Djiin – Mirrors Klonosphere / Season of Mist – 2024 Progressive, Psychedelic, Doom Rated: Stevie does not rate
French Progressive Doomsters Djiin surpass all their previous works with 'Mirrors' : An epic, transient journey encompassing Progressive, Doom and Post-Metal aesthetics that sees the band at their most inventive and challenging to date! Opening with "Fish", a strident rock-out with a distinct Stoner flavour, sets the tone for the rest of the album. The captivating voice of Chloe Panhaleux is the conduit for the band's hypnotic, progressive musings. Title track "Mirrors" moves through myriad time-twists revolving around guitarist Tom Penaguin's inimitable style, at times reminiscent of Steve Howe. Following along comes "(in the aura of my own) Sadness", which slows the pace to a more intricate almost Avant-Prog bent meandering and beautiful before bursting into a powerful mid-section which again highlights Penaguin's versatility and the tight backing of bassist Charlelie Pailhas and percussionist Allan Guyomard. "Blind" sees the band adopt a darker, more Doomy approach: a brooding slow-burner replete with stop-start rhythmic cadences and brash, abrasive vocals. "Iron Monsters" is the epic closer: A 13-minute excursion into heavy Progressive Rock that acts as a tour-de-force for all of the members to showcase their skill and unity. Overall, "Mirrors" delivers a fresh, modern take on Prog which incorporates different styles and genres with mind-bending ease!
Gooooood Morning Heavy Underground! It’s been one of those weeks again… What looked like a very nice week to HiVe, it soon turned out to be hectic. Deadlines, sudden interviews and all sorts of other stuff. And later today we’re off to Amsterdam to write something about that Tool band that’s supposed to be playing there. But we did manage to do some HiVe work, and looking at the amount of posts, I guess it’s not too shabby. Many on the list of Most Listened last week were featured. But we also posted about that new swirling The Swell Fellas single: The Drain. The Vitskär Süden single R’lyeh, which was topped by the full album review of course on Saturday. We mentioned the new Birdstone single, The Devilis something else, can’t wait for the full album to arrive. Let’s not forget we were honored to do another FULL ALBUM PREMIERE, this time for Kayleth’s awesome New Babylon. Which is out now on Argonauta Records! And last but certainly not least, for it’s a stunning new record: the new Tricklebolt! Honey From The Sky is bluesy, soulful, classic rock, featuring an all-star cast of the Dutch rock scene! Check’m out! Check’m all out!
Vitskär Süden – Vessel Ripple Music – 2024 Rock, Prog, Psych Rated: *****
They’re out there. The originals. The outsiders. The ones that will forever and always follow their own path. Damn the consequences. The cats that captain the Vitskär Süden tattered sails and barnacled ship, belong to that category. For if you’ve listened to their self-titled debut album and follow-up record The Faceless King, you could have easily imagined them going forth on soundtracking the fantasy world they’ve created in the dark progressive, dungeon noir sensory rich type of music they produced for those amazing two albums. But you can guess where that intro (and very long sentence) is leading up to. Here’s that obvious statement: the new album Vessel did not go that route. The fearful intensity of the songs turn the new Vessel record almost Biblical at times, horror themed, not in the hell-fire flashing before your eyes fashion, but in a dread below the placid water kind of way. H.P. Lovecraft to waltz with and move romantically through your magical hallucination. And where those earlier albums were full of imagery that were trust upon you, landscapes to traverse and to get familiar with, the new Vessel record feels like it’s meant to stay hazy, veiled and almost beyond your reach. Like that fabled veil that can only be lifted through dreams or death. And all that heaviness you might feel is offset by shining, at time almost lighter then air or exalted vocals, and thoughtful progressive compositions. The gradual procession steers towards pious ceremony, emotive and almost bursting with gravitas. There is so much space within each track, that you can hear every instrument breathe and place itself in context to where the song is leading you. Added touches of violin and cello in certain songs or the sheer amount of synth and piano offer up extremely rich instrumentation, without ever sounding cluttered. Cause we cannot state this enough, Vessel is wide, vast and open source progressive rock, there for you to fill in with your imagination. There’s no shortage in glorious moments, but it is the overall and total experience that is most captivating. There is a deliberate movement from each track into the next, and the full forty minutes of Vessel is the carrier that will whisk you away into the Vitskär Süden dream sequence.
We loved their Novaturia album. (Review HERE) And we are entirely giddy for their new Residuum Unknown record to arrive on July 19th. But as Desert Bloom PR told us, there is a new single and video out for that album. That’s right The Drain is the wild new The Swell Fellas single and video coming at you from every angle conceivable. A brilliant video by Arturo Baston (Bass-tone) and The Swell Fellas in exceptional form! Seven and a half minutes of jam and progressive heaviness that feels as fierce as it does free! Check out The Drain and get sucked in by its wildness!
