Publicist UK – Original Demo Recordings 7”


10362952_1437895583132100_2324646133928882933_n

Publicist UK are an intriguing combo which see Dave Witte (Discordance Axis, Municipal Waste drummer) joining forces with Revocation bassist Brett Bamberger and team up with Distant Correspondent’s David Obuchowski and former Fresh Kills mouthpiece Zachary Lipez.

It would be natural to expect pounding rhythms and adrenaline fuelled blasts, especially considering the rhythm section. Only that couldn’t be further from the agenda. Instead gothic post-punk is the order of the day, with the spectre of the late 70s looming largely over the two tracks present here. The sound of the band is decidedly British in its choice of influences, reeking of decaying Chameleons and Fields Of The Nephilim records. “I love it when you talk real politics!” Lipez pines like Andrew Eldritch reciting the works of Fredrik Engels.

Original Demo Recordings (Static Tension) is the kind of effort fans of recent death rock troubadours such as Beastmilk may lap up, although Publicist UK are more retrospective in their style and the reverb and treble heavy production; Spiralling melodies are interwoven amongst the effortless performance of Witte, who provides a solid backbone, largely sitting back to support the song. His pulsing sixteenths accenting every nuance of ‘Slow Dancing To This Bitter Earth’ while Lipez repeats the hypnotic mantra of a chorus over jangling riffs to great effect.

They also use the music as a platform to hit out at faux social rebellion. “Wave a red flag and decorate your handbag” snarls Lipez on the latter number, clearly using it to take a swipe at insincere political campaigners who do much complaining but little to change the systems in which they live.

Since this tempting morsel has been delivered, the group have taken up residence on Relapse Records and are working on a full length. Given the murky depths this release mines, it will be interesting to see if they can progress as strongly as they have started.

7.0/10

Publicist UK on Facebook

ROSS BAKER


Sleep of Monsters – Produces Reason


sleep-of-monsters-produces-reason-cd

 

Babylon Whores are the single most underrated band of all time, and Cold Heaven (Misanthropy, though recently re-released on vinyl by Svart) is the greatest undiscovered gem of all albums, so it is with anticipation most foul that Sleep of Monsters’ debut Produces Reason (Svart) saunters into our musical consciousness, being as it is the new vehicle for the distinctive crushed velvet pipes of Ike Vil, former ‘Whores mainman.

It can often be unfair to compare a new venture to a participants old wares, but when the vocal cords are as instantly recognisable and perception shaping as Vil’s it’s hard not to. Accompanied by songwriter and guitarist Sami Hassinen (Blake) and former members of Waltari and HIM, Produces Reason kicks off with a pair of rockers, as if Ike’s former occult troupe had been polished by the HIM hit machine, ‘Nihil Nihil Nihil’ dark, catchy and understated, with a strong vocal chorus hook.

As the album unveils, the rock element is toned down and replaced by a more gothic, sedate feel, led by Vil’s characteristic delivery and melancholic lines, and flashes of Sisters of Mercy, Beastmilk and even Simple Minds decorate their Gothic rock. ‘Christsonday’ liberally dips its toe into Queensryche’s ‘Eyes Of A Stranger’ and emerges with the guitar motif intact, dropping the familiar lick over their death rock, while ‘Magick Without Tears’, the true closer for this album (additional track ‘I Am The Night, Colour Me Black’ is superfluous and dynamically doesn’t work) kneads in the vocal talents of the “Furies”, a trio of female vocalists whose harmonies proliferate the album at various points, over a Pink Floydian organ-led flick.

Managing to retain the core elements of its participants former endeavours, weaving and celebrating their individual talents and ideosyncracies, Sleep of Monsters have produced a credible dark pop debut, reflecting the pasts of its’ creators, and one that leaves the promise of something even more grandiose and fruitful in their future.

7.0/10

Sleep of Monsters on Facebook

STEVE TOVEY


In Solitude – Beastmilk – Obnoxious Youth: Live at Sound Control Manchester, UK


poster

A wet and inhospitable Saturday sees occult Swedes In Solitude roll into town bringing with them the scent of incense and apocalyptic Gothic post punk act Beastmilk in tow. Kvost’s deep rich speaking voice gives way to a powerful howl. The “Superstition” wins over the few early arrivals which tear themselves away from the bar.

Before the vespertine delights of Scandinavia are opened to us we get a change of pace in the form of Daniel Bay. Stepping into the breach for punk Obnoxious Youth, Bay delivers heart felt gothic rock which has more appeal than just his Lost Boys chic torn jeans and frizzy hair.

Img5053

 

The charismatic Mat McNerney leads the newly expanded Beastmilk, including recent recruit Linnea Olsson (formerly of The Oath) through a masterful performance. The man known to many as ‘Kvohst’ is a leviathan master of ceremonies, introducing each song with a quick witted remark before unleashing his distinctive croon. Olsson oozes charisma with the extra fire power having added a new depth to the band’s sound. The raunchy ‘Void Mother’ and a stunning ‘Nuclear Winter’ inspire manic dancing at the front of the stage with many punters as keen to see the apocalyptic rockers as the headline act.

