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INTERVIEWS
DoomMantia First question is about current band’s state and future plans. Right now we’re recording our fourth album, called Scarab, which is supposed to come out on CD on Heart & Crossbone Records (Israel) early next year. The lineup is Ian Sims and Nate Totushek on drums, Matt Becker on bass, Brett Zweiman on and myself on guitar, and a couple of will be doing the vocals together probably. I think in one sense maybe it was the evolution of the internet’s capacity to discover and spread music. We were just some strange noisy teenagers in Hong Kong’s very insular DIY scene but suddenly our audience expanded from the local crowd to worldwide, and we were able to connect with a really interesting network of heads in the same space. Besides hopefully the apocalypse, the new Om album is something I’m quite looking forward to. Also very excited to hear Chuck Dukowski’s Black Face stuff with Eugene Robinson. I’m planning to go to Maryland Deathfest on Sunday and catch YOB, St Vitus, Rwake, Electric Wizard, Church of Misery, and a lot of other good bands. Unfortunately I may have to miss Noothgrush on Saturday. Doom in 2012… maybe Bane will break Batman’s back. For me, doom is about mood. It’s about moving the body to a deep, heavy space of mind and sustaining that. Music has a physical and spiritual power quite literally. People are enveloped by the unholy amplitude, their brainwaves, breathing, and bloodflow entrained to the low frequencies. I don’t know about a symbol in general for doom, but for me it could be the Goddess who sees through duality and is both darkness and the light, who can look at life and death, cycles of germination and disease, with an even laugh. So last question for today is about modern social diseases which disturb our respondents more than other. It’s about politics, war, McDonalds, TV-zombabox and etc. Dogmatism, being stubborn about the one, right way of something. Being skeptical about ideas is fine, but don’t forget to hold yourself against the same measure. ======================================== DoomMantia Queen
Elephantine are all this and
so much more as they are different from the usual Droning kind of Doom
that people are used to hearing from their use of Middle Eastern
influences. Their psychedelic spaced out doom jams are among some of
the most original ever created and since their earlier split album
recordings with Sons Of Otis and Elder, they have come a long way.
Their most recent album titled "Kailash" is a 71 minute atmospheric
masterpiece that is an essential purchase for everyone into not only
doom but also creative progressive ambient music. They have shared
stages with Earthride, Solace, Pale Divine, Cough, Black Pyramid, Elder
and Admiral Browning to name just a few and from all reports their live
shows are a total experience not to be missed. Aleks Evdokimov caught
up with guitarist/vocalist Indrayudh Shome (Indy) for this great
interview.......... A:
Hail, Aleks. Queen Elephantine
is in the middle of recording our third full length, and we have a
couple of EPs somewhere along the works. Since I moved out after 2008,
we have only been meeting from time to time and playing shows
sporadically, so it's been a little hard to move things along. But in
the summer of 2009 we played a couple of Northeast USA shows with
Elder, Kintaan, and Black Pyramid, and wrote a new record during then.
Mike Isley and I recorded the guitar and drums in Los Angeles this
summer with Trent from Whores of Tijuana engineering. We're still
waiting to finish recording everything else, then I'll probably mix it,
and if we're lucky Billy Anderson will help us master it again. A:
I don't know, it depends on
what we play and record and end up liking. I like splits that are done
with the particular project in mind so that it's a cohesive listening
experience. For the split with Sons of Otis, we all tried to put that
together as sort of an album, and I think it feels that way when you
hear it. Personally I love splits, but you have to wait for a good
opportunity to arise. A:
Yatra was done before Kailash,
but those tracks wouldn't have fit in at all. The new album is sort of
one long song in three parts, so it would be strange to include two old
songs. Yatra was a free EP because there was not too much thought put
into it as an album, but it works pretty well, so it would be nice to
give that a better treatment instead of try and squeeze that in where
it doesn't naturally come. A:
I love the community that
today's technology allows. Such small scenes can have great exchange
when not bound by geography. It's great to get into other music that I
might not have heard when they're put together by these guys who run
blogs, because you know the ones who have similar tastes and you end up
liking ninety percent of the compilation. And there's no money to be
made, no bullshit, just love of music from everyone involved. A:
There are no ideas, everything
is obscured, even to us. Truth is sensation and raw human dissonance,
channeled through devotion to the goddess, which is unified underneath
everything. A:
Well, with the new album at
this point we're just recording what has pretty much been sorted out
last summer, so it is not about to change too much. As I said, it's
sort of in three parts, and it's only about thirty minutes, so it's
much shorter than Surya and Kailash, both of which were about an hour.
Basically bass, drums, guitar instrumentation, with Raj and I doing
vocals together, and some other instruments and sounds here and there. A:
We just… played, for
thirty minutes or however long that was. I can't remember if we thought
of Ramesses as the image for the suite before or after. A:
Igor and his label are great,
and it seems like RAIG are real heroes of the Russian scene. Heh, god
knows what I say, but anyway that's not exactly what I meant. I think
that the relationship to mood in psychedelic doom is akin to that in a
lot of Indian classical music. Each note and phrase is given time to be
really expressed and felt, and in both cases the result is an
intense experience of mood. For example unlike scales in Western music,
in Hindustani music each raag has a story, an image and spirit, which
is meant to be felt and expressed in a genuine performance of it. And
dissonance and minorish melodies don't have a long history in the West,
even a few hundred years ago the ideal of music was to be plain,
balanced, and symmetrical. But the appreciation of these expressive
tones are pretty deeply rooted in India. There is also a similar
spiritual realm accessed through the slower tempos, circular patterns,
the low frequencies and all-consuming wavelengths. And, if it's a
discussion of what "doom" we're talking about, fuck that and fuck
purists, I'm not trying to play any genre name game, I guess I'm a
pluralist for better or worse. My point was that I think India has a
lot of potential to put out some good heavy music in the coming years,
as the country is arriving at a state where people are starting to play
in underground bands. A:
I study mystical philosophy and
music technology, so I get to be around things I love, and so it's very
hectic, but it's do-able. The label has been quite inactive since I've
come to college because of how hectic it is, and I'm hoping now that
I'm nearing the end, that I'll be able to put more time and focus into
it. Given what I'm studying, I just hope that I am employed at all and
can afford some peanut butter and fruits to live on and that I can
continue to play music. I'd prefer to not to work for someone else, but
I would still like to eat and play music, so I guess I will have to see
what balance I can strike. A:
Lalon Fakir is one of the most
celebrated Bauls in Bengali culture, and because of people like
Rabindranath Tagore, we Bengalis hear a lot of these wandering musical
mystics. As I studied the Baul cult in more detail while I was
researching some of the tantrik philosophy and rites of Bengal, I came
to discover the several esoteric layers of meaning in Baul songs. Much
of the philosophical background I was familiar with, but there secret
sexual rites were new to me, and the conceptualization, sprouted from
the visualizations of tantrik sahajiya Buddhism, and the passionate
spiritual embodiment maybe of Vaisnavite and Sufi roots-all very
powerful. But Baul verses, especially after they were popularized in
the early twentieth century, have left their impression for their
independent beauty and penetration of truth and the goddess, and less
for their esoteric ritual meanings-obviously, as those meanings and
rituals are esoteric and protected. A:
The saharsrar chakra is most
commonly visualized as a the thousand petal lotus, the hundred petal
lotus is slightly less clearly, and less consistently, situated. A:
I also do daily meditation and
some stretches and exercises. A:
Swami Vivekananda has said,
music is the highest art, and for those who understand it, the highest
form of worship. Music is the most sacred Hindu teaching, and it
transcends even those categories because it is pure, there is no ism,
just sound, just energy, just attunement with soul and cosmos. A:
Western culture is fed up with
religion because it has mostly seen a real narrow and repressive form
of Christianity for a long time, which has sometimes oppressed
knowledge and expression and has caused a lot of dilemmas for Western
thinkers. It was really a political presence, and I don't think it was
received purely spiritually for the great part. Every place and people
have their own trajectory and will come to terms with the world in
their own ways, I am not trying to proselytize or replace religious
images with others. If other mythologies and pagan ideas are more
sincerely inspirational to others, what sense would it make for them to
express anything else? Do what's real to you. I mean, I am inspired by
a lot of imagery from a lot of cultures, and often my knowledge of that
is shallow, I try not to get too involved and just go with the feeling
and images that come. A:
The lyrics on the demo we've
put out are "Red birth / Us the tongue-ripped / Home is this carcass of
old tree. Here I ride / a chariot / with no horse. Words / you're also
gone / now what am I / less / and purer for it." A:
I moved here from New York in
January 2009. I studied there for a year and a half, and was in Hong
Kong before then. It's a very nice community and there are a lot of
great bands here, and it's the first non-big city I've lived in. A:
Matt Becker who I met in an
ethnomusicology class at college plays bass, and Nate Totushek, who was
introduced to me by friends from a music forum, plays the drums. And
no, alas, there is no Queen Elephantine in Providence. We are a nomadic
group nowadays. A:
It was good in Hong Kong
because we didn't really have a label there to promote or distribute
that kind of music. It's a very small, unique, and transient scene in
Hong Kong. We have White Noise Records and a small presence besides,
but I was able to help out and work with a lot of people while I was
there. Now that I'm in USA, I agree that there are a lot of labels, and
I'm not trying to compete, especially because as we said I am a
full-time student right now and it's impossible for me to put enough
energy into it, but hopefully one day I can put a lot of time into it
again and help bands. A:
I think it's just a great scene
where there is a minimal amount of bullshit, and I was just sincere
about what I wanted to do and bands like Sgt Sunshine and Sons of Otis
were just rad and wanted to do it. As I said, being in Hong Kong was an
advantage because this music wasn't really represented well. And
absolutely. I feel like I am able to reach out to the audience I am
looking for, all five people… A:
Ten or so? A:
Gayatri Krishnamurty is trained
in Karnatik music, which is the classical music of South India, but she
is also interested in music without formal boundaries and so we started
working on stuff. We are taking our time with it, and we work on it
every few months when I am in Calcutta, but I am excited about that
project. Gendo Taiko is from Providence and they are nuts. I want to
bring some of this music to the psych/drone/doom community, because as
we were saying above, I think there is a strong connection in mood and
I think people would dig this. A:
Queen Elephantine is
unmarketable and I'd rather it be very mildly marketed if at all, and
I'm protective of where our shit goes, so I have released all our full
lengths. But I'm not against working with other labels at all,
especially with non-LP releases. Queen Elephantine recently did the
tape release of Kailash with Abandon Ship (USA), a split 7" with Alunah
on Catacomb (UK), and a live CDR with Ruralfaune/Faunasabbatha. If the
right label came along that was cool and also could do much more for us
than I could, then I don't see any reason not to work with them. A:
No plans, no idea. We're still
very young, but I'm dying to play as much as I can before I leave the
country, or at least the city. It always takes some time to settle down
to a new place and find the right people, so I want to make the most of
it now that we've come together before the whole thing must happen
again. I finish my studies in June, so who knows what will happen after
that. A: Thank you so much. You guys run a great site and do a lot for this kind of music we all believe in, and thank you also for your interest and support of our shit. All the best. ======================================== Bad
Acid Magazine Kailash
is the most recent
recording from Queen Elephantine, an enigmatic
‘project’
that’s seen a number of different line ups and
locations.
Broadly speaking it falls into the ambient/drone field, but to label it
‘drone’ would be to underestimate the range of
sounds this
album covers - guitar riffs, classical Indian sounds, eerie
atmospherics, vocal dirges, spoken word, stark percussion and loose
ominous basslines, all tied together by a very minimalist and
repetitive style. Far from being a mess of all these aspects
though, the changes and progressions of the music take place on such a
vast scale and at glacial pace, that they become more or less
imperceptible. Elements flow into one another in a vast
gloomy
space where everything seems held in suspension. Recorded
and mixed by the band,
Kailash has since been mastered by Billy Anderson, and a 60-minute edit
of the album is out now on cassette through Abandon Ship
Records.
The entire album can be heard on their myspace, and they are currently
looking for someone for a CD, digital, or vinyl release.
Given
its length, Kailash would be a double lp, which with Adrain
Dexter’s excellent artwork would be a special thing indeed. Indy
: Bad
Acid : Indy
: Repetition
is a defining
characteristic of Queen Elephantine’s
sound, and the long and winding jams of Kailash are grounded in this
and the largely improvised song writing that makes such an open space
within the music. I was curious about how structured or
focused
this improvisation was… While
this spontaneity has not
changed on Kailash, the writing and
recording process was very different from the previous album Surya,
which came together out of long jamming of the songs, until as Indy
puts it ‘We went in to our studio and just jammed the whole
thing
out. We wanted it to feel spontaneous and live off the floor
and
messy and loose.’ Kailash seems to have come
together more
gradually - Bad
Acid : Indy
: Improvisation
has its limits, you
risk being left with 8 hours of
rambling crud with an hour’s worth of gold buried in amongst
it. This trap is neatly avoided on Kailash though,
it’s not
edited down to total slickness but there’s little wasted
space. While Queen Elephantine try to follow the flow of
spontaneity as much as possible, what you hear on the record is not a
completely unconsidered archive of jams. Kailash
continues the strong theme
of mythological and religious
imagery that underpins much of Queen Elephantine’s
music.
Bands seem to take completely different approaches to such things as
album names, sometimes I’m sure it’s just a case of
what
sounds cool, and at the other end of the scale are the full-on concept
albums, where everything from title to packaging fits within the
framework. I asked Indy about where Queen Elephantine sit on
that
scale - Indy
: Bad
Acid : Indy
: Bad
Acid : Indy
: Bad
Acid : Indy
: Equally
untraditional is his
attitude to the ‘rock concert
format’. We got talking about good doom gigs, and
up came a
recent Earth performance that he’d seen in New York: Bad
Acid : Indy
: Bad
Acid : Indy
: Bad
Acid : Indy
: It
seems to me that besides
changes in line-up, moving between cities
and countries must have had a pretty significant effect on Queen
Elephantine. Kailash has a much more bleak sound than Surya
and I
wonder whether this is down to more than a new
‘theme’, the
metaphorical journey of Yatra is easily tied to the physical journeys
that the band members have made. It would be a hard thing to
quantify, but I asked Indy whether he felt that place and local culture
fed back into the developing sound of their records - Bad
Acid : Indy
: Bad
Acid : Indy
: Bad
Acid : Indy
: …and
so the seeds of doom
were sown. Having said that
though, Kailash is much less ‘doom’ than you might
expect
from a band that has put out material with Sons of Otis and
Elder. Not that it’s a bouncy album of pop songs,
in fact
my first reaction - music to hibernate to - might have been almost
entirely correct… Bad
Acid : Indy: ======================================== Doom
Metal Alliance Derek: Musicwise…
doom, psych,
drone, noise, grunge, stoner rock, sludge, rock especially from the 60s
and 70s, metal…. Earth, Swans, Om. Image and idea
wise…
primitivism, death, ancient civilizations, hollow spaces, insanity,
Zen, nihilism, vedic and tantric stuff. ======================================== This
Is Rock Download PDF
======================================== The
Sleeping Shaman Queen
Elephantine could be
described more as a collective than a band
and are certainly not one to shy away from experimenting, not only with
their sound, but also with their constantly rotating line-up which
see's members, past and present, come and go with every new release and
with it brings a whole wealth of influences and ideologies to the mix.