You just watched that awesome video for their new single Pyramids! Right? And we jotted down a few words about this wonderful new Kayleth album just a day ago. Which you read of course… If not, you can read what we’re loving about the New Babylon record right HERE. Grin… But it’s wiser to just press play, cause there will be no other album coming out this year that manages to translate heroism into music this well. Out on Argonauta Records on Friday the 24th, the Kayleth five have taken their stoner metal sound, infused it with even more space rock elements and grunge and will take YOU with them on an adventure on a distant planet. Yes, the story continues and New Babylon is the next chapter for the Kayleth saga!
"It has now been four years since our return to earth in "2020 back to earth". There we had found a cold and inhospitable place, humanity was inexorably channeled on the path to extinction. We therefore decided to flee immediately in search of another planet where we could dwell. We therefore came to New Babylon, a planet inhabited by humanoids but also by monstrous and ravenous creatures. There are "giants" that march about raising immense clouds of dust, stealing and plundering everything from people. Giants much like our corporations, they know no defeat and have no weaknesses, at least apparent ones. There are old warriors like Jarek who wait for war to feel like heroes, to feel alive. They find their dimension within the battle, where the line between hero and assassin magically blurs. There are pyramids erected by men who think they are gods and turn the things life gives them into weapons and death, changing their use and meaning. Little men who think themselves omnipotent, burying knowledge of how life works under piles of lies. We find a myriad of slaves, surrendered to live in huge troughs. They toil at nothing and find meaning in nothing. They prefer a convenient lie to an inconvenient truth. In short, we realize that we have arrived in a world very much like Earth. We are aliens but in a certain way we feel at home. We want to know, to understand, to evolve. We don't recognize ourselves in this deceived humanity, we don't give in, we believe. Nature, life is wonderful but when one thing loses its usefulness life gently explains to it that it is time to make room for something else. This existence has already explained to the dinosaurs. Kayleth continues their journey, never stopping because who seeks will find itself."
The official music video, 'The Night,' is available on Argonauta Records' official YouTube channel.
Album tracklisting:
1. The Throne 2. The Night 3. Giants’ March 4. Weak Heart 5. Megalodon 6. New Babylon’s Wall 7. We Are Aliens 8. Cyber Slaves 9. Pyramids
Kayleth were born in Verona in 2005 and their sound is inspired by the stoner/desert rock of Kyuss, Monster Magnet and 37005 with space influences. Their gigs capture with space sounds, doom and psychedelic breaks and this permits band to share the stage with OJM, Deville, Bud Spencer Blues Explosion, Verdena, Naam, Spiral Arms, Scorpion Child and Stoned Jesus. A new element and his synthesizer arrived on 2013 so Kayleth started to explore new sounds approaching space/psychedelic landscapes and record the new full-length "Space Muffin" released in 2015 by Argonauta Records. In June 2017, the American label Ripple Music included songs from EP "The Survivor" and the unpublished "Magneta" in the vinyl split "Second Coming of Heavy Chapter 6". After the great success of "Space Muffin", the extended version "Rusty Edition" with songs of the EP "Rusty Gold" has been published in July 2017. The band has published "Colossus" album in 2018 and "2020 Back to Earth" in 2020. Both were very well greeted by critics and audiences, with excellent reviews by music magazines.
It’s Kayleth Thursday!! And we shall be with you with the FULL ALBUM PREMIERE for the new Kayleth album in one hot minute! Did you read the review yet? If not, go HERE! But first, we give you the premiere for this extremely hot new video, for the new single, the final track of the New Babylon album called: Pyramids! Hot, because of the sun baked ruins in the background and yes, hot because of that lovely female protagonist in the clip. And seriously hot because it’s that closing album track Pyramids! We get to bring you all of that, and it’s hot! Resting comfortably in that doom touched stoner tempo, propelled by the vocals after that opening section, a break down and then another vocalized propellant, before going full force into speed metal territory, while the synth goes absolute batshit crazy. What a closer! What an album! Did we mention it's hot yet?