Img5044

Lilies adorn the stage and the smell of incense fills the air as In Solitude begin their energetic set. Pelle Ahman possesses the air Nick Cave back in his days in The Birthday Party. Throughout tonight’s ten song set the quartet combine a youthful vigour with impressive stagecraft and dynamite songs. ‘Death Knows Where’ and ‘Lavender’ are soaring paeans to ‘Lucifer’ funelled through classic rock and blues with a visceral punk aesthetic.

Img5057

Witnessing In Solitude perform, you can instantly recognise the chemistry the members have built from beginning life in their tender years. The maturity and atmosphere in songs like the all-consuming ‘He Comes’ has the audience in rapture. Still only in their early twenties, if the momentum they have built on latest album Sister (Metal Blade) is any indication, they will be a force for many years to come.

Img5061

In Solitude on Facebook

Beastmilk on Facebook

Obnoxious Youth on Facebook

WORDS ROSS BAKER

PHOTOS BY LUKE DENHAM PHOTOGRAPHY


Children of The Atom Bomb – Mat “Kvohst” McNerney of Beastmilk


Beastmilk-photo-9-web-e1382036218346

Seated in the somewhat rustic confines of Manchester’s Star And Garter Pub, the venue in which the gentlemen known to many as Kvohst; English front man of Finnish Post Punks Beastmilk is in fine fettle. After serenading us with an amusing version of Manowar’s ‘Battle Hyms’ during soundcheck we grab a corner by the bands rider to discuss ritual magic, travel and formation of this dynamic outfit which released one of last year’s most exciting albums in Climax (Napalm Records).

We were in the middle of a really bad winter and Goatspeed and I were drinking in a bar and taking about depression. We were either going to kill someone or kill ourselves!” exclaims McNerney with little hint of irony. “Out of that state we managed to create something cathartic where the music became a channel for that depression. Once you get that feeling and you stare into the void and the void stares back through you it really touches you. I think a lot of music from that era (early 80s post punk) was very political. It was that dark period in Britain when we had that really difficult era socially and economically. Globally there was a lot of apocalyptic themes like the threat of nuclear war. We sing about the apocalypse now in a similar way but the themes have changed. I think you can draw some parallels with some Joy Division stuff but we were just recreating our environment. People mention Joy Division but if they listen to our music it isn’t really like that. A lot of it is the reverb and the sad themes we use. It’s more relatable than say, Black Metal where you have to be in a very particular headspace to get it. I feel that Beastmilk has much more in kinship with Misfits and Dead Kennedys and the old punk scene. I think people get that when they see us live. It has the “Deathrock” vibe, but the indie version of what people have done with Joy Division is so far away from what we do. We are not afraid to use dark humour in the way The Smiths did too.”

beastmilk album cover

Certainly when it comes to attitude and philosophy Beastmilk are unafraid to gaze into the nether like the punks did while approaching it from a more contemporary angle. “Our songs are mainly looking at current themes but you can always see the touch points in history where things come from. Our parents’ generation had the cold war and the Cuban missile crisis, events which threatened our existence. That generation had a huge wake up call. When people ask me how the world is going to end I can tell you it won’t be because of any one thing. You should realise it has already ended. You realise if you read a lot that this has already happened. Hiroshima and Chernobyl, we will never clean that up.”

Charming and softly spoken but also extremely articulate, McNerney is certainly not one of one word answers punctuated by the odd swear word. Patiently explains the origin and significance of his Kvohst alias. “It is a spirit name which is my true name. The name you are given at birth isn’t your real name, you must find and discover your own name which is unique to you. It is also important for me to have this costume you can put on ceremonially when you do music to channel something greater than yourself. It is beyond you, were you grew up and the things Christian society has given to you. It came to me in a dream I had and when I looked it up it was closely related to the word “tail” in Russian which is very fitting for me as I am doing various different projects and I have always floated around never staying in the same scene doing lots of different things.”

As lynch-pin of mystical neo folk act Hexvessel and former mouthpiece of avant-garde black metallers Dødheimsgard and <Code>, McNerney has never been afraid to experiment and “float around”. “Creatively speaking I always want to be pushing boundaries. I am not sure if all my work shares the same ideology but I am always looking to break the reality tunnels that Robert Anton Wilson talks about. Your reality tunnel can trap you so you have to break it down and see things in a different way. If people have been following what I did in other bands I think what we did with <Code> and Dødheimsgard were fairly revolutionary and influenced a lot of Black Metal bands to use different vocal arrangements. I have always wanted to make sure what I do is true and real and from the heart. I talk about costumes and the ceremony of performance but that is more how I portray things to theaudience. Sometimes you have to usean artifice to make people dream and in that way they can come to an awakening. It goes back to the hippie culture of trying to expand your mind.”