Intrigued to know more about the enigma that is Queen Elephantine, I
caught up with their main protagonist Indy... ======================================== Grey
Day Zine GDZ: First, What’s the history behind the name of the band “Queen Elephantine”, sounds like a Indian divinity or similar? QE:There’s actually not much of a story here. Danny Quinn and I had almost always been in bands together, and we thought, Let’s try and for once get a standard band name… The Adjective Nouns format. Of course we failed. Sadly, Queen Elephantine was the most normal name we could conceive. Later on thanks to Google we found out about Satis, the Queen of Elephantine, as in the Elephantine Islands off the Nile, and that whole myth. At the same time, Adrian Dexter had painted our split with Elder with a ‘Queen Elephantine’ character coming out of the Nile. So we like that connection, but it’s just coincidence. GDZ: In Internet Queen Elephantine come from different countries like Hong Kong - China … New York - USA … or Bangladesh - India… Where you really come from? QE:That’s a very difficult question. The band was formed in Hong Kong, where all the original members grew up. The self titled disc, the splits with Elder and Sons of Otis, and Surya were all recorded in Hong Kong. Then I moved to America for studies. Danny, the other founder of the band, trusted me to carry the spirit of the band on, and the group reformed with all different members in the new country. I met Raj, who composes the music with me now, in New York. The two of us recorded Yatra and the yet-unreleased split with Aluna with Chris Dialogue on drums and Brett Zweiman on bass. For our next full length, Kailash, we really have no idea who we’re going to record it with. Then I’m moving to Rhode Island in January, so we shall see what happens then. GDZ: Now, it’s time to talking about your music… Can you describe me in few words the essence of your music. QE:Someone described Surya as early Grateful Dead that heard everything that happened with rock and metal since. I liked that. Or maybe as Danny Quinn puts it, “Heavy Hippie Music.” It’s spiritual music. Relaxing, lethargic, downer music. GDZ: If you need to label your music… What genre is more accomplish to Queen Elephantine`s music… f.e: Sludge. Stoner. Psychedelic. Experimental. Post-blablabla. QE:I think Psychedelic is an easy cop-out, so that. Because what does psychedelic really mean? It can mean stoner, space, acid, and all of that, it can mean doom, ambient, drone stuff, it can even mean trance music. It can mean Velvet Underground, it can mean Kyuss, it can mean Pink Floyd, it can mean YOB, it can mean something like Gnaw Their Tongues. So it’s a good, safe label if we have to pick one. GDZ: What’s your favourite track from all the releases of Queen Elephantine and why? QE:Ramesses the Second, I’d say. Because of Danny Quinn’s bass line. We recorded the Ramesses suite, as in the split with Elder, completely improvised, and the bass line that Danny came in with on the guitar riff right then gave me an incredible feeling of elation. It sounds like a massive elephant marching to a war he’s not going to wage. GDZ: I really like your covers, Who painted the Surya and Yatra covers? QE:Surya was done by Adrian Dexter, who’s in my opinion one of the most fantastic music artists today. He’s just on the rise - some twenty years of age, so hopefully the world will see a lot more from him. He also did the art for our splits with Elder and Sons of Otis. Adrian is almost a member of the band who doesn’t play in it. Yatra was done by Aurora Cremer, who also did a beautiful poster for our shows in Delaware and Virginia last November. GDZ: In Surya tracks, I can hear into background a very hypnotic meditation bells or something similar… This is a sound sampler or an ethnic instrument? QE:For the first four tracks of Surya, you’re hearing an electronic tanpura, which we use live as well. In Indian classical music, it is used as a sort of tonal anchor, since much of the music is modal and improvised, like ours. GDZ: Recently you published a free EP “Yatra”… tell me about the musical diferences between Surya and Yatra releases. QE:Like I said above, it’s a completely different band. Also, Surya was jammed out from beginning to end with one mindset, except for Bison which we had recorded a little earlier. Yatra is a grouping of two tracks we did at different times with different sounds. That’s why it’s an EP and not a full album for us. It’s a collection. GDZ: Queen Elephantine self-released Surya… Why you chose this kind of release? QE:For a full length, we want to make sure that it is going to a label we know and respect so as to make sure we’re on the same page and have the same vision. Within that group, we couldn’t find any label that wanted to release it. So we self-released it digitally and on CDR to try and raise funds to release it on CD, which is happening now. GDZ: Nobody signs Queen Elephantine? Do you have any contacts with music labels for future releases? QE:Well, that’s the situation with Surya, but we are always into doing splits and collaborations and EPs for other labels. Catacomb Records from the UK is about to release a 7” split with Aluna soon. We have a few collaboration albums that we are working on and an EP release in France, but I don’t want to speak to soon about them. GDZ: Tell me about the experience of self-release an album, jammin`… production… mixing… QE:It’s the best, as long as you’ve got the equipment you need to do it. In Hong Kong, we had our own studio. We are weird people with a weird taste in sound. Many people complain about the production of Surya, but we really love it and want it to sound exactly like that. When we recorded in New York, I found it very difficult to communicate exactly what I wanted out of a recording to an engineer. I will probably mix things myself, until we find the right engineer with the same vision as us. GDZ: When I make an interview always repeat the same question about Internet Downloads, because I’m so interested in artist’s opinion. What’s your opinion about music business? Do illegal downloads benefit the artists, because much people have access to our music, or simply rip your work? QE:I can’t speak for big bands who are making a living off their music, but we primarily want people to hear our music. I’ve grown up with the internet and freedom of information and I was something like ten or eleven when Napster first came out, so for most of my life I have been able to download music. I personally believe that music should be free. Today, illegal or not, that’s the reality, and people are listening to more music of a greater diversity than ever before. You can download most of the music you want for free. But then the real music lovers will go out and buy the CD or the LP to cherish a hard copy collectible of the album, and support the band. They’ll go to concerts, and buy t-shirts. This way, there’s a lot less money in the industry, yes, but it’s a lot more dedicated and a lot purer. Today’s situation primarily injures those involved in manufacturing music who rely not on exposing quality music, but on packaging and selling an image by flooding the mass-media. Many of the fans of this kind of music are also therefore fickle and have little loyalty or respect for the musicians. If this sector of the music sphere is getting choked out, then good. The best thing about doom music is that all the bands are in it first for the music. No one is going to say, “I know, a good way to get rich is to start a doom band.” How about for a band struggling to get off its feet? People probably won’t pay ten dollars or whatever for their CD without ever having heard of them before anyway. If someone downloads their album and likes it, then he might tell five other people about the band, and so on, and the exposure will lead to some good press and some good shows and they’ll reap their monetary reward in time, and probably quicker. GDZ: Finally, can you reveal me some plans for the band future… QE:We are doing a few collaborations, like I said, but until they’re done I don’t want ot talk about them, because a lot of times these plans change or fall through. Our focus in the next few months, before I move out of New York in December, is going to be Kailash. This may or may not be our last album, even though it’s only our second full length. It all depends what happens in Rhode Island and what we feel is right for the band. It’s going to be very different from Surya in some ways, but we always try and preserve the spirit of the band throughout, so I am sure by the time it is done, it will also sound very similar in some ways. We have recently been very disillusioned with shows in clubs – a lot of bands like us aren’t best felt in a club. I went to an Earth concert in May and I really wanted the show to leave the Knitting Factory and go out to an old warehouse or an abandoned Long Island wharf. Raj had just sat down in the middle of the crowd. That’s the space we are in right now. We want to play in our own element, which is nature. We want to go out and be inspired by nature and gather our ideas from there, write songs outdoors. I was watching a river thawing from winter in Maine, and it was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen, but more than that, it reminded me why I needed to play music. I could heard the rumbling bass and the soft guitars flowing with the heavy crush of the river. We also want to play whatever we feel is right, and not be limited by instrumentation and what we can do live. Whereas Surya was a completely live thing, this one will probably be done with more premeditation. Rather than, “Let’s just play and see what happens,” we might start with “This is the image we are following and this is the end we are hunting, let’s now see how we play it.” We already recorded some demos for Kailash, before our mindset totally flipped, so we have a nice 7” worth of material, but as usual, I don’t know if we’ll find anyone who wants to release it. I am also hoping that someone will be interested in releasing Surya on vinyl, but no one has approached us about it yet. GDZ: That’s all! QE:Thanks so much. Good luck with the zine.
Darsombra's Blog What a way to go!!! The last band we saw on this leg of the tour, Providence's own Queen Elephantine, absolutely, positively blew our minds, further out than we would even imagine. ======================================== Hudson Valley Psych Fest The world melts away. You stand in true nakedness before the splendor of timeless creation. The experience of the sublime always involves terror as much as it involves beauty. Queen Elephantine is music devoted to the void. While they lean heavy towards what some might call "doom" music, it remains distinctly psychedelic in the way H.P. Lovecraft is psychedelic. The band is based in Providence these days so the comparison is apt. The cosmic horror that lies beyond the veil is only horrible when you cling to what you know. Queen Elephantine delivers long slow burning hymns that seek to tear away the maya of this world with the benevolent ferocity of some fanged and clawed Tibetan deity. ======================================== The Obelisk: Tour Preview By virtue of their ready drive to experiment, it seems preordained that Queen Elephantine will remain somewhat underappreciated in the wider sphere of heavy, but their droning explorations engage both hypnotism and conscious acknowledgement, and when they burst forward, they can be viciously, unrepentantly weighted. The somewhat amorphous Providence, Rhode Island, outfit released their Scarab (review here) full-length last year, and it was an album both ambitious and expansive, stretching and pulling the mind like taffy with this or that evocative nuance. Truly one to get lost in, and a joy for that. In addition to the dates listed below for their April tour of the Northeast, Queen Elephantine will also play this coming Sunday at Dusk in their native Providence, alongside Satan's Satyrs and somebody-sign-them-already doomers Magic Circle, at a gig presented by Armageddon Shop. Info on that is here. Also note the appearance among the enviable lineup of the Hudson Valley Psych Fest on April 18 ======================================== The Obelisk: Live Review -1/16 Boston, MA I had driven back from New Jersey during the day — most of it, anyway — with the knowledge that I wanted to see Queen Elephantine at O'Brien's last night. I knew I'd be tired as crap, but figured it'd be worth it because somehow it had gotten to be like half a decade since I last saw the band, in Maryland at the first benefit for Evil Fanny. Hard to believe so much time had passed. Particularly in light of having missed their Boston show last fall with It's Not Night: It's Space, Olde Growth and Keefshovel and having very much dug 2013′s Scarab full-length (review here), it was long overdue... I won't lie, I was dragging ass by then. It was a long day on I-95 and I was at the show by myself, but it had been the chance to see Queen Elephantine that had pulled me off the couch and away from the episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation in the first place, so I wasn't going to let it go. I took a minute, went outside, called The Patient Mrs. and got my head together to see the Providence, Rhode Island, experimental doom outfit, led by guitarist Indrayudh "Indy" Shome and featuring drummer Matt Couto of Elder and the aforementioned Keefshovel for the night alongside bassist Mat Becker, who shared a mic with Shome for the chanting vocals of the two extended pieces they played. That's right, two songs. When you're Queen Elephantine and your songs run upwards of 20 minutes at a clip, you can do that kind of thing if you so choose, and I guess on a night where they stripped so far down from their usual current incarnation — I've seen recent pictures of a five-piece lineup and I don't think there's really a limit when people start showing up — you can do a set of two songs and have it work. Call it playing to their minimal side if you want, either way, Queen Elephantine wanted nothing for sonic presence or fullness save where they wanted to want for it, and were able to conjure vivid atmospherics even with the reduced personnel. Becker took a spoken word part in the middle of the first song — "The Search for the Deathless State" from 2008′s Kailash — and they settled into a fervent build across both that and "Chariot in Solemn Procession," the latter taken from 2008′s Yatra EP and rounding out with an undulating groove made all the more insistent through Couto's drumming. You could see when he clicked with Becker and Shome in the pacing. Initially he seemed to be pulling fast, but they smoothed out over the course of their time and ultimately, whether it was droned to oblivion or crushingly doomed, Queen Elephantine satisfied vigorously. I thought it was cool as hell, and similar to hearing Scarab and thinking the band was coming into a sound of their own after years of directional experimentation, I got the same impression in their confidence on stage. A loop of tanpura drone behind further filled out the sound behind them, only to be swallowed up by louder parts and reemerge here and there, staying on for a while after they brought their last song to its crashing conclusion. ======================================== "Droning
Earth Vol 25" / EGB 2009 Queen Elephantine toob minuni Dark Ambient rännakud Tiibetis. Vokaaliefektid on loos suurepärased ning väga sünged. Kohati Raison D’Etre’lik helide käsitlus, teisalt aga Dead Can Dance’i meenutav meditatiivne ethereal. ======================================== Nonelouder.com:
Live Review @ New York, NY Queen Elephantine played next and as aggressive as Ichabod was, these boys (there wasn’t a member over 21) brought us back to earth, or should I say, launched us into space (rock) with their droney, serpentine interpretation of Sunn0))) as filtered through Sleep. It was a droney repetitive riff fest. Vocals were more chants then melodies and the structures were loose and at times more theoretical then solid and concrete. These fella’s are one’s to watch. They are grasping, but aren’t quite reaching, a unique sound. I think they may get there…. ======================================== Bad
Acid Magazine: Tab 6 ======================================== "Sound
Of The Catacombs" Compilation / Catacomb
Records 2008 QUEEN ELEPHANTINE - "Sea Goat" : Apparently these New Yorkers are sometimes compared to PINK FLOYD. Judging by this track I wonder why because doom rock simply doesn’t come any more limp-wristed than this. Which is a good thing by the way! One of the better tracks on the comp. ======================================== HK
Underground: Live Review off to a slow but deeply rich start, they're all about populating the bassline with juicy tidbits of stoner love and fascinating variation to keep you solidly in their groove. and a wonderful groove it is. i thoroughly enjoy every sedimentary syllable they have to utter. they seem to have almost invented the mind of the stoner in all its cannabic glory, an absolutely blissful place to get lost in for an hour or three. not a whole lot of original melody here, but pretty much everything a slowly wandering mind seeks to encounter. they are the abolutely perfect accompaniment to couch-lock, leaving you wanting nothing but another plate of nachos. the band "tool" has a bit more creativity and variation, but queen elephantine is very stiff competition as far as keeping an awesome vibe going goes. i seriously cannot think of any way that they could possibly improve. they're like floyd without the legacy. truly a stoner's wet (if a bit cotton mouthy) dream. -Amos
Lines In Wax I'm getting the most incredible Om-meets-Earth vibe off these guys. If that fact alone doesn't make you want to check 'em out, then let me tell you a little bit more about Queen Elephantine. Interestingly, the band are from Hong Kong but are now located in New York City and Scarab is their 4th record. Crawling around behind the abstract sleeve art is a minimalistic yet lush soundscape consisting mainly of vast instrumentation - be it conventional or otherwise - led by a rumbling bass and twinkling sitar. These landscapes of aural annihilation are dotted with sparse, achingly melodic vocal passages. From the 8 minutes of "Veil" to the 18 minutes of "Crone" and the two other epics alongside them, Queen Elephantine put on an extremely impressive show into the experimental side of the doom / stoner genres (although it almost feels criminal to restrict the band to such titles). Crawl with the scarab... ======================================== Masterful Magazine Queen Elephantine is a long-running Doom/Drone band from Hong Kong that recently moved to the US. That's what makes the band's music so interesting perhaps – it's a hodgepodge of ethnic influences, including Indian ones what with the musical instruments being employed such as the Tanpura. The effect is visceral, psychedelic and spiritual. It's difficult to try and get into this album. You just have to let it grow on you, take a hold over your subconscious and it will change the air in your room. It's an ever-droning mélange of various sounds, ever-evolving, some fleeting some lasting. It's not as heavy as one would expect perhaps, since there's less doom here but it's part of the same ilk. I love the way the music escalates ever so deceptively and before you know it a lot is happening and there's your extremity but in a different sense. It's on a different level, a different plane. It's comparable to a more ambient-sounding Om, something atmospheric in a sense than something traditionally heavy. The best example of the music would be the second song Crone which is an 18-minute mental detergent. It always has something going on, varying levels of instrumentation while never letting go of the grip on your mind. The songs are somewhat transitional and never abrupt. It's therefore a journey, an experience into different states of mind, which is what makes this band and release special. ======================================== The Sound Projector Got the fourth album by Queen Elephantine, a distinctive metal band who are situated at the "experimental" end of the genre, but working hard to martial their forces and weave a potent doomy brew from their massed guitars and two drumkits, while still retaining the iron grip of sturdy "minimalism" – in so far as that term can apply to rock. The band originally formed in Hong Kong in 2006, but only the guitarist Indrayudh Shome remains from that first line-up, and the band now reside in Providence, suggesting that the band now comprises a mix of Asian and American doomsters. Scarab (HEART & CROSSBONE HCB 047) contains four lengthy and lumbering cuts, all of them pushed along by drumbeats as hard as concrete, and where much effort