Quantum – Down The Mountainside Black Lodge – 2024 Metal, Prog, Math, Jazz Rated: ****
For many of us heavy rock fiends, we only need to hear ‘Sweden’ and our ears will immediately prick up. Add to that genres like ‘progressive’ and ‘metal’ and you know we will be in for a good ride! A ride Down The Mountainside as the debut album by Swedish quartet Quantum is called. A debut album by these four, even though the band started back in 2016. Ever since that time it has existed mostly as a live project, honing their craft and polishing the songs they produced. Which is clearly audible on their debut studio effort. And if you open your debut album with a track called The HiVemind and The Cockroach, you know will give ear and write up! Down The Mountainside brings you eight tracks that are all definite prog metal, with overtures of prog rock, jazz and fusion infused and with a definite mathrock edge. This all leads to something highly evolved and multifaceted, yet entirely comprehensible. The switches in tempo and melody are legion, often immediately overwritten by lovely guitar solos and soaring melodies. Great vocal parts, harmonized choirs, a few biting snarls and often captivating singing. The crisp production and sharp mix leave nothing to want. The Last Stone end this forty-five minute run through the Quantum landscape in brilliant form, showing you every color that came before. This is one hell of a crackling debut!
We saw it arrive through Shake Promotion and immediately fell in love with this bluesy rocker and the jazz age video. We’re talking about the first single The Devil by French trio Birdstone, which will be featured on their new album The Great Anticipation, coming out June 14th on La Cage. Bluesy and soulful, but equally powerful and imploring a bit of that stoner trucking to propel the track forward or let it speed through the scenery. It has everything you could fall in love with… In love with The Devil!
From the PR Wire:
French heavy rock/blues trio BIRDSTONE unleash details on their upcoming album 'The Great Anticipation' - out June 14th via La Cage. They also reveal the brilliant new track "The Devil". Follow the golden dust...
BIRDSTONE unite the soulful energy of blues with the power and richness of heavy rock. Combining arid melancholy and sticky riffs, the shining three-piece move with disconcerting ease between ethereal atmospheres, dramatic tensions and impetuous climaxes. Their new record 'The Great Anticipation' draws inspiration from blues, soul and rock music with this precision and determination of theirs, in the vein of bands like The Black Angels, Greenleaf or The Devil and the Almighty Blues. New extract “The Devil'' represents evil as a saving force. A cappella bluegrass-infused introduction opens an intense song. Watch previous videos "Hotline" and "Méandres".
BIRDSTONE comment about their new track: " "The Devil" - third and final single from Birdstone's new chapter - carries on the salvific creative momentum inaugurated by the release of "Hotline" on November 17th, followed by "Méandres" on March 1st, 2024. Written and recorded in a few days only, "The Devil" illustrates the impulsive need to compose that animated the conception of this new opus. What if the devil were to offer to stay by your side? "The Devil" takes a fresh look at the pact; the evil is represented here as a saving force. There are no contracts on offer, just a promise of emancipation and rebellion."
Kayleth – New Babylon Argonauta Records - 2024 Metal, Stoner, Grunge, Prog Rated: ****
We’ve been listening to Kayleth a lot ever since their 2018 Colossus release. And of course we travelled back into their discography after we heard that damn fine album and kept going forward with them, diving headfirst into their amazing 2020 Back To Earth release. But we realized, to our horror, that we never got around to writing a few words about that awesome album. Luckily for us, the stalwarts of the Argonauta Records stable, are already back with a new one called New Babylon. It continues the Kayleth story, the tale spun throughout the records and their glorious take on stoner metal. Glorious for sure, heroic even. Especially when listening to second track and first single The Night, which starts of weirdly like the alternative metal of the two-thousands, before gripping that melody and twisting it into a grunge metal builder. Rising and rising, till the vocals keep repeating that exhaling ‘aahs’ and the louder ‘wooahs’ and all that wonderful key work is allowed to carry it all home. Your chest will rise and your fists will be ready! You shall not lay down; you will be a new knight! Yes! On this album the Italian five manage to translate heroism into wild and wonderful sounds, often sounding even more like a grungier, metal version of Monster Magnet, mixed with mix a definitive love for Kyuss, Orange Goblin and a prog rock outfit like Riverside. All thanks to the ever growing synth moments on the album. They make the heavy sound weighty and give weight to all their heaviness. But at the same time they implore that melodic and spacey touch with such grace, that you cannot help but ride those grooves all the way to the end. Just listen to the following Giants March and the way that synth work in the beginning signals the prog that will surely arrive. Cemented by that gliding guitar sound, the slow continuation, into more stoner territory, it’s exactly what Kayleth does best. This time vocalist Enrico Gastaldo even implores some of that famous Wyndorf color and mannerism, without ever losing his own voice. And then there’s that closing Pyramids, resting comfortably in that doom touched stoner tempo, propelled by the vocals after that opening section, a break down and then another vocalized propellant, before going full force into speed metal territory, while the synth goes absolute batshit crazy. What a closer! What an album! Given to us by the jewel of the Verona, Italy heavy underground: Kayleth!