Beastmilk-Logo

McNerney’s fascination with free thinkers like infamous occultist Alastair Crowley and self-styled “Agnostic mystic” Robert Anton Wilson is well documented. Clearly better informed than most when it comes to literature it was interesting to hear his take on the so-called “occult rock” movement but make no mistake McNerney has no time for the fakers. “I think it’s great. Everyone knows who is genuine and who is mucking around with it. I don’t connect the writing (of Crowley) with a lot those bands but I think there are many bands who make me think of Alastair Crowley without using his image or anything to do with him. You don’t need to put a picture of him on your album to give credit and respect to him or William Blake. A lot of people have tried to cash in on those works. I think the way we did things with Hexvessel was more interesting than if we had just plastered his name all over our stuff. There are too many people who name drop him. I go to record stores and pick up an album with his picture on expecting something but often I find these guys are messing around.”

McNerney has a history of changing his environment having emigrated from England to The Netherlands then Norway and finally (at least for now) residing in Finland.

It seems very apparent that when you travel around you meet a lot of people that don’t get out of their own bubble. People seem to be stuck in a rut and reluctant to move out of their comfort zone but really it is just a mental prison. Anyone can go anywhere or do anything they want it does enrich you. I would have never been able to do what I am doing in London. It’s a shame that the opportunities for creative people are so small. I respect people who can do that and not have to move. I think if I was in London now I would be ok but at the time I needed to get out.”

Climax has seen Beastmilk touring far and wide picking up unexpected celebrity fans. “HIM took us out for a couple of dates playing big venues but it’s maybe not the right kind of crowd for us. Ville (Valo) was so supportive and great to us. He is known in Finland for supporting recording studios. He got a fund together to keep the recording studio that we did our demo at from going under. There comes a time however where we have to do things on our own and not be under the wings of a HIM or a Ghost. I really hate playing bigger venues where you lose the intimacy. I hope we can evolve and grow the way bands like Current 93 have, playing venues to their crowd on their terms.”

Beastmilk on Facebook

ROSS BAKER


Ghost Cult Magazine #18 is out now!


GC 18 cover ALike a bat out of hell……Ghost Cult #18 is here! The new issue features none other than Down on our cover.We interviewed Jimmy Bower about the changes in the band and their amazing new EP, Down IV, Part II. Issue #18 also includes interviews with Lacuna Coil, Beastmilk, Sevendust, Sabbath Assembly, Kyng, Amenra, ReVamp, Lord Dying, Anciients, and Dragged In To Sunlight. We also have complete coverage of the legendary Roadburn Festival, and a recap the 16th annual New England Metal And Hardcore Festival. Plus concert reviews from the likes of The Dillinger Escape Plan, Carcass, Red Fang, Scale The Summit, The Ocean, & The Atlas Moth. We also have special feature with the late Dave Brockie, as well our largest section of album reviews to date. Made especially for your tablet device or smartphone! Check it out and tell a friend! Twice!

 

 

 


Beastmilk – Climax


a2339922695_10Let’s get this out the way; Climax (Svart) by Beastmilk is pure hero worship of a whole clutch of 80’s influences. I heard all the originals many times in between figure-of-eighting to ‘Temple of Love’ and ‘Moonchild’ at The Dungeon goth club in South-fucking-hampton and had long since moved on. Yet, hearing them now put together by a new, yet highly referential outfit, the interest is well and truly piqued, and got me in the mood to go back to the originals. Can’t ask for more than that…

Beastmilk are one of those strange (milky) beasts that don’t play metal but have been embraced by the metal community. Whether that’s because vocalist Kvohst has history in blacker climes (Dødheimsgard and Code) or because it takes those us approaching middle age back to our youth and experiments in painting fingernails black (once! I did it once! Same as the white silky frilly shirt! I’ll admit the leather trousers were worn until they fell apart though), or because you can’t argue with really good songs, whatever the style.

Launching with the energetic punky trio of Cure meets The Smiths ‘Death Reflects Us’, standout track ‘The Wind Blows Through The Skulls’ and the catchy ‘Genocidal Crush’, memorable song after memorable song continues, with the exceptions of the maudlin (and frankly dreary) ‘Ghosts Out of Focus’ and perhaps ending downer ‘Strange Attractors’. From ‘Nuclear Winter’ to ‘Surf The Apocalypse’ to ‘Lost In A Cold World’ Climax is a series of strong death-rock anthems, all of them driven on by an energetic and strong production from Kurt Ballou and an 8th-note peddling goth-punk bassline (Arino)overlaid with the jangly and dreamy guitars of Goatspeed (WTF? – ST), while Kvohst switches from Morrissey to Glenn Danzig to Ian Curtis, nailing the ideal style for the mood and section of the song.

As an added side-game you can play ‘spot-the-80’s’ reference as Bauhaus, Killing Joke and most prominently Joy Division (amongst others) raise their post-punk gothic-rock heads, but when the songs are this impressive, it matters not the amount of homage being paid, what matters is how good an album this is. And Climax is a very good album indeed.

8/10

Beastmilk on Facebook

Steve Tovey