and sweat is expended on summoning up a vague form of "tribal-ceremonial" vibe while still keeping all four of the elephant's feet planted on the grim and doomoid terrain; it's as though the religious procession and all its priests and pilgrims were being slowly dragged down into a deep black marsh, to the accompaniment of hammered gongs and the rich scent of incense. If that sounds depressing, remember that they died willingly, for a cause they believed in. Queen Elephantine's group sound isn't actually as ponderous as I make it appear; none of that excessive amplification and distorted guitars malarkey for them, thanks very much, and all their notes are uttered with a deathly, minimal precision, much like a slowed-down and less uptight version of Om. If this team were archers, then you'd better be wearing body armour. The presence of the tanpura (played here by Srinivas Reddy) certainly adds an additional exotic / psychedelic flavour to the general unhinged drone, while an uncredited vocalist adds a harrowing plaint from his perturbed throatal zones, paying scant regard to matching the tune or rhythm, just as long as the haunted tone is in the correct area. It's also mightily impressive how the band maintains their murderously slow processional pace throughout, even in the teeth of pain and suffering; fans of interminable torture-filth like Khanate are advised to check in, and prepare for an endless ride on the Ratha Yatra temple car (or juggernaut, as some will have it). The quasi-mystical cover artworks are by Adrian Dexter. ======================================== Metal Recusant I am most certainly no stranger to the oddity that is Queen Elephantine. When I'd first learned of the rather unnoticed sludge/drone movement, I was introduced to their very paced, almost meticulous, release Garland Of Skulls. Though, immediately I knew the band wasn't too popular due to its aforementioned nature, something about the slow melancholic pace really did it for me. I have always been a fan of slow buildups but Queen Elephantine – this strange group whose members span from Providence to Hong Kong – is almost completely a buildup. Scarab, to me, seems to almost be a perfection on their unique sound. Now, for those fresh – don't go into this release expecting anything 'sludge' like Lumbar, YOB, or Buzzoven. What you are getting here is something akin to, though more functional than, bands such as Undersmile. Actually, I can just about say Queen Elephantine and Undersmile are the only bands I can quite pin for this particular sound. It's something only barely describable – a slow and sinister yet exotic movement. Scarab is by far their most 'psychedelic' release, but in all honesty – I'd be more terrified to be under the influence of anything and listening to this album than even with the depressive Garland of Skulls. I would go into riffs and structure but I'm under the impression that Queen Elephantine improvises their entire works ala Miles Davis. No joke, there is absolutely no way to know where things are going on Scarab. One moment you sound to be in a wide open stretch of despair with 'Veil' and by the time you're done you find yourself claustrophobic and alienated with 'Clear Light Of The Unborn'. Sometimes, without notice, songs will be taking a silent approach and suddenly ghostly foreign voices sound without warning. Needless to say, by the time I finished Scarab – 4 lengthy tracks of terrifying psychedelic alienation – I felt as if I'd traversed some twisted ethereal reality. ======================================== Doom Metal Front Magazine (Germany) 9/10 Scarab" fördert beim ersten Lesen sofort dunkelste Erinnerungen an die Todesmetaller von NILE aus meinen hintersten Hirnarealen zutage. Und irgendwie scheint sich das mit den ersten Klängen zu bestätigen. Nein, hier gibt es keine Blastbeat-Sandstürme, sondern die orientalischen Töne nehmen einen mit auf einen psychedelischen Wüstentrip ins alte Ägypten. Wunderbar kann man bei der minimalistischen Musik von QUEEN ELEPHANTINE dem hektischen Alltag entfliehen und die Sounds einfach nur wirken lassen. Am besten mit Kopfhörern! Die vier Songs sind für Freunde von EARTH und Co. eine Offenbarung, aber dennoch etwas völlig Neues. Eine Meditation für die Trommelfelle, die ganz angetan gleichmäßig vibrieren. Ein experimenteller Spielplatz im Drone-Sog. Selten waren Minimalismus und Nichts-passieren derart faszinierend. Das Album beschwört sich selbst, wie ein Sektenführer seine Jünger in den Bann zieht. Wie etwas Verbotenes, dem man nicht widerstehen kann. (FF) ======================================== Metal Bandcamp Scarab is Queen Elephantine's latest release of four full length albums and several splits and EPs. They originally formed in Hong Kong in 2006, but are currently based in Providence/RI/USA. Roughly described the album is some kind of experimental meditative doom drone whatever. Guitar, slide guitar, bass, tanpura, vocals and two drumsets are the instruments Queen Elephantine use to conjure a strong psychedelic, lysergic vibe and create a dark, mysterious atmosphere. What you will need to appreciate this album is an open mind and open senses, and if you're willing to submit yourself to it you will be rewarded with an utterly satisfying listening experience. As everything is very slow, drawn out, utterly heavy, repetitive and minimalistic, there doesn't seem to happen very much, but the open spaced sound is completely filled with resonance and reverb especially from guitar, bass and the vocals. The vocals are sung with extremely lengthened vowels that perfectly correspond with the strings' sound and remind me of the meditative aum chants, but with a dirge like "funeralistic" wail to it. It's also filled, with the millions of different percussion sounds, as the percussion is quite predominant throughout the the album. And finally the underlying buzzing drone sounds of the slide guitar and tanpura seem to be of constant presence. The opening track Veil indeed does function as an opening tool. It opens a door to mysterious and exotic soundscapes. With a slow and patient build up, drony, percussive and luringly hypnotic it leads you to meet the first murky riffs and the unusual use of the vocals, to some strange temple-like place, awe-inspiring and compelling all the same. There's a sense of a lurking unknown threatening danger combined with some power omnisciently aware of an inevitable doom, yet compassionately wailing about it. And this sense is growing with each of the four songs of the album. Equally growing is the discrepancy between the meditative repetitiveness and the weird, unconventional structures and disturbing dissonances, the first requires a kind of "mental dispersal" and the latter rather a focused concentration. And herein lies the true beauty and brilliancy of Scarab; the contradicting elements are so perfectly balanced, that there's always an exciting tension carried in an entrancing flow of dark and mysterious, trippy sounds. ======================================== Zware Metalen (Netherlands) Oosterse invloeden en doom metal, een goede combinatie? Om en Bong hebben al bewezen dat dit zeker het geval is, Queen Elephantine is een band die oorspronkelijk uit Hong Kong komt, maar al een tijd woonachtig is in de Verenigde Staten en werkt met Oosterse instrumenten als een tanpura, een Indiaas snaarinstrument dat door zijn resonantie voor de typerende drone zorgt. De band maakt doom metal met de distortion en donderende drums er af, de percussie heeft veel ruimte terwijl de gitaarriffs laag gestemd zijn maar nooit zwaar klinken. Alles blijft ingetogen, guur en mysterieus en de vocalen zijn meer een instrument dan een middel om de teksten over te brengen met lang gerekte noten en een uitvoering die net op het randje is. Het acht minuten durende Veil komt snel bij zijn climax waarbij de twee drummers de accenten steeds steviger leggen en de gitaarpartij steeds steviger wordt. Wie de eerste track heeft gehad weet wat er nog aan zit te komen. Queen Elephantine heeft het instrumentarium om iets heel kleurrijks neer te zetten, maar het blijft in zijn speelduur van 50 minuten vrij beperkt. De gitaarpartijen variëren nog het meest in kleine details, maar de drumpartijen blijven met twee spelers wel erg veel in dezelfde patronen hangen. Het samenspel is apart: de gitaren en bas staan stevig, maar de drumpartijen kronkelen om de boel heen. Intrigerend en sfeervol is het dus zeker, deze meditatieve doom, het is alleen vrij langdradig. ======================================== Thrashocore (France) 8.5/10 Bien sûr, pour ceux aimant leur voyage mystique enjôleur et temporaire, ceux aimant un groove apaisant comme un après-midi au Moyen-Orient à naviguer dans les terres anciennes entre deux clics de leur appareil photo, il y a Om. C'est chouette Om. Pas trop ethnique, pas trop assourdissant, suffisant pour donner des images de lieux empreints de religion tranquillement assis dans son fauteuil. Mais pour ceux qui, de la révélation à la conversion forcée des masses, veulent leur trajet sans retour, veulent ressentir ce que les croyants de l'époque avaient de fanatique, alors Om ne suffit pas. Il leur faut quelque chose de total, où l'enivrement n'est que le début et la fin une horreur guidée par la transe, rappelant que le corps, cette chose coupable, est une barrière à briser pour laisser place à l'esprit. Tuer, pour libérer. A ceux-là, je leur conseille Scarab de Queen Elephantine. Il y a de prime abord peu de différences entre le groupe de Rhode Island et le tout-venant des musiques rituelles. Comme beaucoup, les Ricains se basent sur l'utilisation de basses et d'instruments orientaux pour transmettre leurs atmosphères, la répétition comme arme principale. Et oui, en surface, peu à dire sur ce qui fait de cet album une expérience aussi obsédante, à l'exception de ce chant peu commun évoquant Alice In Chains selon la méthode du Noothgrush de la démo : Layne Staley au fond du trou où on l'a enterré appelant à l'aide, zombifié, langoureux, séduisant pour mieux croquer sa proie. Pourtant, Scarab donne – par flashs aux premières écoutes puis en continu par la suite – une impression autre. Mathématiques en ce qu'elles contiennent d'implacable malgré leurs notes fuyantes et coulantes, les quatre compositions de l'ensemble se font progressivement lourdes, d'une chaleur piquante laissant hébété sans recourir au pachydermique habituel. C'est ce sens de la tension, continuellement sur le fil entre groove anesthésiant et acharnement proche de la folie par l'utilisation corrosive de leitmotivs, qui conquiert au fur et à mesure, faisant passer l'album du côté des disques agrémentant agréablement ses séances d'effritement et de roulage à ceux ne laissant pas tout à fait d'humeur festive. Par flaques juxtaposées, Queen Elephantine fait valoir son expérience au sein de longue-durées (trois avant celui nous intéressant) et nombreux splits avec Sons of Otis, Elder ou encore Alunah. La formation parvient à fasciner malgré un étalement constant, jusqu'à ce tampura (luth à long manche utilisé en Asie Centrale) égrainant ses interventions dans un esprit menaçant. Cette uniformité fera la part entre les asservis et le reste, Scarab n'étant pas là pour attirer mais bien prendre par la force. Mystérieux jusqu'au bout, l'essai n'est clairement pas à laisser entre toutes les mains et seuls les plus téméraires se laisseront prendre par ces cinquante minutes instiguant un malaise ardent mais guidant l'imagination comme peu savent le faire. Écouter Scarab, c'est avoir la sensation de pénétrer une secte semblable à celle des Hashishins, avec ses secrets et ses rites où le spirituel trouve sa source dans le sang versé. On peut décidément remercier le label Heart & Crossbone d'avoir sorti cette pépite – label qui, au passage, est israélien. Promis, ce sera la seule chose prêtant à sourire ici. ======================================== Transcending Obscurity (India) 'Scarab' completes the triumvirate of outstanding drone releases from 2013 (the other two being new releases by Wolvserpent and Dark Buddha Rising). A lot of albums are grab-bags of songs tossed together; not 'Scarab'. The album is an organic whole, from the invocatory stirrings of Veil to Clear Light of the Unborn', which ends with a chiming motif that sounds like a fade to nirvana. At the heart of this suite is Crone, an 18-minute epic which moves through austere, meditative passages to peaks of intensity. A variety of droning layers, ranging from warm twangs to sustained keening sounds waft around the musical backbone provided by Indy Shomes' extended chordal maneuvers, executed in perfect rapport with the rhythm section, Matt Becker and Ian Sims. Snake follows this up with another twist on the motifs that seem to tie the whole album together in subtle but inescapable ways. There isn't one wasted moment or deviation from a psychedelic, meditative and deeply absorbing atmosphere. Everything seems perfectly balanced, and despite the layering this is not profligate music – there's a sense of economy and careful consideration to this music, where every note that is played is selected for what it adds to the mood and momentum of the music. 'Scarab' is possibly Queen Elephantine's finest album yet. ======================================== Axis of Metal If you can throw your hair around and bang your head to a real mean riff, spreading an illness in the very air with a homogeneous mix of drool, bong smoke and beer, you're probably listening to metal. If you can stomp your feet against the ground like a tormented madman, to the point of eviction from your family's apartment complex, you're probably listening to metal. If you can stare at your ceiling for 45 minutes, seven beers down and on the verge of what most monks refer to as mental nirvana, you might be surprised to find that you're probably still listening to some crazy sub-genre of metal. It's the exclusive beauty of a certain type of music that only our right-brained, blowhard, long haired brethren get to enjoy. That's just what Queen Elephantine puts into the air with their latest release- surprisingly quaint vibes from a genre that's supposed to be filled with bloodshed, gore-ish themes and brutal subject matter. "Supposed", according to our less seasoned friends who are still on a Dethklok kick from staying up past midnight and catching wind of a rough interpretation of what metal should sound like ("Dude, have you heard these guys? I thought Metallica was as metal as it gets."). What can I say? I hang around some real greenhorns these days. Scarab is the type of EP that gives doom a reputation for easy listening; hell I'd be lying if I said I wasn't asleep for the latter half of my initial listen. That all said, I can't lie and say that this is as accessible as this music gets. You've listened to mainstream noise and this is far from that. If you're expecting some face-melting guitar solos you're in for a dissapointment when you're already passed out by the third song. I personally thought it was pretty nice and woke up pleasantly sober from a very calm stupor and went ahead to my second spin as if it were part of my daily routine. I have to say it wouldn't hurt to take some time on a regular basis to kick back and play this album to the rhythm of a nice nap; as opposed to the traditional migraine that comes with swinging your hair to the aforementioned riffage you'd find on my usual playlist of death metal. This release has found a semi-permanent staple to my iPhone amongst endless albums of ambient and shoegaze music for the mere reason that it successfully knocks me on my ass; a trait seldom discovered in this realm. The first track kicks off and before you know it it's looping again; the same monotonous string droning along through every single track, tying up all four as though it were one long, bluesy and silent ballad conjured up by the likes of drone titan Sunn 0))) or another name of equal prestige in such a category. You may not like everything about this. You should keep in mind that I'm a nefariously picky critic; the type of bloke that likes falling asleep to metal music, regardless of it's density. When you double click the first track, "Veil", you should go in expecting the following three tracks to follow suit in a fashion so similar to the ssou'd barely know you were listening to an LP, but rather a long, drawn-out single that has fans of the group going in circles about how they think they've done well but that the annoying consistency between the four songs makes it feel like a tiny circle they've been going in for hours in intervals of half-hours. There is no gentle way to say that this release feels like drone in it's original, textbook definition "To make a continuous low humming sound". Although the note you hear is in a mid-range, F-note for the duration of the entire EP. It's the string that ties the whole thing together; as well as effectively makes Z's out of your thoughts in a snap. This is also a bit of a double edged sword in that sense. Subtlety is a rare gem, and while infinitely important in this case doesn't do much for the listener on it's own; it makes the experience just a little too easy on the ears for my taste. The vocals descend into the scene with such inconspicuous mastery that you'd hardly know they were there at all until they're already at their peak, beginning to die down again and leaving you thirsty for more. This is wholly effective for the first track, "Veil", but gets tiresome as the other three drag on in a painfully similar fashion. There isn't enough spice on this EP to make it a staple on many collections, but wouldn't be out of place on your reading playlist or something of the like. ======================================== Metalhead.it Origini instabili, Hong Kong e USA, per sonorità instabili. Deviate. Provocanti. Vari album ed EP pubblicati, line up instabile che ormai vede solo un elemento originale. Missione? Suono. Suono che assume dimensioni doom, ma con attributi psichedelici, idee drone ed inserti spirituali capaci di mescolare sensazioni mediorientali che danno origine a suoni sensuali, ammalianti, allucinati. Quattro tracce, ma oltre cinquanta minuti di musica: i pezzi brevi per questa band durano almeno otto minuti, mentre la normalità si aggira sul quarto d'ora, un quarto dora che sembra eterno, oscuro, complesso, malato. "Veil" e "Crone" i pezzi che forse offrono un range più vasto di emozioni (rispettivamente la canzone più corta e più lunga del disco). Ma è "Clear Light Of The Unborn" che presenta i suoni più sconvolti, più assurdi, più malati. Non si tratta certamente di un ascolto facile, anche se riesce a farsi assaporare come componente ambientale; un disco profondo, una marcia funebre, una negazione intensa e diffusa, una musica che colpisce e cattura ad un livello puramente psicologico. ======================================== The Grim Tower Queen Elephantine is one hell of a name for a band and this is undoubtedly one hell of an album as well. It's much different that what you would think, as we've got these Indian experimentalists taking the drone genre on in an entirely unique fashion. The ritualism of "Veil 8:12″ definitely shows their roots, yet still manages to incorporate some thicker riffs and sixties prog fare. Vocals don't break in until the song is almost upon completion, but "Veil" serves to be an intro more than anything else. It's just a very long intro. The track follows up into the longest number on the disc and real meat of the album called "Crone 18:55″ in which bells and almost inaudible bass fills begin the track, leading into further atmosphere as well as incorporating a rabid drumming session. Just imagine it as very light progressive doom. There are no vocals to be found on this track either. "Snake 10:44″ plays with prog as well as doom, yet everything is still quite reserved. Queen Elephantine might be one of the quietest bands that I've ever heard. Vocals do appear on the track, but just like everything else; they're quite subtle. The album closes with "Clear Light Of The Unborn 13:05″ which starts out as complete silence and builds slow momentum through the disc with light taps. The track ends with complete silence, closing the disc. ======================================== Battle Helm Queen Elephantine releases its fourth full length, on the much acclaimed Heart & Crossbone records presenting its latest and most accomplished work yet – a myriad shades and moods, presented in a state of trance, music twining like the curls emanating from incense sticks, something ever-intriguing, relaxing and mesmerizing at the same time. Instruments include two sets of drums, traditional Indian Classical instrument that's Tanpura, slide guitar and of course the metal stuff. It's mastered by none other than Billy Anderson (Eyehategod, Sleep, Cathedral, etc.) to present you the music in all its striking clarity and tone.