Hear ye hear ye!! Kayleth’s album New Babylon will be out on Argonauta Records on Friday May 24th! And we are extremely honored to announce we will be doing a FULL ALBUM PREMIERE for thew new Kayleth album New Babylon this Thursday! Set your clock, get up early! It’s space trucking and stoner rocking time! We’re off to New Babylon!
(Written by JK)
Listen to the single The Night below and come back for more on Thursday...
Tricklebolt – Honey From The Sky LAB Music – 2024 Rock Rated: ****
Drummer Daan Wopereis’s other band is called Tricklebolt. Yes! Now I remember, I was searching for that name during the Sonic Whip Festival, as I watched him groove on stage. And tried to tell the drummer from Phe about all his other bands. For you might already know him from noise punkers Geishes Of Doom, the new psychedelic garage-ists Kintsugi Empire that was playing on Sonic Whip at that moment or that wild free rock outfit called Temple Fang. With him are Bastian Pen, Lead vocals / Rhythm Guitar, Tim Kampman, Lead Guitar / Backing Vocals, Daan Pen, Bass guitar and Menno Nijen Es on Keys. Together they formed a band called Tricklebolt, some ten years ago, hit a massive amount of stages, delivered strong albums like their self-titled debut and Straight Into The Blue from 2020. And now they are back with a giant of an album called Honey From The Sky. Nine tracks recorded in eight different studios and with the aid of eight musical friends. The cream of the crop of the Dutch heavy, psychedelic and classic rock scene and we’re gonna namecheck them all now. Wout Kemkens from Shaking Godspeed, Iron Jinn, De Niemanders. Pablo van der Poel from DeWolff. Rens Ottink from Pauw. The entire Splinter crew. Two tracks with the Indian Askin four. Pieter Holkenborg, from Automatic Sam, Ten East, Geishes Of Doom and his new Kintsugi Empire. Niek Cival from The Grand East. And Jim Zwinselman from Bökkers, Boogie Monster, Strand Of Oaks and Jimmy Diamond. That is quite the list! And it turned into quite the album! If you know any or all of those names, you can easily deduct what direction the sound will take. Back towards the golden age of rock, classic, bluesy, soulful and chuck full of love for the good stuff. A bit of psychedelic garage and a lot of seventies and sixties. A kaleidoscopic thunderstorm of sound that will show you all kinds of colors and languidly shifts through the scenery by way or lovely pedal steel, delicious organ work, vocal harmonies that will surely warm the bones and all of it will send flutters through your heart. Honey From The Sky, is like sugar water for the soul!
It premiered over on Outlaws Of The Sun a few days ago, the new Vitskär Süden single and video R'lyeh. It’s taken from the new album Vessel which demands to be heard by all and demands to be written about by all… And well, by me. Which will happen at one point in time. I am pretty sure. Cause we dug their first self-titled album and love The Faceless King. And when they go more eighties, even more cinematic and namedrop John Carpenter as influence, you bet your ass we’re digging Vessel! And R'lyeh! It’s out on Ripple Music another big reason to go check it out…
A Monday that feels like a Sunday, thanks to a national holiday and a different kind of morning… An amazing and emotional night with Masters Of Reality and Alain Johannes last Thursday and a great evening filled with four bands yesterday. New Dutch bands Enma and Alternator opening up for Ruff Majik and Monkey3. And all of them delivering the goods! And thanks to my lovely wife, the Ruff Majik four got to crash reasonable comfortable on my living room floor… I hope it was reasonable at least… Just like I believe they weren’t too weirded out by that way too long story we wrote about Ruff Majik, there last album Elektrik Ram, the new single What A Time To Be A Knife, (which they played last night) and their touring life… A quieter week is forthcoming, so perhaps we can get more HiVe work done? We’ll see. But we did mention the new video by Coilguns and Horseburner last week. And ofcourse jotted down some words about the awesome new High Noon Kahuna album and breathtaking new Maragda. Be sure to check those out and be sure to check out the others in the Most Listened Last Week list… They all kick serious ass!
