album. It was way slower. This one did not come easy. At one point, we weren’t sure where to go with it or if we should finish it at all. We tried playing it faster and it just felt better. Those earlier versions are really cool in their own way, but we’re still glad we took it in this direction. (Nik)
Track 3: “Borlung”
”Borlung” was actually inspired by “Thumb,“ the opening of Blues for the Red Sun (2012) by Kyuss. There’s this guitar that sounds almost like a loop of an airplane flying by before the opening riff kicks in, and I wanted to make a doomier version of that vibe. I think the whole thing was written and arranged in one afternoon, which is light speed in Spelljammerland. (laughs) Anyway, it’s one of my favorite songs to play live; you can really lose yourself in the last part of it. (Robert)
Final Wrap
So there it is: Nik and Robert, the creative force that is Spelljammer stepping you through their musical inspirations of the new record Ancient of days. Much thanks to the band for putting themselves out there so bravely to talk about the creative experience. My appreciation for them and their music grew so much deeper through knowledge of their musical passions and inspirations. They are just like us, but a lot better at song writing!
My feelings about the record are that it’s another powerful statement in a building oeuvre belonging to a band of great substance - so good that on first hearing, I went and ordered the diehard from RidingEasy Records, which cost like a whole day’s pay in Australia. Yeah, that’s how much I liked it. When was the last time you spent a day’s pay on a record? Exactly. Now go and put that guilt to good use and buy the record, I did!
Footnotes
* Gurdjieff and Ouspenksy are the two greatest teachers to awaken the consciousness using "the fourth way,” as opposed to the methods used by a fakir, Monk or Yogi.
Portland Weird: New Song Drops by SPACE GOD RITUAL
Doomed & Stoned is thrilled to be able to bring you the first single from a brand new album (that’s right, a full-length) by Portland’s sci-fi-horror doom adventurers: SPACE GOD RITUAL! Over a year in the making, the four-piece band will release the fruit of their labor on November 10th.
“After having spent sanity draining months in Carcosa, after reading the pages of the fabled Necronomicon and after spending weeks, studying the Cultes De Ghoules in the Miskatonic University Library. Space God Ritual have managed to collect enough material to record their sophomore release!”
I’ll be interviewing Space God Ritual later this month and sharing even more strange and twisted stories of the unknown with you, so you’ve got that to look forward to. OH! And how awesome is that artwork by Portugal’s Zé Burnay?
Another great new album to audit this weekend, the one-man progressive drone project, BLACKWOLFGOAT. Darryl Shepard is the mastermind behind this one—you may recognize him from his roles as guitarist in Black Pyramid, The Scimitar, Roadsaw, and others. This is now the third release by BLACKWOLFGOAT and it’s a joy for amp worship aficionados. The album is humorously titled ‘Drone Maintenance’ (2014 - Small Stone Recordings), follow-up to 2010’s Dragonwizardsleeve and 2011’s Dronolith. As an aside, I’m having to add a lot of new words to my computer’s dictionary today!
To the press release: “A quasi-concept album, the ten-track Drone Maintenance sends Shepard into the future as a drone repairman, fixing and servicing rogue drones. Musically, BLACKWOLFGOAT’s palette has been expanded to include acoustic guitar and judiciously applied vocal parts, but the main focus remains the electric guitar itself — without any other instrumentation or ulterior motives, and frequently captured live in one take with minimal overdubs of carefully considered embellishments added to the base layer.
“Inspired by early-‘70s fusion, Krautrock, (Randy Holden’s Population II) and suffocating doom, each song could serve as a soundtrack for an as-yet-unrealized film, yet they stand on their own and transduce their own moods. Drone Maintenance urges listeners to leave all preconceptions of traditional music at the door and take an audio journey to places both bathed in sunlight and cloaked in darkness.”
Please enjoy, with the compliments of this blogger ;)
-BillyGoat-
Artwork by Alexander von Wieding
Over the weekend, I shared the brand new album Gyromancer (2014) by Oregon’s adventurous doomers FELLWOODS. If you haven’t heard their 2011 debut, Wulfram (2011), mein gott are you gonna love me for introducing you. Think of a cross between Kadavar and Sleep…jettisoned into outer space.
-BillyGoat-
p.s. Fellwoods has been added to our Doomed & Stoned in Portland compilation, now at 62 bands and available por nada.
From the year 2037 comes the latest release of extra-dimensional progressive psych-rock by Portland, Oregon four-piece FELLWOODS. Ensconced in the doom-stoner tradition, yet reaching forward into the future, giving us a glimpse of the kind of jams we’ll perhaps all be playing together aboard spaceships destined for Earth II on the long trek across the galaxy.
‘Gyromancer by Fellwoodsis “a tale of world-ending catastrophe, united planetary construction efforts, undiscovered space dimensions and magic!” Stream all four tracks of the new album now, with the “name your own price” download option at the band’s Bandcamp page. While there, take a listen to the previous Fellwoods releases and if you dig ‘em, throw your support behind the band.
-BillyGoat-
D&S Interviews: BEASTWARS!