Origini instabili, Hong Kong e USA, per sonorità instabili. Deviate. Provocanti. Vari album ed EP pubblicati, line up instabile che ormai vede solo un elemento originale. Missione? Suono. Suono che assume dimensioni doom, ma con attributi psichedelici, idee drone ed inserti spirituali capaci di mescolare sensazioni mediorientali che danno origine a suoni sensuali, ammalianti, allucinati. Quattro tracce, ma oltre cinquanta minuti di musica: i pezzi brevi per questa band durano almeno otto minuti, mentre la normalità si aggira sul quarto d'ora, un quarto dora che sembra eterno, oscuro, complesso, malato. "Veil" e "Crone" i pezzi che forse offrono un range più vasto di emozioni (rispettivamente la canzone più corta e più lunga del disco). Ma è "Clear Light Of The Unborn" che presenta i suoni più sconvolti, più assurdi, più malati. Non si tratta certamente di un ascolto facile, anche se riesce a farsi assaporare come componente ambientale; un disco profondo, una marcia funebre, una negazione intensa e diffusa, una musica che colpisce e cattura ad un livello puramente psicologico. ======================================== Darkview (Belgium) 7.5/10 Doorgaans denken ik bij Indische muziek spontaan aan Bollywoodfilms. Er is daar echter ook een zeer levendige metalscene met een interssante onderstroom in de meer experimentele extreme kant van het genre. Zo heb je bv Queen Elephantine die je nog het best zou kunnen omschrijven als het Indische antwoord op Earth. Zonder daarbij klakkeloos over te nemen wat de dronepioniers deden. Waar Earth zich op recentere platen geregeld laat inspireren door haar eigen roots in de Amerkaanse muziek, doet deze Queen Elephantine hetzelfde met haar eigen achtergrond. Zo hoor je doorheen de dreunende gitaren ook het kenmerkende traditionele geluid van een Tanpura. 'Scarab' is natuurlijk grotendeels een louter instrumentaal, minimalistisch gebeuren. Slechts af en toe hoor je een verdwaalde zanglijn die sterk aan Sleep doet denken. Billy Anderson heeft de mastering voor zich genomen zodat alles klankgewijze in goede banen loopt. Een plaatje uit onverwachte hoek. ======================================== Wonderbox Metal Queen Elephantine, from the US, treat us to their fourth album of psychedelic experimental Doom. Straight from the off in first song Veil the band create an experience unlike most, with spaced out psychedelia paving the way. In fact the word experience is an apt one as that's precisely what this is; a listening experience. There is a lot going on here, even when it sounds on occasion relatively minimalistic. There is a wide range of instrumentation employed and the clear, organic sound does everything justice. In addition to the standard instruments one would expect we also get slide guitar, tanpura, additional effects/noises and two drummers, which makes for a great and varied collection of songs that have lots of individuality. The vocals, when they appear, seem to be almost an afterthought. They appear at select points in the songs like ghostly apparitions floating in and out of reality. It all adds to the feeling of space and timelessness that the songs evoke and it's easy to get lost in the endless hypnotic jam of Queen Elephantine. I was not expecting to like this as much as I do. Not because I had any expectations of the band being bad or anything, (I had not heard of them before listening to this), but purely because it surprised me with the high quality on display and because it's just so damn good. If you're looking for something a bit different and like to be taken out of reality then I advise you get your hands on this as soon as you can. If you're in the mood for it then this is just excellent. ======================================== The Ring Master Review 7.5/10 Intensively provocative and demandingly challenging Scarab the new album from Queen Elephantine is a release which it is not too wide of the mark to say will not be for everyone. Consisting of four experimental and expansive landscapes of doom clad laments immersing the senses in darkness bred funereal breaths and captivations, the album is a testing evocation to avoid or embrace, with little in between one suspects. Meditative yet disturbing, seductive yet exacting, engaging yet overwhelming, the album is an uncompromising intrusive dirge but also persistently compelling. Scarab is the fourth album from Queen Elephantine, a project formed in Hong Kong in 2006 and now residing in Providence, Rhode Island. With several splits also under their belts including releases with Sons of Otis and Elder, the Indrayudh Shome led band has earned a strong reputation with their impacting explorations to which Scarab adds another epically cast uncompromisingly delivered landscape. With bassist Mat Becker, drummers Ian Sims and Nathanael Totushek, tanpura player Srinivas Reddy, and slide guitarist Brett Zweiman alongside Shome and his guitar skills, the band steer the listener into bleak psychedelic threnodies which never allow a breath to be taken in hope or made without an intense melancholic soak. Opener Veil coaxes the ears with a rhythmic and percussive persuasion initially, an intriguing tempting with slight tanpura caresses and sonic whispers watching on. Once the bass and throaty guitar enters though a shadow clouds over the tempting to chill and inspire the imagination with stronger potency. Taunts of repetition begin laying down their riveting seeds from this point but through a weave which slowly shifts and evolves as the first of the long winding tracks emerges fully. The song like the album has to be taken and assessed over numerous traverses of its heavy presence, it inducing a stronger persuasion and convincing with each taken endeavour. The droning breath of the track which takes over until the equally dragging vocals steal their moment nag and entice, but equally provide an irritant to fear or crowd in with mentally and emotionally. Though the shortest track on the album at a mere eight minutes it makes the listener work for its rewards, or that may be endure for some, but nevertheless it offers plenty for most to feed eagerly upon. The following Crone as good as emerges from the trailing wash of its predecessor, bass and again dark toned guitar making the first bait of the song. It is a demand on ears and patience at times especially in the first four minute stretch of the eighteen minute submergence into the darkest corners of the soul and emotional depths but a constant lure on thoughts as they unveil their interpretation and feelings on the slow resonating probing. Vocals with a mutually effective monotony to the sounds clasping them add a warmer hue to the narrative if without sparking any change and intent from the labour intensive persuasion being woven around the psyche. There is no respite to the emotional turmoil and restrained but merciless evocative droning, and the track certainly outstays personal limits with its length and full on provocation though within that blanket of sonic murmuring and discord kissed humming little twists and additives spark attention and appetite for the perpetually engaging enthrallment. The bass sound conjured across the album is a strong tempting alongside the guitar imagination and within the final pair of tracks Snake and Clear Light of the Unborn both make no exceptions in their entangling of the emotions. The first of the two casts ten minutes of minimalistic and progressive searching of those prevailing contemplations of the abyss. Admittedly a surface look provides a similar canvas to the songs around it and it is only, as with all the tracks, an intensive dive into the swallowing tenebrous climate that individual nuances and provocations truly unveil themselves. The song is the hardest most unforgiving listen on the release and often difficult to remain in the grasp of but still provides plenty to be stimulated and gripped by. Its successor from a mesh of chants around a spitting heat leads into an invasive swamp of textures and sounds similar to those which marked the previous track but also stirs up new caustic winds and sonic rubs as it develops its thirteen minute incitement. Stronger in its first half and a constant depressive questioning, the Heart & Crossbone Records (CD)/Cosmic Eye Records (LP) released Scarab is undoubtedly for a certain appetite but before that kind of hunger is a formidable and impressive progressive doom exploit igniting a wealth of emotions and instincts. Queen Elephantine does not make it easy but they never leave you short on satisfaction and adventure. ======================================== TuneOfTheDay.blogspot.com -Tune of the day: "Kabir" from Surya- ======================================== Puro Ruido Cuando mi amigo Manel me dijo de reseñar este material, sus palabras fueron "te va a romper el mate este disco", y como no podía ser de otra manera, su apreciación fue confirmada apenas con la primera escucha. "Scarab" consiste en un viaje psicodélico Drone/Doom minimalista y repetitivo que se extiende cansinamente a lo largo de 50 minutos, entre los cuales se distribuyen los cuatro temas que conforman el redondo. 50 minutos que pasan literalmente volando, buen indicio de que el contenido es cuanto menos interesante, eso sí, si sos adepto a este tipo de sonidos, de lo contrario puede significar una tortura totalmente agobiante y para nada entretenida. Desde que suenan los primeros acordes, la referencia de Earth salta al oído de inmediato, resultando indisimulable su influencia en la construcción de los temas, los tiempos y los riffs, sin embargo la diferencia más radical entre ambas propuestas es geográfica, ya que una sitúa sus atmósferas en tierras asiáticas y como es sabido los otros se rodean de áridos y polvorientos desiertos norteamericanos. En este punto se advierte la otra fuerte influencia que inspira todas las obras de Queen Elephantine y ésta no es la excepción, la de Om, tanto en la parte lírica o simbólica como en en ciertos pasajes de las líneas de percusión, el uso de sítar o la tanpura y elementos típicos de las culturas asiáticas, más precisamente Indú. Q.E. resulta mística por donde se la analice, desde sus orígenes supuestamente provenientes de Hong Kong, actualmente asentados en Brooklyn, hasta el aura que rodea a toda su música, es por eso que invito a aventurarse en su peculiar mundo. La placa abre con "Veil", más de 8 minutos para el tema más corto de toda la obra, como para ir acostumbrando el oído. El viaje comienza con la percusión dibujando mantras en el aire acompañado por sonidos de fondo correspondientes a la tanpura, slide de guitarra entre otros efectos como el que ellos mismos llaman el "divine mosquito" (sonidos que no nos abandonarán durante todo el peregrinaje). Una guitarra seca y apagada frasea riffs de corte Doom y las voces al igual que los efectos mencionados anteriormente se retuercen y reptan cual serpiente en determinados pasajes, sin aportar más que eso a la ecuación. Continuando con "Crone", aquí la guitarra sirve de guía, cargada del espíritu Drone/Doom, pero aún más arrastrada que el track anterior, sin llegar a distorsionarse más de lo justo y necesario. Los medios tiempos se tornan densos, la batería acompaña y los efectos de fondo nunca se acallan, acrecentando el misticismo. Si hilamos fino, al tema lo podemos dividir en 3 partes de 6 minutos cada una casi cronometradas, sin perder nunca el hilo conductor, en este caso el riff, que en la segunda parte gana fuerza y "dinámica" si se quiere, mientras que en la tercera parte se vuelve más experimental (por lo menos así lo percibo yo, valga la aclaración). Los medios tiempos vuelven a dominar la escena en el comienzo de "Snake", más denso, arrastrado y distorsionado que en la anterior oportunidad, mientras las voces "narcotizadas" ofician el ritual en busca del Nirvana, esta vez con mayor protagonismo. Un exquisito viaje Drone, de ese que tan bien le sale a Earth, y que tan bien han interpretado para su propuesta Q.E., sin llegar al mismo nivel, obviamente, toda comparación en este sentido resulta odiosa ya que Dylan Carlson es inigualable en lo suyo, por la hipnótica forma en que mantiene constantemente la tensión y la atmósfera dure lo que dure el tema a partir de una idea simple y repetitiva. Y es aquí donde quizás esté la mayor carencia de los ahora asentados en Brooklyn, ya que no llegan a cautivarnos totalmente, nos atrapan pero por momentos nos sueltan, lo que no quita que al viaje que nos sugestionan lo disfrutemos de punta a punta. Lo mismo sucede con "Clear Light Of The Unborn", luego de que el ritual se torne masivo y las plegarias se multipliquen en su intro, el tema con el que cierran la placa continúa con la marcha cansina desarrollada durante gran parte del redondo, puramente instrumental, sin líneas vocales, y apagándose de a poco como todo último tramo de una larga y agobiante travesía, diluyéndose en un vacío críptico pero pletórico. "Scarab" es un trabajo a la altura de la discografía de Queen Elephantine, y cumple con todos los requisitos que hacen al estilo que practican, quizás sin la inspiración de los grandes exponentes pero desenvolviéndose con mucha facilidad y atino a la hora de construír su plataforma de despegue que nos impulsará hacia los rincones más perceptivos de nuestras mentes. ======================================== Get Your Rock Out! (UK) An experimental psychedelic rock/doom band from New York City, currently based in Providence, Rhode Island and formed in Hong Kong in 2006. It's certainly an interesting prospect, described as "so heavy I couldn't wear headphones while listening caus it would be hard to hold my head up" by ProgNotFrog and "your brand new Eastern drone gods" by RockSellOut. The album clocks in at just under 50 minutes with a mere 4 songs on it, 'Crone' leads in length at 18 minutes 15 seconds, and it's certainly not what you'd called dull. The Eastern influences are present from the very start, twanging, jangling undercurrents swaying throughout 'Veil'. The album really starts as it means to go on, bringing together diverse elements that are hard to really describe. Eastern Doom really is probably the most accurate description as the band plays around with instrumentation and sounds that are uncommon to find in bands that draw from a Western influence. Just to highlight why Scarab is difficult to describe, two of the band members positions are described as Brett Zweiman on slide guitar/divine mosquito and Srinivas Reddy on tanpura/swarm. Now, slide guitar is obvious and even tanpura comes up with an easy google search (it's a long-necked plucked lute found in Indian music for those who want to know). Swarm is a little harder but it turns out that it's a software drone synth inspired by the Swarmatron, an analogue synthesizer that uses a ribbon controller and multiple oscillators, and Trent Reznor's soundtrack for The Social Network, which featured prominent use of a Swarmatron. I will admit at this point that I am simply drawing heavily from Wikipedia and have no real idea what any of this stuff means. Just like I still have no freaking clue what a divine mosquito is. What I do know is that drone music is all about sustained or repeated sounds/tone-clusters (the "drones") and if the divine mosquito is contributing to that then more power to it because Queen Elephantine really live up to RockSellOut's promise. With a sound so dependent on repetition and extensions, particularly given the sparse use of vocals, Scarab, and doom/drone music in general, constantly runs the risk of overplaying its hand and stepping into the realms of tedium. Fortunately, Indrayudh Shome (guitar), Matt Becker (bass), Ian Sims (drums), Nate Totushek (more drums) and the aforementioned Zweiman and Reddy never allow this to happen. I would honestly struggle to highlight who exactly is shining out at what point because, as I kind of look for in a doomy album, Scarab completely knocked me out of regular reality and into a strange, bassy dimension where 18 minutes seems a perfectly natural time for a song to play out. What I can say is that each member of the band really does get their moments to stand out whether it be with the bass breakdown on 'Crone' or the tanpura ululations that introduce 'Snake'. And while the vocals may indeed be minimalist, when they do show up they perfectly complement the music, fully justifying the band's choice to save them for the right moment. (I cannot say with full certainty but I believe said vocals are performed by Rajkishen Narayanan). Really, I can't think of a much better way to say it than these are your new Eastern drone gods. Bow down. ======================================== Crucial Blast (USA) One of the finest current purveyors of opiated psychdoom, Queen Elephantine returns with their fourth album, Scarab, and first for Israeli avant-metal label Heart And Crossbone. Although they've been putting out a steady stream of releases since forming back in 2007 (when the band was initially based in Hong Kong prior to relocating to New York City), the only previous release that I was ever able to get my hands on was the 8 XI 08 - Live In Brooklyn CDR, so this new one is the first full-on studio album that we've ever been able to get for C-Blast. It's as killer as I expected, too. Aside from their killer sense of riffcraft, Queen Elephantine stand out with a fairly unique sound that heavily incorporates aspects of Indian classical music into their druggy, delirious doom; along with the standard guitar/bass/drums lineup, the ensemble also includes full-time tabla and tanpura players, and employ pitched drum sounds and complex polyrhythms throughout their songs, as well as lacing their material with ominous heavy drones that draw from the tradition of Indian ragas. Fans of both Bong and Om's use of Eastern classical music influences would probably love this band, but Queen Elephantine ultimately sound pretty different from any of those bands. This stuff is much more experimental, and often much more abstract. Scarab is more or less laid out as a single massive hour long piece, with each track flowing right into the next, with a few riffs reappearing as motifs throughout the album. Right off the bat, the band start up with an entirely un-doomed rhythmic workout on opener "Vriel", building a deep percussive groove around the sound of tabla drums and clanking metal as swarming raga-style drones circle endlessly, the sound billowing out into a dark fog of psychedelic drone and mesmeric rhythmic interplay. Its not long before the gnarled, sinewy guitar riffs start to slither in, though, but rather than build into the expected release of crushing metallic heaviness, the band continues to maintain a constant sense of tension through this opening track, even as the downtuned rumbling bass and eerie moaning vocals drift in, instilling a sense of dread as the song lumbers somnolently into the sprawling eighteen minute "Crone". That riff from the previous song shifts into something even heavier but more disjointed, a meandering Sabbathian riff crawling in halting movements over the spacious drumming and lush synthlike ambience. Some more of that strange industrial clanking shows up later on as the song picks up steam, almost as if someone is banging away on some kind of junkyard drum kit in the background, as the sound surges forward into off-kilter heaviness amid creepy mewling feedback-drones and those narcotized wailing vocals. Eventually, this finally erupts into some weirdly ramshackle garage-doom, more like a clanking old noise outfit suddenly thrust into a fog of kosmische drift than anything resembling Electric Wizard or their myriad clones; indeed, this ends up heading into some very strange territory, mutating into bizarre mathy guitar figures and clacking rhythms while the howling of spectral cats fills the background. And the last two tracks on Scarab don't deviate too much from this shambling, ragged psychedelia, though "Snake" features some slightly more "melodic" vocals, a burned-out blues howl stretched to the breaking point over the nightmarish drone and skeletal guitars, while closer "Clear Light Of The Unborn" starts off with looped samples of tribal chanting before lurching into one final wretched deformed dirge. The songs are all tied together with those buzzing raga-style tanpura drones, and even at the end enfold the band's music in a bleary sonic fog that feels like something out a bad dream. Highly recommended to fans of the avant-garde improv/drone obsessed doom of bands like Orthodox, Ascend and the stoned psychsludge of Om and Bong. ======================================== Biotech Punk Ein volles Album und doch nur vier Lieder, sowas