High Noon Kahuna – This Place Is Haunted Crucial Blast Records – 2024 Rock, Psych, Surf, Kraut, Noise, Grunge, Punk Rated: *****
Tumbleweed Nightmare, with its freedom, wildness and that untamed feeling of exploration might be one of the coolest tracks on the new High Noon Kahuna album. It rumbles and rambles and rolls on like the legendary bush balls in the title. But there’s this ominous feeling, a nameless dread that follows along and could easily transform itself from a sleepy god of mercy into one of vengeance. It sounds limitless. Tumbleweed Nightmare is only wrangled in, by way of a start and finish to the song on this album. It’s fluidity and its jazziness could easily turn this one song into an hour long session on a stage somewhere. With me hopefully present. The story, the lyrics, still vague and open for anyone to interpret in their own way here, could be building towards a modern day exploration of something that could rival a book like Blood Meridian… It’s one of the many highlights on This Place Is Haunted, and since the words we jotted down about their earlier album Killing Spree turned out a bit too weird. We hoped to limit that craziness a tiny bit this time around. It would also fit the new album, for it can definitely be considered as less crazy and feral than their earlier Killing Spree record. Although, to immediately contradict that statement you only have to push play for the very first time and feel the radioactive noise immitted by opening track Atomic Sunset. That opening organ and heavy distortion is definitely intense and brash enough for the High Noon Kahuna three. A righteous crack in the sky. After which the sound becomes this wavey and tangible sound breeze, highly mesmerizing and incredibly easy to get lost in. The opening seems meant to jog you awake before you get to surf off into the dreaminess of your own brainwaves once again. Even the more explosive build up towards the ending organ tone; isn’t as invasive as that opening detonation. Atomic Sunset feels like one of those physical moments that shoot through your body as you almost fall asleep. It seems to serve that singular sensation of waking you up from whatever slumber you are in; so that they can properly set you up for the feverish dreams that will follow. For the fever is still there, present in some shape or form on all twelve tracks, on almost fifty-five minutes of heavy rock. Still incorporating sixties, surf, noise, grunge and punk into their psych and kraut, and marrying all that to even more genres, the High Noon Kahuna three seem ever more destined to make the one album that shall unite every genre ever conceived at one point in their career. This Place Is Haunted isn’t THAT album yet, but it is THE album that makes clearly audible how proficient these cats are and how easy it will be for them to produce that album at some point. Just hear that choppiness in Lamborghini, the elation during Prehistoric Love Letter, the noise and grime from Good Night God Bless, the doom in Midnight Moon and we could go on and one, everything seems completely fair game to these three. And rightfully so, cause this is their house, their place and even though everyone’s invited in, you need to be prepared for the ghosts your will find. This Place Is Haunted slices like a majestic beacon through the night; and once inside the lighthouse, you will find yourself, with sweat dripping down your spine, dancing with every shadow you see…
They hail from La Chaux-de-Fonds in Switzerland. And with the infectious and surfy groove that runs through all the punk and hardcore ruckus on We Missed The Parade, the four from Coilguns have outdone themselves. And it turned into my favorite Coilguns song within seconds. Anthemic and definitely raging, the guitar lines, that beastly drum work take it into much higher dimensions. Stunning!
PR Wire:
Liner notes about the single / video:
"When we recorded that song we thought it would be more of a b-side. With its somehow classic punk-hardcore feeling, it felt like it might belong to an old Coilguns era. Through the process of mixing, the track grew on everyone and felt more and more like an anthem, specifically one of our very own life. Substantially the track talks about the fact that we’re getting older, still doing the same thing, not being sure why we still do it but nonethless we’ll keep on doing it, and we’ll keep doing it our own way, on our own. "
About the video:
"This was shot during our UK tour last April and perfectly captures theenergy of that song. One of our crew members, Zach, who normally serves as a stage technician, found himself without space onstage due to the intimate size of the venues. As a result, he took charge ofthe camera, filming this song each night and editing it into the clip you see here. I love the fact that this happened spontaneously, and that we now find ourselves with a homemade video for this track." Jonathan Nido (Guitarist and founder of Coilguns).
Credits (Musicians) for the single: Kevin Galland – Bass, Backing Vocals • Luc Hess – Drums, Percussion • Louis Jucker – Main Vocals, Additional Guitars • Jonathan Nido – Guitars, Backing Vocals
Maragda – Tyrants Spinda Records – 2024 Rock, Prog, Psych Rated: *****
Their self-titled debut album was released in October 2021 and we were honored to premiere that very first Maragda album. It told the tale of a civilization named Maragda, which sought refuge below the earth after a catastrophe and forgot all about the surface after being there for many years. It told the tale of rebellion against oppression and the search for truth and light. That fight continues in some shape or form on their new album Tyrants. “In the new musical journey, the band immerses listeners in introspective themes ranging from self-imposed limitations to the fight for values, love, hope, and farewells.” Moments of krautrock, garage and space rock are still there to help tell their story, but you can also use the cliff notes and state this is one hell of a powerful prog rock album! Prog rock, with psychedelic touches of course, we wouldn’t want you to think we would forget mentioning that genre. But it’s prog first and prog last. And if you are still as in love with their debut album as I am, you know the Barcelona, Spanish three have this very transportive style, dotted with all kinds of other tidbits. The manner in which Marçal Itarte (bass/vocals), Guilem Tora (guitar/backing vocals) and Xavi Pasqual (drums) color in all their compositions make it easy for you to dream with your eyes open. There are these highly natural, world music, folk and flamenco missives scattered throughout the album, it makes their universe become this living and breathing entity. Immediately, during opening track Tyrants, you can feel the pulse of the album, the heartbeat, the propellent, the energy that is about to burst outwards. And then there are those more scorching and obliterating moments, which other bands usually implore to sear parts of the composition to such a degree it becomes difficult not to drown in all that sound. The Maragda three use that ability in such a way that it makes the song blossom and give it even more color. And instead of drowning, you feel like flying. Just listen to second track Skirmish to have a taste of that feeling. But there are almost forty-five minutes of this wonderful prog rock adventure to experience, and if you hear the delicate opening of Endless turning into that stop motion, riff heavy, darkened rocker you know that the Tyrants album will deliver everything and all to every heavy rock loving fiend. Tyrants is full bodied, exuberant and its complexity easy to enjoy and to get lost in. And I will be losing myself in this for months… Or years… Or the rest of my life…
Out June 21st on Blues Funeral Recordings, the new Horseburner album Voice Of Storms. And Hidden Bridges is the new single and video for that wonderful new album! Check it out and be as excited for what these progressive sludge metal motherfuzzers have come up with as I am.