Recently, I had a chance to trade words with guitarist Clayton Anderson of the gritty Wellington, New Zealand riff machine, BEASTWARS. Recently, the band released both of their freshmen and sophomore albums on vinyl, and you can download them digitally for a limited time at no cost here. The band’s music videos are especially a treat to watch, exploring themes of magic, struggle, and victory in distant galaxies, and I’ll be sharing them throughout the interview (including their BRAND NEW music video, “Rivermen”). Clayton also shares the latest news on the band’s forthcoming album. -BG-
BillyGoat: Human beings share this universal fear and fascination with apocalypse. It’s imbedded in religion, of course, and has been for centuries. With the advent of the comic book, radio, and television these visions were brought strikingly to the light of the imagination. In recent decades, metal has found a place as apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic storytellers. What got Beastwars interested in this theme?
Clayton: Interesting question and I’d say both our albums have very, dare I say, “foreboding” apocalyptic themes in them. I think our sub-conscience affects us a lot when writing our songs. We never directly go out to write a song about doom and gloom - we don’t say, “Yeah, lets write a song about Benghazi or what’s happening in the Ukraine.” It’s more like all of us have this unsettling understanding that, to steal a famous 80s movie quote, “We’re on an express elevator to hell going down!” I don’t want to speak for the rest of the band members, especially the ones who have kids, but I know we’re fucked (that’s the world, not the band). The tipping point was a while back and now the 0.1% are making the most of it before they scurry off into their underground bunkers. But it comes back to the riff; and we know when we’re onto a good apocalyptic riff. You just can’t do too many of them or you’ll start turning up in coroners reports!
BillyGoat: Will the new record continue to touch upon themes similar to the ones that Beastwars (2011) and Blood Becomes Fire (2013) explored?
Clayton: Yes. We were always planning on doing a trilogy with Nick Keller and possibly with Dale Cotton (the engineer/co-producer for first two). Certainly the artwork is part of the trilogy. Maybe I’m jumping ahead of us, but it was all about the trilogy. We’re not getting any younger. We have no grand ideas about conquering the world, we’re too old.. what we do want to do is write great music. Our main goal to make sure this third album exceeds our own and every fans expectation. That’s the goal.
BillyGoat: Who’s doing the cover art?
Clayton: There can be only one - Nick Keller. Nick has done a great job of bringing to life our aural vision. It’s a real buzz to give Nick our demos and then sit down and chew the fat with him (usually over hard liquor and craft beers) and start the seed of a grand idea.
BillyGoat: What personally inspires you these days? Any movies, books, art that light your creative buzz?
Clayton: There’s four diverse spazzos that make up this band so each and everyone’s inspiration combines to make the grand noise of Beastwars. I have to say I always go back to the past when starting to write a new album. Listening to all sorts for some type of inspiration. Gearing up for writing our new album I’ve been listening to: early Ozzy and especially the different guitarists who worked with him - Randy, Zack and Jake E Lee (I don’t know why, because I’m not a shredder, but love listening to these guys play); The Pixies - I’ve always been a fan but just started reading a bio so been revisiting them and finding some old bootlegs on the internet; The Birthday Party - I had a birthday party revival before recording Blood Becomes Fire. I don’t know why I come back to them but I suppose it’s the rabble element that appeals. Beastwars has always had a bit of rabble in it, so these guys will always appeal.
BillyGoat: Many of our readers will have never been to New Zealand upon reading this. How receptive are local audiences to your dirty, take-no-prisoners sound, especially now that they’ve come to terms with the fact that you’re not going away?
Clayton: We just played a gig last week in Christchurch, our first in three months (and we’re a Wellington band). It was crazy! 250 hot, sweaty, dancing kids. It was such an uplifting experience. Being NZ you can’t play all the time though, it’s just too small.
BillyGoat: You guys have been playing together now for what a decade now? What’s the biggest change you’ve seen in the band, as you compare now with the early days?
Clayton: That we actually have to take things a bit more seriously. This band started off as a mid-week jam band. We’re honestly surprised and humbled at the reaction we’ve go from people all over the world. It gives us such a kick, and still bewilders us, that we’ve got fans in all corners of the world. And that only creates more of a desire to write great songs and riffs.
BillyGoat: I’m assuming a tour is in the works. The only question that remains is how far and how wide will you be travelling this go-around? I’m from the Portland, Oregon region of the US. Will you be getting this far?
Clayton: Ha! We so want to tour the States and Europe. It will happen. It will.
BillyGoat: Sweet! I’ll hold you guys to that.
It occurred to me that I haven’t shared this remarkable album with my Tumblr friends yet. The band is SLOMATICS, a slow ‘n’ heavy trio from Belfast, Ireland. Estron represents their very best effort to date (and everything they’ve touched so far has turned to gold). It’s a brilliant, sci-fi adventure through the nether-reaches. Rarely has an album engaged my imagination and sense of adventure like this one. A true accomplishment and genuine competitor for Album of the Year.
No Son of Mine is the debut album by Dirt Wizard of Peoria, Illinois.