gibt es hier auf Scarab, dem Werk von Queen Elephantine. Vier Lieder, die aber alle auf eine ordentliche Spielzeit kommen, was damit fast direkt den Hinweis gibt um welche Musikrichtung es sich hier handeln mag und zwar um Doom / Drone Metal. Es soll das vierte Album der Band sein, doch kenne ich diese Band nicht, habe noch nie was von ihnen gehört, was vielleicht auch daran liegen mag das ihre Musik nicht so leicht zugänglich, eben keine einfache und leicht Kost ist. Sie spielen hier also Drone/Doom. Sehr ruhig eigentlich, wie ich finde. Langsam, mit Atmosphäre und Zeit, die Lieder bauen sich auf, die Stimmung steigt, steigert sich hinein in dieses Lied, in die Klangwelt die erschaffen und geboten wird. Es werden kleine Welten erschaffen, mit und durch die Musik die die Band hier spielt. Das ganze passiert eher ruhig, gar leise und bedächtig, was ich sehr interessant und spannend finde. Minimal ist es fast, was hier gemacht wird und doch wird eine volle Klangwelt erzeugt, die durchgehend vorhanden ist und den Raum um den Hörer füllt und einnimmt. Mein Fazit: Das ganze ist nun keine leichte Musik und doch ruhig, eingänglich, wenn man sich drauf einlassen kann und will und genau hier ist der Punkt, man muss es als Hörer wollen und sich auch die Zeit für die Klangwelt, die hier erschaffen wird, nehmen. Nimmt man sich die Zeit, dann kann man mitgenommen werden auf eine Reise in die Welt der Musik, in die Musik, in eine andere Welt, in seine Gedankenwelt. Geboten wird hierzu sehr gute, sehr überzeugende Musik von Queen Elephantine, auch wenn dies nun nicht die Musik für jede Gelegenheit ist. Muss es auch nicht sein, so ist es eben Musik für den besonderen Moment, und diese braucht auch seine musikalische Begleitung. ======================================== ExtremeUndergroundMusicZine Queen Elephantie are a band from Rhode island that plays a mixture of doom metal, sludge and drone with touches of psychedelic and ethnic music and this is a review of their 2013 album "Scarab" which was released by Heart And Crossbone Records. ======================================== Sludgelord Now four full length albums into their fluid career, Queen Elephantine are an enigma. Formed in 2006 in Hong Kong, transplanted to New York in 2007; Indrayudh Shome is the only original member left. He does, however maintain the heart and soul of the band. They have been labeled as "doom", I'm not sure that fits. They are a doom band in the sense of drone, I guess. The sitar and percussive elements are more meditative (and not new age bullshit) and trance like. The Eastern influence is so radically different from the down tuned, ham-fisted bashing that even my band succumb to; it's really hard to describe Queen Elephantine in any way other than, "you should find some herb, turn the lights down low and drift, drift… drift" If you are in a funeral doom kind of mood or if you are seeking another astral plain; these four tracks will fill that hole in your existence! ======================================== Redefine Mag Album Covers of the Year. Artwork by Adrian Dexter, Interview with Indrayudh Shome. “Triangles and hexagons were central, ranging from the double-trio band and a dominant emphasis on minor thirds to parts of songs being mapped and visualized as iterative triangles to move through. Another critical image was that of the band as a primordial cosmic chariot heaving a black-hole monolithic temple. A lot of discussion went into the exact nature of this temple, it being the casing of the Supreme and at the same time the void wherein collapse the mysteries of time and space. We also thought about inhabiting spaces. We tried to balance each other sonically by representing different forces in the mix: Ian being earth, Nate being metal, Mat water, myself (Indrayudh) wind. Srini and Brett are the swarm and the divine mosquito respectively, so while the two drones aren’t quite elements, they’re sort of like the bindu at the head of the beast. And of course all of our music is for the goddess and each album has presented a different aspect of Her. Her stone head graces this particular cover.” ======================================== Two Guys Metal Reviews Now this is the sort of band you rarely ever hear, progressive, doomy, droney, there is truly a bit of everything in Queen Elephantine a New York based (But Hong Kong formed) act. These guys are crafting music that is strangely innovative and hard to dig into. but once you let the spiraling melodies and strange structures of pieces like the eighteen minute long Crone you start to realize the incredible power of this group. Not a lot of bands can craft something that is this artsy and this well developed. There are a lot of weird and otherworldly elements in Queen Elephantines sound and its not always easy to get into the music. I especially dig the unique instrumentation used throughout, it helps to set Queen Elephantine apart and give them more of their own type of magic. The songs on their latest release, Scarab may be long and progressive but that does not take away from their beauty. Queen Elephantine are doing something new and exciting and I can't wait to see where they go next! ======================================== Dr. Harold Roth, Brown University Professor of Eastern Religions "Queen Elephantine makes Soundgarden sound like the Carpenters" ======================================== Aristocrazia (Italy) I Queen Elephantine sono una realtà affermata all'interno del circolo underground del doom cosmico-tribale: la formazione nata originalmente a Hong Kong e stabilizzatisi successivamente in quel di Providence (città specializzata in quanto a "esperienze ultra-terrene", non a caso ha dato i natali al signor H.P. Lovecraft) giunge al traguardo del quarto disco con l'uscita di "Scarab", un lavoro che a quanto pare ha avuto una gestazione fulminea durata appena un giorno. Il disco difatti è stato confezionato in sessione unica il 12 maggio del 2012, avvalendosi in fase di missaggio e registrazione delle cure offerte dal chitarrista Indrayudh Shome e da Ian Sims, lasciando invece il mastering a Mr. Billy Anderson. Per coloro i quali non conoscessero la band in questione, immaginate d'avere a che fare con una commistione di stampo atmosferico-rituale che vede scontrarsi Sleep, Earth, Dark Buddha Rising e l'essenza — rivoltata in fase discendente negativa — di realtà come Bong e My Sleeping Karma. Il loro è un viaggio fatto di brani estesi, nel quale è la componente strumentale, per lo più minimale-tribale, a regnare imperterrita, evidenziando nel suo mutare la presenza di nature difformi che portano con sé strascichi pesanti e diluenti di drone, space e psichedelia pura. Il "trip" nel quale "Scarab" ci incanala è paragonabile a un fiume placido le cui acque tendono con frequenza ad assumere una colorazione torbida, è uno scivolare capace di assumere toni inquietanti e lapidari nel suo lento e trascinato defluire, con le sparute apparizioni vocali caratterizzate da tratti striscianti che non fanno altro che sommare a questa greve rappresentazione sonora un ulteriore pizzico d'insalubre instabilità. I Queen Elephantine non sono di facile ascolto: il loro modo di suonare e interpretare questo mondo spirituale è ricco di dettagli e necessita della condizione mentale più adatta per addentrarvisi; si deve letteralmente sgombrare la mente, dando così a ogni singolo suono la possibilità di venire elaborato e processato, anche a costo di rimanerne totalmente invasi e succubi. "Scarab" è un portale messo a disposizione per accedere a un'altra dimensione. Volete addentrarvi in questo posto sconosciuto? Se la risposta fosse sì, la soluzione a vostra disposizione sarebbe una sola: indossare le cuffie per eliminare i rumori esterni, rilassare l'animo, riposandolo in una camera in cui la luce non filtri eccessivamente, e ovviamente premete il tasto "play" svariate volte. Sta a voi immaginare dove la musica possa trasportavi ed esplorare quel luogo in compagnia della band. ======================================== Slow End (France) C'est pas censé relaxer, ou enivrer, normalement, le rock ethno-planant-machin ? Comment ça se fait que celui-ci, l'écoute s'en solde chaque fois par une aussi lente que lui mais sûre montée dans l'ire la plus corrosive et l'envie de répandre le sang ? Est-ce seulement permis à des albums aussi nonchalants, languissants, apathiques, et aussi dénués de toute heaviness à l'huile de palme ? Remarquez, ce n'est peut-être pas si compliqué ; prenons la chose autrement : le chant est d'un Layne Staley de l'humeur du serpent qui vient d'émerger de sa mue - lézard frais, bébé... - l'odieuse abeille qui tient le rôle d'ostinato a une cousine dénommée Tarantula Hawk, et la chaleur qui peuple ce congrès hashishin de mirages est d'un Fleshpress débarrassé de tout reliquat de fibre musculaire... Si l'on oublie de le mettre sur les mêmes étagères à pharmacie que les machins d'amoureux des fleurs et du derbouka, desquels il prend sournoisement la semblance et le curriculum vitae, tout s'éclaire - façon de parler - et Scarab trouve bien vite ses pareils en malignité pesante et patiente, votre humeur massacrée vous en soit témoin. Les morceaux de Queen Elephantine s'étalent, ici, non pas comme d'habitude ainsi qu'on pourrait être tenté de le dire, mais tels des flaques de peur noire au long des immenses salles obscures et désertes d'un palais oriental laissé à l'abandon... et aux succubes à élytres chuchotantes, dont les ricanements creux flottent dans la pénombre, n'en faisant que crier plus aigu encore le vide horrible. Scarab en trois mots : acétique, léthargique, narquois ======================================== Target Audience Magazine Queen Elephantine expanded its sound with the band's fourth full length album, Scarab, which was released during the summer of 2013 on Cosmic Eye Records (LP) and on Heart & Crossbone Records (CD) respectively. Scarab is filled with a macabre of melodic, dark, sensual and heady textures of instrumental elements culminating in the creation of a journey in self-discovery. Dripping in darkness, almost slick as if coated in a sheen of oil, Scarab brings an, albeit primitive, almost instinctual essence to the four tracks as Queen Elephantine forms a mesmerizing realm of escapism to jump into. From the first track, "Veil," Scarab bleeds together to create an alternative dimension of thought and appreciation that carries as the thesis statement throughout the entire LP. Sparsely punctuated with actual lyrical content, rather the songs feel more like it's about the harmonic alignment of the use of multi-layered instruments that coalescence to pierce the veil between realities. Then when vocal tracks are introduced, it's as if it's a haunted dream the listener is floating within. Be prepared, Scarab is an album you want to fully immerse yourself in. It's all consuming ride, ripping out a place inside of you as Scarab bores itself into that hole, as it claims a part of your soul. And you will forever be thankful for that experience. ======================================== Holy Grail From Hell / In Sludge We Crust I've always been extra-busy, and this year wasn't anything different, so I like to apologize from all the bands who've sent me review requests, including Queen Elephantine, the fabulous Space Rockers, being unaware of the fact that I've been a fan of their music for quite a long time sent me an email about a year ago. Their most recent album "Scarab", is also a terribly underrated one, probably because the Stoner scene is more interested in horseshit like Kvelertak and Red Fang. In any case, if you're into the ritualistic Stoner/Drone and Psychedelia of Expo '70, Harvestman, Bong, Ginnungagap, ... or the Minimalist vein of composers and acts, from La Monte Young, and Charlemagne Palestine to Popol Vuh, you're gonna adore Queen Elephantine. They've slowly moved away from the Drone Doom conventions, and "Scarab" marks the pinnacle of their deviations, the songs don't tend to follow a groove but an idea, what makes the record a great example of Experimental Rock/Metal as well. Yet to me it seems that there're more walls of limits left to be broken and I believe if they accept the fact that there won't be any difference in the level of attention they'll get if they break them as well, they'd make one of the most perfect Avant-Rockers of the decade. ======================================== ATTN Magazine Here's proof that you can create a record of phenomenal weight without cranking the guitars right into the red. For the most part, tonality lurks through Scarab as either a buried, tectonic implication or a thin stream of desert breeze, acting as the murmuring by-product of the album's onward stomp rather than the primary fruits of Queen Elephantine's slow churn. In fact, it is percussion that acts as the predominant fuel here – it coaxes "Veil" into being as a circular ritual of chimes and wood block clacks congregating round the standard kit, and dictates the stop-start stumble that makes the latter stages of "Chrone" so giddy and malfunctioning. The band leave ample space into which each smack and string can reverberate, and where I'm often coaxed into dreaming of desert earthquakes or midnight tribal incantations, I'm never completely detached from the mental image of players and their instruments, where Queen Elephantine splash their searing doom mirage onto white rehearsal room walls. ======================================== SONIK Magazine (Rough translation from the Greek) The first bass notes foretell a slow-burning dynamite -as if warning about an imminent danger which never really comes into sight- and the mourning vocals introduce us to some kind of doom-delica strictly genre-orientated, but staying clear of the countless imagination-limited Sabbath-wannabes. Since 2006 up to this, their fourth album which finds them having moved from Hong Kong to New York, Queen Elephantine have settled into playing very slow, dark/esoteric/meditative psychedelic doom, heavy but less metal than one would imagine, with Scarab hosting four such samples ranging between 8-18 minutes. Experimental but controllable, with ritualistic patience, this sextet that counts two drummers, creates a special drone sound owing a lot to the use of tanpura, a traditional Indian instrument which resembles a sitar but even more hypnotic. The album unfolds in a state of surface tranquility hiding sub-waves of steady slow movements, as if participating in a funereal procession with hymns suitable for accompanying the soul to the outer space. It would be a difficult listening experience if the words OM and EARTH are beyond one's vocabulary canon, but for the fans of the genre, it's almost certain they have already put on the ritual attire for the trip. On excellent quality gatefold vinyl via Cosmic Eye Records. ======================================== Head Heritage Please check out the enormously useful SCARAB by New England doom quartet Queen Elephantine, whose four epically funereal pieces contained herein entrap us from the first instant with the sheer ritual of their sound, the sheer multi-levelled drama of their experience. What's it sound like? Like largactilled earthmovers aping human metal culture while the cities burn on the horizon. Unlike most Doom, Queen Elephantine transcend all regular description by their simple deployment of highly irregular personnel: bass guitarist, drummer, permanent droning glissando slide guitarist and percussionist. The weighty overall effect pulls the listener down and down, as the twin drummers and monolithic bass riffs wreak brutalistic havoc over the unsweetest of drones. Indeed, so singular are some of these riffs that they remind me of DRAIN'D BONER-period Brain Donor, pulling back into themselves, twisting chromatically, sonic ingrown toenails of bassism. Marvellous. Released on the excellent Heart & Crossbone label, this Queen Elephantine statement is one awe-inspiring Taliban talisman that demands purchase, my brothers'n'sisters. ======================================== Terrascope Queen Elephantine make doom-laden instrumental music of the twin-drum, twin-drone, twin-guitars variety. Opener 'Veil' is a kind of shamanic tribal slow-groove of the kind enjoyed lately by Julian Cope (he is doubtless familiar with this band), while 'Crone' follows a similar path, but with more free drums (which really make the cut into the album highlight) and interesting guitar/bass interaction. 'Snake' brings in voices and is very slow, while concluding cut 'Clear Light Of The Unborn' brings it all together. Very doom-laden. ======================================== The Sleeping Shaman "I became, and the becoming became. I became by becoming the form of Khepra, god of transformations, who came into being in the First Time. Through me all transformations were enacted." To all of the doom bands who attempt to evoke a hazy, druggy vibe with their music with overt references to illicit substances, horror films and various other unspeakable activities, may I present you with the exquisite opium doom of Queen Elephantine's masterpiece, Scarab. This is how you intoxicate your audience without force-feeding them played-out dopesick rhetoric and weed-puns. By some strange alchemy of simple elements, the Rhode Island band have struck upon drone gold on their fourth album, following on the heels of fellow trance masters like Om and Bong. Formed in 2006 and having undergone several line-up changes, Queen Elephantine may be as well known for their own albums as they are for split releases with the likes of Elder, Sons of Otis, and with the UK's own Alunah. But for this latest release core founding member Indrayudh Shome has assembled the strongest ensemble yet to deliver the band's most focussed and inspired collection of ragas; deep, guttural bass, wily overdriven electric guitar, slide, droning tanpura and – best of all – two drumsets, all coming together to form a breathing, swaying entity to inhabit the listener with lulling rhythms and hypnotic insectoid drones. The album's evocative title is equalled by the music therein, and listening to these four songs, one can't help but conjure up mental images of dusty catacombs, navigated by torch-light – the relief of everything illuminated by fire nulled by the threat of that which remains shrouded in darkness in such an ancient place. It is this sense of tension – building, and then being released – which makes Scarab such a compelling and hypnotic listen. The ebb and flow of murky notes (as in the intro of "Crone") feel like the creeping steps of some unseen, malevolent force and the band seem to be delighting in creating this heavy atmosphere, relishing the notes that are being played as much as those that are not . This sense of claustrophobia and space, light and dark is reflected in some of the album's few lyrics too: "the saints have been here/ But in bliss and not in shame/ Bathed in wine, and not in sand/ Glimmering, glistening, suffering." Unusually for a doom release, the band also avoids falling into any generic pentatonic scale or conventional groove, even for a minute. On Scarab, the sense of the unknown or otherness (at least to these Western ears) transcends even Om's own masterpiece Advaitic Songs which at least implemented more recognisable Indian and Middle Eastern instrumentation and melodies. Instead Queen Elephantine remain locked in an unusual, Middle Eastern or Egyptian scale which adds to the mysterious, exotic appeal of the music. Listening through some of Queen Elephantine's previous releases, you can hear the band falling into the traps which often befall drone bands –trying to do too much or too little, over too long or short a period of time. Scarab proves to be the perfect storm of instrumentation, musicians and sensibilities; the vision is singular, and the results are spectacular. An air of mysticism hangs heavy over Scarab, each note carefully considered, as if filtered through the millenia to reach us with a now indecipherable message. Across these four tracks, Queen Elephantine weave a majestic, downtrodden, mystical form of drone doom unlike anything I have heard for a while. In short, Scarab is the sound of Om becoming ominous. ======================================== The New Noise Ormai siamo abituati, ma fa specie vedere un indiano formare una band a Hong Kong, andare a vivere – cambiando la line-up, ovviamente – in America e ottenere che il suo disco venga stampato da un’etichetta israeliana (l’ottima Heart & Crossbone, per la precisione) in cd e da una greca in vinile (Cosmic Eye). A tutt’oggi la composizione dei Queen Elephantine si direbbe in continuo mutamento attorno al