Horseburner's new album "Voice Of Storms" is an allegorical commentary on the mistreatment of women across history. It’s the story of a girl being sold into child marriage who is imbued with the spirit of ancient Greek hunt goddess Diana, unleashed and wreaking havoc on a society that regards females as objects or currency. Drummer Adam Nohe reflects on their new single "Hidden Bridges": “It turned into a song that everyone in the band loves, I think it’s a universal favorite. Story-wise, we’re looking at our protagonist being led through an interdimensional crossroads where she can see all universes and timelines happening simultaneously. Here she learns of how she came to exist and it sets her on her mission through the rest of the story.”
Ruff Majik – I’m gonna be needing a helmet for that…
“I once
ate a moth as a kid, nearly suffocated. Don’t eat moths.”
I once learned, ages ago, that a
review of a live show should always go up the next day or the day after, at the
very latest. And don’t mix it with other stuff. A review is a review and an
interview is an interview. An interview should have a news worthy lead and some
enticing first lines. And once the internet started to take hold of society, we
heard nobody is ever gonna read a long story on the internet. But, well, this
IS the internet. I can do whatever I want. And Stoner HiVe is my little old
blog, so F those rules! This here, is some weird story, a longform hybrid,
chitchat about and with Ruff Majik. Moving through time and place and going all
gonzo. Cause sometimes you just have to roll with the punches…
Just like a band on tour has to roll
with the punches. You never know what might happen on the road as you make all
those many miles disappear beneath your wheels or feet. Your van might break
down. Leaving you stranded. Or you might, inadvertently and unbeknownst to you,
have started a cult in some city you have never even set foot in before.
Crazies that only ever needed was some speed and well, someone to crown like a
king and worship like a God…
Struggling to make sure to be able
to rock Eindhoven, the Ruff Majik guys were frantically grasping at whatever
string they could while recovering from a gig in Ede. But luckily and of
course, when they finally got a hold of the honorable Acid King, the band
immediately offered to help out and lend the band a backline. Because, when a
van breaks down, somewhere, on the road, it’s very difficult nowadays to find
an affordable replacement vehicle. Which means, most of the gear was stuck in
that van as well… But they made their way to Eindhoven to play the support slot
for Acid King in the Effenaar, at the tail end of August 2023. And meet up with
old friends from South Africa, who for some weird reason, suddenly all lived in
the Netherlands. And those crazy German fans that just follow the band around
whenever and wherever they can. Perhaps the start of an even grander cult?
The sun is out, the weather is fine.
It’s the end of August 2023 and that guy leisurely strolling towards me,
smoking a cigarette is the frontman of Ruff Majik, Johni Holiday. That relaxed
gait seems to disappear as he closes the gap, it seems there is some anxiety in
his step and an energy in his movement that takes some time to get a feel for…
Wait what… August 2023, we’re
already in May 2024. And I see Johni through a video call, he’s on the phone
and rattling in his lovely South African accent about the new album called Moth
Eater which will see the light of the day in October and the new single What A
Time To Be A Knife, scheduled to air on June 7th. Ranting about the
sorry state of the South African music scene. “Not the bands nah, the
promotors, the pub owners, the old guard. They’re the ones holding the cards at
the moment. It’s what the song is about or perhaps even the album. Cause we’re
trying to smash that. To take over. And luckily the young people are starting
to find out about that. Cause before this it was hard to sell tickets for a
local gig. There are enough young bands, but not many fans in South Africa are
into live music it seems. But we figured out this is also due to the fact that
those lazy promoters and venue owners, did the bare minimum and were squeezing
the bands. We’re getting involved now and doing it on an honest buck for honest
work kind of deal. It’s already starting to make a difference. We can feel it!”
