…in english please!
November 5th 2015 can be considered a new holiday for every fan of Mother Tongue: for the first time in half a decade Davo Gould, Christian Leibfried, Bryan Tulao and Sasha Popovic shared a stage again. And going by witness reports, nothing changed during Mother Tongue‘s long absence, with their live-shows still being happenings of magical intensity. And while our hopes that the band will channel their forces into some new material in the near future are rekindled, Bryan Tulao found time for a special visit at the Heavy Pop advent calendar 2015.
Lore is massive and mighty, yet in constant flow and motion, between the ruthless foundation of monster groove laid down by Jack Donovan and Marr Couto and the spacious guitars by Nicholas DiSalvo, it blurs into a dreamscape of unfathomable depth, that is as sweaty as it is hypnotic. Adrian Dexter's artwork could'nt fit more perfect, while on their third album, Elder push their imposing stoner rock to new, transcending heights, emitting a playfulness that is reminsicent of Motorpsycho. So Nick DiSalvo’s preference for Scandinavian bands, that is evident in his kind contribution to the Heavy Pop advent calendar, is just as fitting as Elders new home on Stickman Records.
Most likely the Jack-of-all-trades of 2015, no other band proved as effortless that the borders of progressive rock, doom, pop and heavy metal are hazy at best. With Bridging Realms, Dreadnought created a chimera of genres that floats fascinatingly above these categories. Just take one look at the favourite records of the year by the four-piece from Colorado, and you know where their broad stilistic approach stems from: Kelly Schilling, Jordan Clancy, Kevin Handlon and Lauren Vieira tell us their Top 5 records of the year.
If the past twelve months proved anything, then that a year without a release from Messer is sub-par. But the road is clear to not worry about that next year: The Münster-based band – now consisting of Hendrik Otremba, Milek, Pogo McCartney, Philipp Wulf and Manuel Chittka – are recording the follow-up to Die Unsichtbaren right now, and get a slot as one oft he most anticipated releases of 2016 by default. And we very much appreciate it that they found the time to compile some of their favourite albums of the past year – because a Heavy Pop advent calendar without Messer would also be, well, sub-par.
Compared to their insane year 2014, Thou took it relatively easy this year: besides a split with Great Falls, the Adult Swim single Eyehatethou and their two RSD gala releases (seriously, Only You Deserve Conceit and their bows before Nirvana on Whatever Nevermind are up their with the best they’ve done), their second cooperation with The Body left distincitve marks. You, Whom I Have Always Hated completes Released From Love in an impressive way, and raises hope that this ingenious combination of powers might happen again. In the meantime, guitarist Andy Gibbs compiles for the eight day oft he Heavy Pop advent calendar.
To describe the sound of The Icarus Line, one surely can refer to greats like Swans, Stooges or Grinderman, it has to be stated though, that none of these groups really feel like the outlaw-band around mastermind Joe Cardamone, who selected his favourite records of the year on day 7 of the Heavy Pop Advent Calendar: it’s the unparalleled ecstatic, uncomfortable and dangerous aura surrounding each previous record by the Californians, which is elevated to new heights on the hypnotic and intense masterpiece All Things Under Heaven via a fevered, spontaneous unpredictability.
Maybe the heartwarming, comforting beauty of 'A Mote of Dust' works best on a cold December Sunday like today. Fact: together with Graeme Smillie, Craig B perfected the intimate and etherous pace, that already dominated Aereogramme final swan song '[amazon_link id="B000L421IO" target="_blank" ]My Heart Has a Wish That You Would Not Go[/amazon_link]' and The Unwinding Hours, and created an atmospheric embrace of an album. Similarly fulfilling: the musical recommendations the Scot suggests on Day 6 of the Heavy Pop advent calendar.
Behind the imaginative artwork of their fourth album, All Fours, Bosse-De-Nage celebrate an intimate theatre of 55 minutes: the Californians weave together fascinating, desperate lyrics, guitar-spaces filled with claustrophobia and hope, and a breathtaking rhythm-section into a work of art, which not only underlines Bosse-De-Nage’s exceptional status in between bands like Altar of Plagues, Wreck and Reference or Deafheaven, but elevates them onto another level. On day 5 of the Heavy Pop advent calendar the band not only views many colleagues in the rearview mirror, but the year of 2015 (in alphabetical order) as well.
Already the self-titled debut from 2013 demonstrated that there was something outstanding brewing in Brisbane, thinking far outside the box of your regular post black metal. It doesn’t surprise that Relapse Records reeled in Hope Drone from Australia soon after: 'Cloak of Ash' surpasses the big expectations effortless, and creates a dense, hypnotic maelstrom of monolithic heavyness that impresses with its unparalleled, pitch black atmosphere (and adding to all oft hat also has some breathtaking artwork). On day four of the Heavy Pop advent calender, Hope Drone tell us which albums impressed them the most in 2015.
„Founded on the principles of unwavering doom metal“ has always been Crypt Sermon’s leitmotif, and their debut album follows up on this promise impressively: the untiring riff-cascade of 'Out of the Garden' doesn’t try to hide that the Philadelphia five-piece went to school at the genre-greats – Candlemass, Solitude Aeturnus, Black Sabbath or Dio – and developes their approaches over Brooks Wilson’s distinctive voice into a original direction. In the end you got a traditional doom-album in 'Out of the Garden', which will sound fresh and timeless even in years to come. Guitarist Steve Jansson opens up the third door of the Heavy Pop advent calendar, and tells us about his favourite records from the past twelve months.