fondatore Indrayudh Shome, anche se Brett Zweiman sembra resistere dentro al progetto. Tra ricorso ad aiuti vari per suonare strumentazione etnica, veri e propri cambi di assetto (qui ci sono due batteristi) e spunti improvvisativi, pare opportuno parlare di “formazione aperta”, guidata da un direttore d’orchestra che, col rischio di essere accostato agli Om, porta elementi che appartengono alla tradizione indiana dentro uno stile doom-eggiante e mantrico. In realtà, però, i Queen Elephantine sembrano molto più incatenati a terra e sporchi rispetto a Cisneros e compagnia. Non si può dire che si tratti di qualcosa privo di un afflato mistico, ma questo sound, unito al lamento di Shome e a testi molto brevi tutti da interpretare, più che d’incenso sa di fumo scadente che fa male a testa e stomaco… non è un insulto, è un complimento. Ve lo passiamo noi qui sotto: date un tiro, non si sa mai. ======================================== Roadburn Festival Album of the Day ======================================== The Obelisk Since making their debut on the same 2006 split that marked the first recorded appearance of Elder, Providence-by-way-of-Hong-Kong-and-Brooklyn experimental doomers Queen Elephantine have been consistently hard to pin down — and not just geographically. Their latest full-length, Scarab (on Heart and Crossbone Records/Cosmic Eye Records for CD and vinyl, respectively), finds the amorphous outfit as ever led by guitarist Indrayudh Shome working with two drummers and exploring a drone-based mysticism that seems in partial conversation with Om's 2012 outing, Advaitic Songs, but taken to a more exploratory degree. The 50-minute album is comprised of four extended tracks — "Veil" (8:12), "Crone" (18:16), "Snake" (10:44) and "Clear Light of the Unborn" (13:05) — and each one builds its own flow within the overarching progression of Scarab as a whole. Joining Shome on his journey are two drummers, Ian Sims and Nathanael Totushek, bassist Matt Becker, returning tanpura player Srinivas Reddy and Brett Zweiman, who played bass on Queen Elephantine's last outing, 2011′s Garland of Skulls, but here contributes slide guitar and other drones, and the songs were recorded in one day (I would suspect entirely or at least mostly live) by Sims with a mix by Shome himself and a mastering job from Billy Anderson. The result of all their work is a varied but ultimately satisfying listen of heavy drone, and Queen Elephantine have done increasingly well over their last couple albums in shirking expectations and definitions of what "heavy" means. That continues on Scarab as well and makes their stylistic sprawl all the more boundless and more importantly, all the more their own. Almost immediately, "Veil" commences with a meditative drone and percussion, sparse guitar and bass that in another context might be akin to Earth metering out slow lines over a subtle build both in tempo and clash. Vocals arrive after the instrumental bombast peaks in spiritually desperate wails, and a lighter swirl plays out buried by heavier guitar strum and gradual return the winding line that delivered Scarab's first offering to its point of highest energy. Already we hear the flow is liquid. It remains so for the duration. At 18-plus minutes, "Crone" is an undertaking unto itself, but it unfolds with hypnotic patience and makes a consuming follow-up to "Veil," working in a similarly-slow, temple-style atmosphere. An underlying synth-style drone — what might be referred to in the credits as "divine mosquito" and credited to Zweiman — plays out steadily beneath the minimal guitar-led progression, and even when the vocals arrive, the sense of open space is maintained. There's room between the music overtop and that buzz, and it's in that room that the listener is most likely to get placed, feeling one overtop and the other underneath, surrounded; especially at louder volumes. After five minutes or so, Queen Elephantine embark on a mild cacophony, and again the double percussion plays a major role. Guitar and bass get louder, and vocals return, the band moving within the sort of undulations of energy that they're crafting to bring the track forward, then draw it back, all the while the drone underneath stays put. There is an instrumental push as they approach 10 minutes in that provides "Crone" a noisy apex at about 13:00, but they soon drop to quieter spheres as Shome establishes a bouncing sort of guitar nod that leads the way through the remaining time, punctuating pops and the bassline adding dimension as the drone finally comes forward near the end of the song before fading out again. If you're not on board with Scarab yet, you won't be. The record's first half is a challenge that the second half rises to meet, but if you're immune to the trance they're working in and bringing their listeners into, the course is set. It's not like they're going pop once "Snake" hits, is what I'm saying. Rather, with a current of Reddy's tanpura, they resume the droning course, bringing vocals in early as they did on "Crone," and revel further in the torch-lit contemplations. It is atmospherically gorgeous and a sure sign of Queen Elephantine's maturity that they're able to maintain such a patient sense throughout Scarab, and if it turns some listeners off, it's hardly the band's loss. "Snake" never gets quite as rambunctious as did "Crone," but string-esque drones give a sense of emergency all the same as the metered lurch is mounted. Ultimately, side B of Scarab – that is, "Snake " and "Clear Light of the Unborn" — offers little in terms of ambience that "Veil" and "Crone" didn't already convey, but as "Clear Light of the Unborn" gets underway with sampled prayer chants, Queen Elephantine reinforce the notion that the stillness is part of the process. And I'm not trying to backdoor around saying the album is boring; it isn't. Each of the four tracks has a progression that moves smoothly through, and as it provides some of the hardest hitting crashes of the collection, "Clear Light of the Unborn" makes a fitting end. Its stomp comes of course complemented by humming drone, and off-time starts and stops add to the complexity of the instrumental gravitas. Here as ever, Queen Elephantine are still but not at rest, honing a tension that finds payoff in a few scant cymbal crashes and sustained notes ascending to a boil with a final coming together that hints at the terrifying notion that they haven't just been screwing around this whole time, but have actually been in control of every sound that's been produced throughout Scarab. If that's even partially the case, or how much of the songs is improv as opposed to pre-composed, I don't know. An organic feel prevails throughout — it would have to or the album would fall completely flat — and there is a sense of at least directed purpose if not scripted parts. The last minutes of "Clear Light of the Unborn" play out quietly and with little drama, which also works on the level of the band easing their audience out of the album's space and back to whatever semblance of reality they might inhabit. Shome and his band have continued over their run to develop ceaselessly and at times uncautiously, but in listening, it's hard not to get a sense of their having arrived somewhere with Scarab. Perhaps most encouraging of all is that for all the ambience it creates and for how evocative the music proves, there's little self-imposed grandeur either in the production or the execution of the material. I wouldn't call it at-the-altar humble, but neither are they trying to sound big just for the sake of it. If that's a sign of Queen Elephantine's continued maturing, it's one I'm glad to hear, and as regards this material, it makes the songs that much more of a pilgrimage, which it would seem is precisely what they're intended to be. ======================================== Underrated On "Scarab", Queen Elephantine commence with quiet precussion, taking their time – moving with patience. Then menacing and dirty, join the bass and guitar, speaking wordlessly of endless despair, while band member Srinivas Reddy gives those a calm yet eerie background ambience using his tanpura(Indian instrument). In this way the band creates an echo unique to them using only a few instruments. But even more interesting than this reverberating presence is their choice to musically, not "move" much. Instead of reaching for change, they dwell in the shadow they've created, looking for something, looking for nothing. Going out of hiding here and there, looking out and seeing reflecting and contrasting elements in the distance. But always returning, remaining in this dark place, in the back of your head, in a place with no light. And embracing what that means. How does that feel? Meditative? dark? sad? Listen below and you'll have your answer. The singing on "Veil", which I almost forgot about since its very sparse, arrives sooner on track two, "Crone". The praying-like wailing voices plays a role on the album, but the lyrics' meaning elude me for the most part. One thing can be certain – they carry a certain mournfulness about them as the rest of "Scarab", sounding like some abstract, associative eulogy. Clocking at 18 minutes, this second piece's repetitive nature slowly turns from calming to torturous over time, making it very hard not to lose one's mind – especially with the constantly present buzz of the indian instrument. Track three, "Snake", resembles doom metal the most so far in this experimental soundscape. Music-wise it is still unchanging and minimal, so dragging that it feels like time itself is being slowed down. Pretty mental stuff. Looking at the lyrics, these might confirm my guess at the textual concept. Here they are together with my interpretation: Arms yearning, am I home again (yearning for home – to reach death\god) Simmering, glistening, suffering "Scarab" is far, far from being a downright metal record, but is however beyond heavy in the context of its own atmosphere. Plodding, yes, it trudges on endlessly – which some will find tiring, but others might enjoy, and even – 'not joking – worship, in a sort of cult-following manner. 'Cause this is some dark art right here. 7/10 ======================================== "I wanna rock you, baby" blog Az Elefántkirálynőt öt éve láttuk vendégül, azóta megjelent három nagylemezük és egy EP-jük. Most pedig megérkezett az új album, melyen megmaradt a repetitívség és a jammelős életérzés, a space-es témákat viszont a kísérleti drone váltotta föl. Hivatalos. ======================================== Sulatron Records Sauinteressanter, völlig zäher, doomiger ethno-psych. Wie eine heavy Variante der Master Musicians of Bukkake, aber natürlich eigenständig. Langsam, schwerfällig, kosmisch, krank, lange Stücke. ======================================== Doom-Metal.com Unorthodox and hypnotising, Queen Elephantine's music swells and shrinks, carried on swirling cosmic thermals. The most prominent feature of this album, the band's fourth, is the tortured, insectoid drone emanating from their tanpura, an Indian backing instrument. You might expect this almost-incessant buzz to quickly wear thin, resulting in a desire to smash your stereo to pieces with a hammer, but Queen Elephantine intelligently maintain an element of surprise in its deployment. And the moments when the drone pauses are such aural relief that a feeling approaching elation arises. At times, the drone is offset by a ghostly chanting that reverberates from the belly of some unknown Hindu temple directly into your brain. Amid the mournful emptiness, there are understated jazzy episodes which sound as if a bunch of aliens have broken into a guitar shop, while the vocals are limited to the occasional plaintive wail. Three-quarters of the way through this slow, psychedelic four-song album – at the point when you start to lose track of time and space - the music returns to something approaching traditional doom. Curiously, it is here, during the third track, that the sound of the tanpura begins to resemble the War Pigs siren, as filtered through a bee hive. In fact, if you listen closely, you can hear a myriad of details, delicately handled by the mastering of Billy Anderson. Regal and heavy, 'Scarab' certainly lives up to the band's monicker. However, there are a few barren spells where the listener's attention is encouraged to wander and it seems that these weaker sections could have been shortened or embellished without diluting the album's mind-expanding vibe. Queen Elephantine used to be based in Hong Kong and now work out of Providence, USA. The inspiration behind their music, however, comes from a completely different planet. For some, this is too far away from classic Doom Metal. For others, it's time to grab your passport and see where the band will take you. ======================================== Diskoryxeion (ΔΙΣΚΟΡΥΧΕΙΟΝ) Vinylmine Album of the Week (July 8) Συνεχίζοντας στο δικό της αχαρτογράφητο space μονοπάτι, η ελληνική Cosmic Eye προσέφερε τελευταίως κι έναν δίσκο των Queen Elephantine. Το συγκρότημα σχηματίστηκε στο Χονγκ-Κονγκ το 2006, έχει κυκλοφορήσει κάμποσα CD, CD-R, κασέτες, 7ιντσα και e-albums έως σήμερα, με το "Scarab" να αποτελεί, μάλλον, την παρθενική LP-κυκλοφορία του. Με έδρα, πλέον, το Providence του Rhode Island, οι Matt Becker μπάσο, Indrayudh Shome κιθάρες, Ian Sims ντραμς, Nathanael Totushek ντραμς, Brett Zweiman slide κιθάρα και Srinivas Reddy tanpura, οι Queen Elephantine δηλαδή, εμφανίζουν στο "Scarab" πλείστα όσα στοιχεία, τα οποία θα μπορούσε να τους παρεκκλίνουν από μια κάποια διαστημική τροχιά (όχι πως υπήρξαν ποτέ ένα προφανές κοσμικό σχήμα). Δεν έχουμε να κάνουμε δηλαδή μ' ένα τυπικό lost in space συγκρότημα, αλλά με μιαν ομάδα μουσικών που χειρίζεται εξ ίσου καλώς το βαρύγδουπο stoner, με το... δυσοίωνο επίχρισμα. Πάρε τε για παράδειγμα το εισαγωγικό κομμάτι, που έχει τίτλο "Veil" και που μοιάζει με κάτι σαν… alap, με μιαν raga εισαγωγή δηλαδή που παίρνει γραμμή από την tanpura και βεβαίως από το rhythm section, που είναι όσο βαρύ και ασήκωτο χρειάζεται – με την «καμπανωτή» κιθάρα στην πορεία να προσθέτει στην «βομβοποίηση» του ήχου παρά να αφαιρεί, και με την γενικότερη τελετουργική αφήγηση να είναι προφανής. Όχι, δεν πρόκειται για ένα κλασικό drone κομμάτι, διατηρεί όμως έναν τέτοιον απόηχο. Το 18λεπτο "Crone" που ακολουθεί και ολοκληρώνει την πρώτη πλευρά συνεχίζει στο ίδιο μοτίβο. Αργό τέμπο, στιβαρή bass line, ιερά φωνητικά, αλλά και ποικίλοι μετασχηματισμοί στην διαδρομή, με τις κιθάρες να παίρνουν τα πρωτεία προδιαγράφοντας άλλοτε έναν τύπο γερμανικού rock (από τα early seventies) με… Amon Düül II και Jane στοιχεία και άλλοτε να κινούνται σε πιο improv περιβάλλοντα, φέρνοντας στο νου εγγραφές τις Metalanguage (Henry Kaiser και τέτοια). Η δεύτερη πλευρά ανοίγει με το 11λεπτο "Snake". Οι Queen Elephantine δείχνουν χαρακτήρα. Τελετουργική σύνθεση με προφανή(;) αυτοσχεδιαστικά στοιχεία, κοντά στην παράδοση (σε κάποιες ηχογραφήσεις δηλαδή) των Acid Mothers Temple. Βομβαρδιστικό μπάσο, άκομψα φωνητικά και πολύ καλή «πίσω» δουλειά από τις κιθάρες. Το "Scarab" θα ολοκληρωθεί με το 13λεπτο "Clear light of the unborn", που κινείται σε σκληρά kraut πλαίσια (ανακάλεσα κάτι από το "UFO" των Guru Guru), με το rhythm section και βασικά τα διπλά ντραμς να καθορίζουν το χώρο, μέσα στον οποίο κιθάρες και tanpura βρίσκονται σε διαλεκτική επικοινωνία. Ωραία, deluxe, gatefold έκδοση από την Cosmic Eye μόλις 320 αντιτύπων. ======================================== Scott's Music Reviews It has been some time since I have heard these guys. I liked the stuff on the split with Sons of Otis. The album features 4 tracks and was recorded on a single day in May 2012. Veil starts things off is a slow steady drum rhythm and a bit of an eastern drone going on in the background. This album was mastered by Billy Anderson, so this usually gives a pretty massive sound when cranked up. Make sure you play it loud otherwise you miss the small details that are sprinkled into the soundscape. It takes a couple of minutes before the guitar kicks in with a strange riff. It builds up and the two drummers get faster and faster and then returns to the slow doomy evil drone and vocal comes in. Crone takes up the rest of the side and is a very slow track with spacey sounds and stuff, good for a slow evil torture scene in a horror film. One must be very patient otherwise you could get pretty bored as this is really slow stuff. The vocal comes back and the end part gets more intense. Reminds me a bit of Dark Budda Rising but it does not have such a massive sound or presence. The end is just plain strange and trippy. A very unique band and sound. Flip the record over for Snake, which starts quite slow but the vocals come in nearly right away. This is like 20 beats a minute stuff so be patient and crawl like a snake as you reach for your bong…. Clear light of the Unborn is another close to 10min track that ends this slow, doom drone stoned experience. It starts with a lot of voices all mixed in a far out like chant that gets more far out and then the music kicks in and that same disturbing horror siren that you have heard on a few of the other songs makes you feel like death is coming soon and someone will appear from behind the bathroom door and stab you to death and you will bleed, bleed black blood that will ooze into the next room and out into the yard and down the street and into the ocean…………….. ======================================== Norman Records 9/10 We've got another LP in from Cosmic Eye, who recently brought us the rather impressive second album by The Cosmic Dead, so I'm expecting some collector-friendly psychedelic rock, and that's exactly what I'm getting on this here LP. This lot are an improvised stoner doom troupe from Hong Kong, currently based in New York, and they deal in a sludgy, hypnotic sound which will appeal to fans of Sleep's slow and hard rumble-riffing and Bong's pummelling east-meets-west stoner invocations. Slow, majestic, distorted riffing, twangy Eastern drones and chanty ceremonial vocals are what to expect from the four stoner rituals which sprawl lazily over these two side - the tanpura really helps give it an otherworldy, psychedelic feel while the bass is distorted into a churning, rumbling mass which brings to mind Om when they're really letting rip. Basically if you like your doom heavy, slow and a little bit exotic, you'll get a total bliss on when you listen to this. Heavy shit. Produced by Billy Anderson so you know it's got the power. ======================================== Daredevil Records First I saw that amazing artwork and packing. Wonderful. The band from Hong Kong (now based in the United States) released some of the best Doom Metal albums in the last years and is now back with a new, different record. First of all the sound is a real killer! Of course, Billy Anderson (Neurosis, Melvins) mastered their 4th record. The opener VEIL is a strange sound collage, a lot of tribal drummings before a guitar riff destroying the drumming. At the end an esoteric crying vocal part break into the song. more Drone as Doom and the shortest song on the album (8 minutes). CRONE is the first real good song in my eyes with some good slow riffings and Doom Rock moments and great progressive song fragments. It soiunds like a trip to the space! And with over 18 minutes it is exactly the right trip! SNAKE is a slow Psychedelic Space trip, same with the last track CLEAR LIGHT OF THE UNBORN. For some people it will be a huge output, for me it is only boring. Sorry. I feel the potential of the band and the single musicians, but personally I prefer real songs. But they will find a lot of followers with that sound! Music: 7. Sound: 9 ======================================== Droning Earth I’ve been following these guys almost since the beginning, they get better and better in their otherworldlytranscendentalmeditativedoompsychdronerock, theres no band to compare them to, friggin unique. It’s an honor they named one of their tracks “droning earth” some years ago, track’s also on droning earth vol6. ======================================== The Obelisk Amorphous and transient doom experimentalists Queen Elephantine have never been an easy act to nail down, and even as the 26-minute two-track sample of their upcoming fourth album, Scarab, commences an extended, droning and patient build, I can tell immediately that's still the case. Nonetheless, an uptake in production value over their 2011 third offering, Garland of Skulls (posted here), and the patience with which "Veil" unfolds speaks to some solidification and maturity in the band, ever-shifting their modus and their lineup. One more to look forward to, I guess.