Straight forward, full of energy and
a lust to do things right, Johni talks about the scene, the new album and the
upcoming tour. They’re hitting Cottbus, Germany on May 16th. That’s
today! And trek through entire Europe until their flight back on June 8th
or something. But for a moment there, we were back in Eindhoven. “Oh yeah, I
met up with those friends from Africa back then in Eindhoven. Thanks for
reminding me…”
Memories. They’re weird. I’m back in
August 2023 now, standing outside, at the venue talking with the guys, snippets
of the conversation shoot through my brain. Drummer Steven Bosman: “We talked
only Afrikaans, South African, last night, and the audience only spoke Dutch.
And it sounded like we understood each other. We were all equally drunk at that
stage. So that might have made a difference.” Johni Holiday: “But it’s all
about the speed. The rhythm. For us it’s even weirder, cause coming out of
Germany we probably switched over to talking at their rhythm in our South
African language. Completely filled up with weird South African slang. It could have easily stopped making any sense to anyone... And now
we stop at totally different points of a sentence…”
Those first three songs that night
at the Effenaar felt like a stop and go as well. Johni going a bit too fast,
the rest catching up. Almost like he wanted to get it over with. The sound guy
still trying to find the right space to occupy. But then it gelled. Johni’s
nervous leg starting to calm down, the sound rounding out and Ruff Majik
becoming the force it already was on the amazing Elektrik Ram record. That
amazing and for me personally best album of 2023, where Johni opens up on
everything he went through, but not in a necessarily dark away, but also not by
glorifying it. Just laying bare. An album that is still on heavy rotation over
here…
Back on the phone, where I see this
dubious image of myself in the corner, like I was run over by a truck, like I
swallowed some bug and nearly suffocated. “But Moth Eater, the new album, is a
real band effort. Operating as a tight unit that wrote and recorded the whole
album. And on the new single WhatA Time To Be A Knife we added some extra angry vocals by our mate
Reegan du Buisson from Facing The Gallows, the best South African core band. We
can’t wait to unleash it all! The last tour was definitely a huge bonding
experience. All the crazy shit we experienced, and all those wild adventures.
Also the definite feeling of having each other’s back, no matter what. It made
Ruff Majik into what you will hear on Moth Eater…”
It was before the Eindhoven show and there was
still Dresden in Germany to go afterwards, when we talked about the tour so far.
“It’s been wild! Very cool. Had amazing times at amazing places. But some
stupid stuff happened as well. See that car over there. That old Audi. That’s
our entire tour van at the moment. Everything has to be crammed in that.
Because the other van broke down in Germany. We did two twenty-seven hour
drives. To get to the next gig in time.” Bosman:
“We went from Porto, Portugal to Liechtenstein. That’s over 2000KM.” Johni:
“But the day before we went from Frankfurt to Porto. Which is even further. So,
two back to back twenty-seven hour drives. Both those drives could have
been easier if we left earlier. Both times we did not leave earlier, because we
had some space and wanted to enjoy ourselves a bit.” Cowboy Bez: “And who wants
to leave the beach in Portugal earlier, right? But we made it. We drove in
shifts. It was fun.” Johni: “But the shows have been absolutely crazy. A few
big shows. And a few insane crowds. And some weird shit… We actually started a
cult.”
“Yes, this time we really started a cult…”
Because of the fact that certain illicit products might have been involved and
because some people might get into the trouble over this, let’s redact the
names, and make it less obvious, who and what and where. Well, a bit… Cause only three people might actually read this way too long weird story... Right? “Yes, before
we only joked around, let’s start a cult. But this time we really started a
cult… Without us knowing it… We had never even been to Prague. But yes, some
local dealer only listened to Ruff Majik and sold his product with the specific
instructions to listen to our All You Need Is Speed song while doing his
product. And well, it caught on. So that was our crowd. A bunch of speed freaks
that all needed a live fix of the drug we were selling. And they knew all of
our lyrics and had their own ideas about what our lyrics mean and were just
screaming along at the top of their lungs, and half way through they suddenly
came forth with a helmet. Someone in the crowd had gotten the helmet from the
All You Need Is Speed video made by a proper blacksmith. And they crowned me
with it… And we were all, this is really really weird man…”
The live fix. It’s not just for the junkie
crowd. It’s also for the Ruff Majik boys themselves. “Don’t get me wrong. I
love making music. Recording and going through all those motions. But the live
thing. You know. When you get on stage. Get that feeling, where you disconnect
from reality and just have an amazing time.” Bez: “It’s exactly that.