Rani Z (Heart & Crossbone Records, Israel) Yes that's the ticket now kick out the jams Stoner o forse è meglio dire Stoned, nel vero senso della parola, Doom, psychedelia e sitar? ========================================
By Jay Snyder July 2010 Queen Elephantine has got the kind of storied, historical richness that you could write a book on. Mastermind, and musical whiz kid Indy Shome transplanted himself from Hong Kong over to the States, finds himself in Providence, Rhode Island, teams up with a vast array of musicians (including a personal luminary of my own, Andrew Jude Riotto of Agnosis/Archon/Tides Within), usually switches the line-up slightly for each recording, and continues to plug on. Yeah, that’s just the abridged version! It also happens that the band employs unique instrumentation and sounds of all types, dabbling in a myriad of ethnic, tribal and traditional Indian fusion in addition to their doom and psych leanings, reflecting on the cultural diversity and wayfaring ethos that the band grips tight to its core. It’s more like a cult than a band really, and now we’ve got the band’s second long player, Kailash staring this beardy face right in the beady whites. I have to admit honestly, that I’ve kind of fallen out of touch with the band. I’ve followed for sure, collecting a split with Elder, a split with Sons of Otis, and the first LP Surya in the process, but then the wheels came off my wagon. I still play some of that stuff from time to time, and it certainly has its appeal to this day (I can’t deny some huge, psyche expanding work, no way, and QE did it just right in the past), but here I’m struggling to find an entrance point, leaving Kailash strictly lukewarm to the taste buds. It’s too meandering, and lacks the power I’m looking for, and that’s coming from someone who actually enjoys these sorts of tribal, mellowed-out sounds whenever they happen to come my way. But, like I said…there’s meandering, and then there’s too meandering. It just kind of sucks to say this, because I felt that this band was carving a unique path, and now their drone-y side has taken over fully, but the interesting ideas I’ve felt were prevalent in the past, are replaced with open space that doesn’t leave me musically satiated. And the thing is this, QE droned in the past, but it all felt important to the overall musical mission, here it’s just space, space and more space, but I can’t seem to grasp the point. It’s like a fighter pilot ejecting from his cockpit, and ending up in the Lost Woods from the Legend of Zelda, and I don’t think you need to play the game to understand the analogy (basically, there was a lot of dead ends in those woods, and there’s plenty of ‘em here). Opener, “Search of the Deathless Star,” kind of illuminates all of the woulda, coulda, shoulda beens of this album right off the bat. Buzzing with a fuzzy, diseased sounding Sunno riff (that pretty much plays the whole way through), the band utilizes tabla and traditional percussion; with the unique vocal timbre of Rajkishen Narayanan and Indy Shome dual chanting overtop the entire thing. At first it grabs you, as the hypnotic, trancelike state of the music seeps deep into your soul, and the ebbing beauty of the vocal performance drags you further down into the translucent abyss, but it never seems to reach a destination. As stated earlier with meandering, there’s repetition that I love, and there’s the kind that loses me. Even with the transient acoustic touches in the background, and a seemingly full wall of sound, it goes on for too long. Nearly 16 minutes of run time, when I personally feel it could have been cropped at about the 10-minute mark (maybe even at the 8 or 9 minute mark). Don’t get me wrong, I can totally jive with the conscious altering sounds going on in this song, but it just drags on for too long and has me checking the watch at several key points where the head should be bobbing. I can appreciate the band’s meditative aspirations, but the entire song hints at a peak that never quite arrives. The sad thing is, it kind of sets the stage for the entire opus that follows. “Gloaming” is odd, tuneful drone, with constant chanting, ringing guitar lines and endless tabla. It barely changes throughout, and when it does, there’s no payoff. QE always had payoffs in the past for their extensive build-ups, or it made sense in the context of the album, or particular piece. I can honestly liken this disc to the second Beast in the Field record, Lechuguilla, another album that showed epic promise, but failed to deliver except in a few rare instances. I’ve actually gone on to appreciate that disc a bit more as a whole in the last few months, but I’m not so sure if a similar fate is in store for Kailash. If “Gloaming” shook things up a bit towards the end (cause I can’t deny that some of the stuff in this track is beautiful, even if it overstays its welcome by far too many minutes), I might be more forgiving, but it just sort of hammers away and doesn’t go anywhere. It’s ultimately forgettable, even if it does shimmer with a peaceful aura that can be refreshing one moment, and frustrating the next. It’s not like I’m saying, "Hey guys, get pissed off!" I don’t need 24 hours of aggression, I like peaceful tuneage as much as the next space cadet; it’s just that the past material was a journey, with a particular endpoint in sight. Here, I’m not feeling that. Where are the peaks and valleys? Where’s the rise and fall? Simply put, it’s nowhere to be found. We get the ebb, but someone stopped the flow further up the pipeline. Frustrating. Stripping down the number of collaborators, “The Vulture and the Creed” pairs Indy on guitar/vocals with solely Rajkishen (performing baul sarod, and voice), for a brief “sound byte” type track. Eh, since we haven’t been heading anywhere thus far, it’s hardly time for our sponsor’s brief, segue announcement. “Priest” actually sticks to the ribs a bit more, probably a track that’ll end up on a mix CD for late night drives. It’s hymnal, soundtrack quality could actually qualify for a Bernard Herrmann score for one of Ray Harryshausen’s classic fantasy, FX flicks. Good stuff that nails the repetition just right, and digs its way under the skin like a tick fiending for blood. About as haunting as stuff like this can get. Definitely puts some visions in my head of wandering lost catacombs looking for untold riches (hopefully, something that grants a shield of darkness…name that Harryshausen film, and win a prize). And then, we’re back to the same old, same old for the remainder of the album, atmospheric drone with promise that needs a roadmap to figure out where it’s headed. For 5 minutes I’m entranced, then the next 5 I’m looking around my room at other discs/records I’d rather be listening to. Never a good sign. Basically, this is a painful review to write. I can respect everything going on here, and I’ve got nothing but adulation for both Indy and AJR, and pretty much their whole body of work, both separate and combined. But, the sad fact about Kailash, is that it’s a glossy, exhausting work that reeks of effort and creativity, but sadly could have used a touch more thought when it comes to songwriting and song progression. If QE is making a full push for a sparser, atmospheric sound I’m all for it, but I’d like to see them inject a little life into it as well. As I said earlier, Kailashis all mystifying, entrancing ebb that lacks in flow and stark dynamics. It fails to captivate the way their best material thus far did, and boy does that trounce the score here. Give it a listen for yourself and decide, but I’m afraid I’ll be taking a pass on this one personally. ======================================== Sea of Tranquility By Ryan Sparks July 2010 You know how some music is heavy without actually being heavy? For example take a band like The Velvet Underground who weren't a heavy band musically, and yet there was always this inherently heavy 'vibe' present in their music. Well the latest album Kailash from drone merchants Queen Elephantine kind of falls into that kind of categorical description. Perhaps the ever present feeling of death permeating throughout this album has a lot to do with it because the title comes from the Himalayan Mountain on which the Destroyer lives in a constant state of mediation, in a deathless state. Armed with this knowledge the listener can do their best to try to prepare themselves mentally for the harrowing seventy minute ride that awaits them. Unlike their last full length release Surya, Kailash was not only recorded with a totally different lineup (guitarist / vocalist Indrayudh "Indy" Shome and vocalist Rajikishen Narayanan are the only holdovers here), but the group also seemingly opted for a more minimalist approach this time, although the hypnotic and ritualistic feel that was so present on that album is very much in effect here as well. It all begins with the absolutely hypnotic, droning, distorted guitars and chanting vocals featured on the fifteen minute plus epic "Search For The Deathless State". There's definitely no way back as no sooner does this song reach its conclusion before you're thrust headlong into the hazy eastern tinges of "The Gloaming", a song which features a heaping dose of buzzing sitar (or is that a tanpura?) , tablas for percussion and more chanting vocal weirdness. After a brief respite with an untitled instrumental the sonic curveballs keep coming with the atmospheric deathscapes and very abstract, layered vocals on "The Vulture & The Creed". While the track "Godblood" comes off as a bit of filler, it is bookended by two spectacular tracks "Priest" and Kailash's longest composition "Khora". Both of these tracks tread the same ground musically and yet there is someting mysterious about them which also set's them apart. In the end Kailash might be a lot to swallow in one sitting, even though the band has once again done a great job of creating another epic work of trance inducing, eastern flavored doom, which may or may not even be the best way to describe their music. I have to be honest, unlike their last album Surya which hit me immediately, this one took awhile to grow on me even after repeated listens over time. That being said, Kailash is definitely a worthy follow up and is in many ways probably more of a well rounded effort overall than its predecessor. If the doomy, abstract sounds of bands like Sunn O))) and Earth are up your alley then you should definitely look into giving Queen Elephantine a shot. ======================================== DeafSparrow March 2010 In my review of Surya I identified Queen Elephantine as a stoner doom band that could sonically be linked to Om. Actually, I consider Surya to be a superior recording than Om’s Pilgrimage. With Kailash, the comparison is no longer valid. Mostly, because Queen Elephantine has removed itself so far apart from the rock block that their songs no longer have any structure, keep a beat or just simply ‘rock’. Now, some may salivate at the mere mention of a stoner band that’s gone experimental or pure drone. Well, the results here are not that thrilling. Frankly, Kailash sounds like one long ass excruciating intro and that sucks. Kailash picks up where Surya left off. “Search for the Deathless State” is actually quite auspicious. With its droning minimalism, stoner vibrations and trance-like vocals, this could be the perfect opening for a great record. Things go south fast though and by second song “Gloaming” we are treated to the kind of Indian folk that would make The Love Guru proud. No shit. If I want to listen to regional music I rather go straight to the source. Bands do well by spicing things up and by looking for outside influence, but the minute they offer twelve minutes of chants, table and sitar they might as well just change monikers and light up the Nag Champa. It’s not badly played, it just isn’t very good. “The Vulture and the Creed” is an actual intro. Only Queen Elephantine forgot to shorten it and place it in the beginning. It goes on for over eight minutes and sounds like it was recorded in Robin Williams’ head. Seriously. Lots of ridiculous goofy shit going on. Isolated strings. Special effects. Voices and echoes. I get the feeling that it is really uncomfortable in there. Or maybe I just don’t get it. Unfortunately, Kaylash never comes back from this parallel dimension. The rest of the tunes float aimlessly between pretentious and simplistic ‘experimentation’ (actually, I call it ‘killing time’) and half baked ideas that never come to fruition. Kaylash is ultimately really boring and pointless. Poorly executed. A total shame. ======================================== RockSellOut By Nathan November 2009 Your Brand New Eastern Drone Gods Since Nick (the bastard) beat me to the punch to review the new Mercury Program album by literally an hour and a half, I'll do this instead. I was literally on my way to this prestigious website to give a glowing, if somewhat reserved, review of Chez Viking. Nick, I've never met you, but you are a bastard. I was even going to make a crack about how it's been released in several vinyl colors. Jee-zus. But anyway, enough about my shortcomings and jelousy. Queen Elephantine, and their latest, Kailash. That's what this is about. If you like (or heard of) Ginunngagap, Warduna, or Black Math Horsemen, you're going to love this. Psychedelic drone folk headphone happiness. If Hinduism turns out to be true, and their version of the end of the world starts happening, this is the soundtrack. Formed in Hong Kong in 2006 by some dude named Indrayudh Shome (the only remaining original member) and somehow currently based in NYC, this band knows how to slow-burn. Seven songs over a little more than 71 minutes. This is the sort of thing that makes me happy. The opener, "Search for the Deathless State" and track six, "Godblood" are the only songs containing anything resembling vocals, but the comparison is stretched, as is more chanting than anything else. Songs float along, never exactly ambient, but not quite picking up a beat either. Excellent tabla drumming gives the side of me that loves Talvin Singh a reason to smile. There is one thing that drives me nuts, however. When this album was released, the average age of the band members was a measly 19. They started making music together when they were 16. When I was 16, I was jacking off in a Tool and Helmet rip off band with this guy. I stand to turn 31 in slightly more than a month. Pardon me while I vomit over my lack of progress. Surely this deserves better, but I'm bitter about being old. Only a 4.237 our of 5. Taking away my curmudgeon-ness, 4.9 out of 5. ======================================== Rico's Top 50 2009 Prog Albums Rateyourmusic.com Normally I abstain both from listening and judging metal-labeled music, and yet the "doom" tag here doesn't hold too much relevance. The structure of the album is in fact divided between the psychedelic drug and a much stronger oriental (raga) & par non-evolutive music soundwall. Significantly emotional are its hypnotizing parts, or the genuine collapse into darkness. First track has the sort of morbid narration from GYBE's F#a#. This is overall a deeply introverted, aesthetically locked work of art. ======================================== Foxy Digitalis By Daniel DeRogatis September 2009 Kailash is the mythical Himalayan peak on which, according to the Hindu religion, ‘the Destroyer dwells in the state of perpetual meditation…in the deathless state’. It is the guiding spirit and inspiration for the cassette-only (they’re planning to release a CD version) second album by New York’s spiritual stoner-doom drifters, Queen Elephantine. Their journey begins with “Search for the Deathless State”, a gargantuan drone-prayer with majestic, HUGE guitar riffs that churn lugubriously, hovering thick in the air instead of launching into a repetitive groove. The sumptuous heaviosity is surrounded by hand drum patterings, waves of swelling cymbals, and white-eyed chanting/singing. Awesome. After that epic beginning, things stumble a bit during “Gloaming” which is full of spoken-word poetry that I found a bit corny and distracting, but the tablas and sitar buzz combined with sparse drumming kept me intrigued. “The Vulture & the Creed” is the album’s highlight: a reverb-soaked, cavernous soundscape of disembodied string instruments and ghostly voices which are simultaneously eerie and beautiful. The vocals are going to be the deciding factor for most listeners. Aside from “Search…” and “Vulture…”, they wander just a bit too aimlessly and tunelessly during other parts of the album. That being said, there are still lots of very strong elements at work throughout. Side two has a bunch of cool, memorable moments: the warbly field recordings of tolling bells and chanting monks during “Priest”…the loose, snake-like, sinister bass groove of “Godblood”…and most notably, the interplay of acoustic guitar and luxurious tambura drone of “Khora”. All in all, there are plenty of interesting things going on here, and if they can tighten up and reel in the vocals a bit, Queen Elephantine has lots of room to grow and the potential to make excellent records in the future. 