Whenever I’ve got a gig for something, my girlfriend knows, before and after,
he’s gonna be a difficult man! I love playing live. You get all that energy
from the crowd. It’s hard to come down from that.” Bosman: “There’s
something about playing live. About the movement, of your body, of letting go,
of getting this almost unattainable feeling, that no substance can match.
There’s nothing that can come close to that feeling, and that is the ultimate
rush of playing live. There is this ‘moment’ where it all turns into one
‘moment’.” Bez: “Even on tour, a longer one like this one. There are
always days when the spirit is a bit low, or the ‘fierce’ as we call it. But once
we get on stage, then a few seconds in, it’s back up again. And we just look
around, everyone’s good? Yes!”
Everyone’s good. Just like most of the reviews
were of Elektrik Ram. An album that felt like the next big leap after The
Devil’s Cattle. Tårn sounded like the culmination of everything that came
before. Very dense, tight and grimy. The Devil’s Cattle opened up everything,
all the sounds. And left the gate open for Elektrik Ram to do even more, almost
go overboard on snippets, effects, little details and of course for Johni to
open up about himself. Turning it into something much more personal and by doing
that, making it universal. “Yes, I think so. Weirdly enough. I’ve had
conversations afterwards with a bunch of people who listened to the lyrics,
where part or all of it, definitely spoke to them. You know. Where they
confessed to me, I’ve had the exact same feelings. Or I went through all that
as well. Or people that said, I was having a difficult time and the album helped
me through some of it. We had definitely not expected as much positive feedback
as we received, but we are incredibly thankful. Cause we worked our asses off
for this album. I think it has been the hardest we ever worked on an album.”
And that’s when work on Moth Eater started.
Back there on that tour. During those insanely long drives. What else is there
to talk about right? “I’ve said for the longest time, we should make an album
to fuse funk and sludge together so that we can call it FUDGE. Or rename the
band FUDGE and forget there already was a band called FUDGE and tell people we
play SLUNK music. What’s slunk you ask, well, it’s a mix between sludge and
funk.” Are you scared yet for the new album? I am... And I think I might need a
helmet for that!
But for those who have lived with the Elektrik Ram album, you know what it’s about. So, how was Johni handling the tour back
then? “I’m having a bit of a panic attack right now. If you’ve wondered why I’m
moving around this much. It’s not the end of the world. You know, tour life
isn’t easy. A lot of stuff happening at the same time. A lot of stuff going
haywire. And then the mind just goes, click, goodbye, see you next time. It’s a
bit tough. But it hasn’t been like this the entire tour. And I was worried it
would have been worse. I was worried I would not even be able to tour anymore.
So, things are going pretty well, all things considered. This is still very mild;
I’m dancing it out!” “You’re doing great buddy!” “We got you!” “And yes, they
have my back, and it’s of course a bit like exposure therapy. To jump into the
deep end and find out I can actually do this. And even under some of the more
hardcore circumstances that are possible. So the next time, when the tour runs
smoothly, things will be perfect! Cause you know, tours tend to run smooth!
Haha. And not that this tour hasn’t been amazing!” Cowboy Bez: “Next time will
be all limousines, loafers, and Hugh Hefner type of transportation…” Bosman: “The
highs have been incredibly high, but the few lows have been pretty low.”
Turns out the highs are numerous and they keep
spilling over with energy for certain crowds and tumbling over each other
professing their favorite gigs of the tour. It’s endearing and beautiful to see
how they try to top each other with all these amazing shows, gigs and experiences
they’ve had during this tour. The tour that brings Elektrik Ram but also
Devil’s Cattle to the masses. Cause well, when that album was released, that
pandemic thing happened. Do you still remember that? Weird memories. “We’ve
been filling the setlist with songs from both albums and one or two older ones.
But it has been revolving, because some songs are just a bit too hard to play
live. Or the mood wasn’t right. Or because we needed to spare my voice. And I
still refuse to stop smoking. And we all refuse to sleep properly. But only two
shows left now, so we can go full tilt!”
They did, they came, they saw and the raved
their asses off; and will do so again as of tonight throughout Europe! First
stop Cottbus, Germany. TODAY! And then a whole slew of gigs to win over the rest of
humanity for their cult. And judging from the first single What A Time To Be A
Knife, the new Moth Eater album, the completion of a trilogy, will surely help
as well. “I just wanted to call and let you know what’s happening in the Ruff Majik universe. And well, sort of warn you that you’re on the album… As The
Dealer…” Wait? What... ‘Click’ Be warned. Jimi Glass is the bass man. Jimi is the quiet one.
And bring a helmet!