6/10 ======================================== Mishka Bloglin May 2009 If and when Shiva ever decides to rain down an Apocalypse, this will most assuredly be her soundtrack. The trek up Kailash is Eastern influenced Holy Mountain of atmospheric Doom Metal that will turn the skies black as the stars rain down around you… The seventh seal is revealed! And just as you’re ready to repent, lo and behold enters Brahma and Vishnu in the guise of the last two tracks, “Godblood” and “Khora” ruining what was a devastatingly good end of days. “Khora” is a decent end piece but most of “Godblood” ruins the momentum and keeps Kailash from being truly epic. Doh! Kailash has only ever been officially released on tape with no real release date set for other formats. But you’re all clever and im sure you can find a digital copy floating around somewhere. ======================================== Rottenmeats May 2009 This is a fuzzy muscle play of distorted dirge and Hindu atmospherics that easily embodies the slow majesty of bands like Earth, or to a lesser extent, Mono … but this is a rawer, far heavier brew, buckling the confines of the medium, so over-saturated that it almost struggles for definition. The instruments take on a scary dynamic, like a vibrating cloud of flies, distorted in the heat. It’s hard to avoid the magnetic pull of that turbine shackled hertz, or that accompanying tinsel soak from the cymbals, even the words seem to be dragging you through the dusty soil on mystic hooks. Something about skyscrapers blocking the sun, rivers of glass and footless aspirations to heaven…. drowsy words in the stoner buzz, as stray limbs scar the surface, delectable dislocations matching that beautiful murkiness of the cover art… but it really excels when everything is systematically pummelled, or when the vocal goes off on a devotional pilgrimage, and becomes a rich gravy of moan and clattering commune, coaxed into serpent shadows or stuffed into jackal skins… then it truly gets your appetite racing… You’d think this sort of transcendence couldn’t be sustained, until the second side bursts forward in explosive field recording, slipping easily into a menacing procession of wounded bass and drum kissed desertion … some lovely re-bounded chords are happened upon and stuck with, blooms alighting from the carcass, amp transformed into a deformed offspring slowly swallowed down stream – textural eye openers that chaff the inside of your skull in a sloth ache psych and trance-eaten sway, repetitive breathe spun. The tape cools off for the final two tracks in raga blisters, melodious wafers of drum, curling chants and sitar… peeling away the gloom in falling dew and hand spanned illumination. ======================================== The Obelisk By JJ Koczan April 2009 Psych-metal wunderkind Indy Shome, guitarist/vocalist of the Providence-by-way-of-New-York-by-way-of-Hong-Kong outfit Queen Elephantine and sometime label head of Concrete Lo-Fi Records, returns with his band’s second full-length to be released through a yet-undetermined imprint, Kailash. Named for the Himalayan peak on which Hinduism says resides Lord Shiva, the album was mastered by Billy Anderson, who joins the ranks of Sons of Otis and Elder (with both of whom Queen Elephantine has released splits) on the growing list of names associated one way or another with the band. With Shome on the experimental outing is vocalist Rajkishen Narayanan, former Agnosis/Tides Within bassist Andrew Jude Riotto, The Cutest Babyhead Ever multi-instrumentalist Brett Zweiman on tabla and other percussion and drummer Chris Dialogue, but contrary to what the personnel might suggest, Kailash relies mostly on a minimalist aesthetic, with few parts that would qualify as conventional doom. Instead, Shome and the band offer sparse, loosely-structured excursions into a spontaneous, improv-sounding creative dimension. There is obviously a plan, but it’s written down on 30 separate pieces of paper and it’s up to you to put them in the right order to find out what the hell it is. Take the hypobaric drone of opener “Search for the Deathless State,” which, led along the cliffside by a thick Riotto bassline, finds itself falling deep with a spoken word movement and slowly encompassing noise. At 15:39, it is a song almost entirely void of payoff — that is, if you sit through the whole thing expecting Sleep-style guitars to kick in and for Kailash to become an entirely different kind of Holy Mountain, you’re going to be disappointed — but the sense I get is they were going for unsatisfying in the traditional sense. His guitar leaves trails. That's how you know it's psychedelic.The first of Kailash’s several flirtations with vocal droning (aka “chanting”) pops up on “Gloaming,” but as multiple lines play off each other with “They’re keeping me from me” eventually emerging as the central lyric, the vocals sound dry and lacking the body some delay or reverb might provide. A more psychedelically effective approach is taken following the untitled interlude with the Lamp of the Universe-esque “The Vulture and the Creed,” which echoes itself into a mantra and further delves into the barrier regions of song. It is cavernous, and the transition from that into the slow acoustic blues repetition of “Priest” is aided by the moment of silence between the end of the one track and the start of the next. There are a lot of stylistic personalities showing themselves through Queen Elephantine, and though each one is pulled off ably, I can’t help but wonder if the band wouldn’t be better suited to finding a more cohesive sound and then working in outside elements, rather than fully changing pants for each track. Of course, with four of the seven songs over 10 minutes in length, each idea is given plenty of time to go where it will (or won’t), but taken as a whole, Kailash needs to be something more than long to accomplish the goals Queen Elephantine are setting for it. Bit off too much? Maybe. A 72-minute album is a challenge most bands wouldn’t undertake, let alone one so young. “Godblood” brings back the chanting, blending it with the acoustics of the preceding cut in scorned moans again delivered dryly to their detriment. Since the band recorded Kailash and Shome mixed it, the assumption is that everything on it is purposeful, however improvised it may or may not have been at the time. They had the final cut. And where Earth conveys emptiness through unrelenting repetition of minor chords and expanding soundscapes, parts of Kailash just feel like they have pieces missing. An exception would be the sweet-sounding closer “Khora,” which reminds me of the tapes The Beatles made in India or something Ben Chasny might try with Six Organs of Admittance. Over the course of its 16 minutes, the song takes a natural evolution into an appropriately minimalist finish. The record as a whole probably would have benefited from the outside opinions of a producer (and it would be another name to attach to the project), but Kailash presents some strong ideas and definitely makes known Queen Elephantine’s willingness to tread unfrequented paths. It’s a two-way process, but for anyone willing to give the time — at least 216-288 minutes — it’s one that can lead down any number of satisfying roads. ======================================== Doom Metal Alliance By Derek March 2009 I started listening to Queen Elephantine (previously featured on DMA Sampler Vol. 2) early last year after discovering their split with Sons Of Otis. There sound was fuzz drenched psych heavy stoner doom. So I must say I was rather suprised when I heard QE's second full length album. Rock and metal have been replaced with drone and ambience, and left to couple with the doom and psych. The end result being some of the craziest psych this side of Alan Watts' album "This Is It!" When I listen to this album, I cant help but hear soul searching. Indy if you didnt know was born in India. One of the first things you will hear is a heavy influence of what the common ear will recognize as East Indian folk music. Indy has told me that Kumar Gandharv (East Indian musician) was an influence. Since this conversation, I have realized that this influence has always been there. The songs average out at over 10 minutes each, and QE takes advantage of such long songs by creating natural progressions to the songs that without a doubt most people will miss out on as the songs are "boring" and not doom at all. Well, stop listening to bands like Earth if that is the case as Earth is the stand out comparison here. Not that they sound like Earth or anything. Its more just experiments with sound, creating a meditative approach to music. Think "Bees Made Honey" if it were recorded by the Beatles in India. Queen Elephantine has grown into their own with Kailash, but fear that it will be lost on many listeners. So let it be known that Enginear Billy Anderson mastered this piece of work, and Queen Elephantine is ready to unleash it on the world. ======================================== The Sleeping Shaman By Adam March 2009 Stoner droner mystics Queen Elephantine, the oft travelling Lords of (sonic) Lethargy, have produced yet another striking opus of snaking whirring trip rock (that isn't actually 'rock') that hums and glides through your addled brain like the dawning realisation that you are imprisoned in a cage of your own creation, from whence only you can free yourself. Garbled pseudo Buddhist ramblings aside, this is a new downloadable e-release (check their myspace page for details), recently mastered by Billy Anderson and waiting for a record label, that represents that exquisitely soporific QE sound, but dwelling in a more meditative dimension than the grand altered-state rock of previous album 'Surya'. What is immediately noticeable is the emphasis on the vocals. The wailing chants of opener "Search for the Deathless State" blend into the overall miasma of huge Earth-esque drone guitar, cymbal splashes and tabla flurries, which creates an expansive and sprawling sonic haze that rises like a deathbed mirage to envelop your nodding head and consequently dissolves your sense of ego in a hot sea of languid tranquility. Raj intones a fantastic piece of prose that beckons the closing of this monumental first track. In the hands of many musicians such a device would run a risk of sounding pretentious, but this man carries a vision and a conviction born of personal experience. "Gloaming" takes the Indian subcontinental influences even further with buzzing sitar drone, scattered tablas and vocals that bend and warp around one note like a bumble bee tied to a nail plunged into a table. The line "They're keeping me from me" (read what you will into it) is repeated over and over again as the track reaches its end. A short interlude of what sounds like a genuine sample of monks chanting in a temple gives way to the slow rising and eerie demon tainted soundscape of "The Vulture and the Creed", which along with the following track, "Priest", conjures up memories of very early Sonic Youth, Swans and the whole New York 'No Wave' scene. There is an experimental sparseness here and economy of sound that QE are only just beginning to explore, much to their artistic satisfaction. Perfect soundtrack music. "Godblood" follows with a similar feel to "Gloaming", ending with strangely unsettling pipes and slowly strummed acoustic chords. Last track "Khora" rises on a wave of droning vocals, sitar vibration and minimal percussion to close very quietly on just faintly blown pipes some fifteen minutes later. Thus ends this shimmering seventy minute long pilgrimage from spiritual East to materialistic West and back again. I suspect many lovers of the orthodox 'rock format' will tire of the meandering nature of this album quite quickly, but those of you with a yearning towards the more experimental may lap this up for what it is, a fascinating collection of pieces based upon the musical and philosophical influences of the cultures that have fermented for so many millennia from both the fertile soils of the Indus Valley and from the ancient cloud ringed kingdoms of the Himalayas, but played by musicians who have a deep appreciation for the droning aesthetics of classic bands like Earth and Sleep. QE are quite unique, but do benefit a liberal and patient ear, so if you own a pair of these, download it. I did feel tempted to end the review with a rather cheap and ethnocentric reference to fancying a curry, but I resisted. ======================================== Gradations of Morbidity By Chris Naughton March 2009 Named after the mythical Himalayan peak on which ‘The Destroyer’ dwells in the state of perpetual meditation, Kailash is the second full length record from New York/Providence based Queen Elephantine, and going off the perceptions of their recorded past it comes as quite a shock. Given they’ve been involved in splits with bands like the Sons of Otis, one would expect ‘Kailash’ to be a fuzzed out stoner/spacey riff driven affair, when the opposite is in fact the case. As a whole piece of work ‘Kailash’ is actually quite a mellow, experimental take on drone doom (although it’s difficult to say whether it’s even that!). Take opening track Search For The Deathless State for example which sets out the s t y l e for the rest of the album by using an interesting mix of minimal, ritualistic, trance inducing guitar drone over laid with interesting choral vocals and the odd spurt of mad ‘free’ percussion and creepy noises. As if that wasn’t stylistically weird enough, they also manage to incorporate dreamy, Slint-esque spoken word sections into the mix to their interesting ‘minimal drone’ formula. With that in mind it becomes clear that vocal-led minimalism seems to have been a key feature in the writing of this album. The culmination of this vocal use is The Vulture & The Creed which is an interesting track that is based around vocal drone & noise-scapes, reminding at times of Attila Csihar’s performances on latter day sunn O))) releases interspersed with controlled, ambient, yet noisy guitar work. While remaining minimal the writing on this occasion never seems to lack interest and by the time the record progresses through to the metallic, industrial swirl of Priest and the Desert Sessions/QOTSA feel of Godblood the drift that is Khora comes in calmly to wrap up the proceedings. Kailash is one of those ‘mood’ records in the sense that; if you are in the mood for it then it will engross you in a 70+ minute landscape of experimental drone and if not then the repetitive nature of some of the structures and intra-song style may become a little tiresome. Alas, this is an interesting album with some nice ideas and is definitely one of the more interesting drone based albums to come out in a while, even if it is more like free-jazz-vocal-drift than your typical Earth tribute. But, maybe that’s its selling point. [7.5/10] ======================================== Abandon Ship Records April 2009 Originally hailing from Hong Kong, this New York-based group is bringing something entirely new to the table. Hypnotic eastern-tinged drones create the backdrop for their dark and brooding vocals. Creating something truly unique, and definitely the first of it's kind on Abandon Ship. Keep an eye out for more from Queen Elephantine in the coming months. Their future is bright, although their sounds may not be!
Worship of the Riff Ready for a brutally low slab of stoner-edged doom? Queen Elephantine's "Bison" track fits the bill, and damn is it heavy. I heard this unholy tune at The Obelisk, a really wonderful site. It's hard to describe how heavy this is. Like Sleep, but somehow tuned even lower. The grinding bass sort of massages my lower intestines and makes my desk rattle. In a good way. "Bison" is one of those great hits (well, not really a "hit") that conjures up mental imagery of bleak, desolate landscapes like only the best metal can. Brief pauses let the silence linger, and then, impossibly, it somehow gets even slower, plodding and pounding away at the base of my skull. Once a lead guitar ("lead" here means playing higher notes) steps in about a third of the way in, the track transcends reality and becomes a sonic ritual fit for the gods of doom. Kick-ass on every level. Listen. Learn. Worship these riffs. ======================================== The Echo Motel There's nothing better
than finding a new band, especially
when that band is as good as Queen Elephantine. 'Surya' starts with a
sitar drone and ends with a 27 minute epic called 'Bison', an inspired
psychedelic dirge of a jam based around a fucking massive bass riff.
It's unfair to draw to comparisons to other bands (Queen Elephantine
have their own take on 'stoner' and 'doom'), but if Sleep, Om and Bong
are in your record collection, then you should definately make some
room for these guys. They've just released a live album on
Faunasabbatha, but it's limited to 70 copies so you better get yer
skates on... ======================================== Slays For Days Surya. It is the sound of
a million bison slowly marching
thier way towards the Great Stoning of the Outer Dark and the Infinite
Chill. There are no survivors save one half bison, half man. He takes
the Crown of Thunder and places it atop his head. He speaks and a
thousand snakes come out his mouth. The snakes eat each other up
causing a great void. The great bison king shoots a most righteous
fireball out of his hand into the void and his throne is formed. ======================================== Descargarte Todo QUEEN ELEPHANTINE resulta
interesante por varias razones. Una
de ellas es que procedan de Hong Kong –aunque el
año
pasado su líder se radicó en Nueva York (EE.UU.)
y
reformó la banda. Por otro lado, ellos han sabido aprovechar
las
posibilidades que da la Internet para ponerse en contacto con otros
grupos y sellos, lo que es ha permitido, en pocos años,
grabar
sendos discos “split” con bandas stoner / doom /
sludge
como ELDER y SONS OF OTIS, ambos con buena crítica, y
participar
de varias compilaciones. Pero ¿Cómo suena? Suena como un mantra hindú cantado por los hijos ilegítimos de BLACK SABBATH; suena como si un grupo de músicos de Woodstock hubieran sido secuestrados por ovnis, llevados al desierto y abandonados a su suerte con muchos discos de drone y doom. Su música es lenta y pesada, hipnótica, repetitiva, psicodélica y densa. A través de los cuatro primeros temas, se van alternando atmósferas más meditativas y viajeras –que coinciden con las canciones más cortas- con ambientes más pesados y de ritmo más marcado. Ello sin que se produzca un contraste, sino una suerte de progresión en la que pasamos de lo pesado de “Ramesses II” –de 16 minutos de duración- a la densidad hipnótica de “Kabir”. El punto complejo, el “elefante blanco” del disco, lo constituye el último tema,“Bison”. Ya conocen la historia del elefante blanco: el rey que quiere perjudicar a un súbdito sin que se note y le regala un paquidermo albo; el súbdito agradece el exclusivo regalo, pero queda en la ruina por el elevado coste de mantener al trompudo animal. Acá sucede algo parecido: grabar un tema de 27 minutos, incluso en un disco destinado a un público al que podemos sospechar que el consumo de ciertas sustancias les conduce a buscar sonidos “cósmicos” y pegados, no deja de ser un riesgo. De parecer un puro relleno, de ser el peor tema del disco, de bajar el nivel justo al final. De todas formas, este “Bison” logra salvarse si te das el tiempo de sumergirte en sus sonidos. Buen disco debut, en resumen; para fans de SLEEP, YOB, OM, la sicodelia y los sonidos experimentales. No se recomienda escuchar sin tiempo disponible. ======================================== Doom-metal.com Surya is a sun deity in
the pantheon of an eastern religion,
Hinduism I believe. This is the first time I have had the chance to
listen to this bands work but I had read some good reviews about them
on the internet. I can't say that I have an extensive collection of
psychedelic stoner/doom albums, but to me they sound like Reverend
Bizarre covering Hawkwind. That is a good thing, as it translates to
long, slow, intriguing compositions. ======================================== ProgArchives.com 'Surya' is QUEEN
ELEPHANTINE's first full album. The band
started in Hong Kong but is situated in New York City in the meanwhile.
Guitarist Indrayudh Shome represents the main constant of the group.
The songs have a heavy psych origin and as for the characteristic
expression they are also featuring a special hypnotic mood based on
doom and stoner rock leanings. Look onto the rays of the
new stoner sun rising ! ニューヨークの若きサイケデリックロックバンド、
Queen
Elephantineの１stフルアルバム。元々は香港で結成されたバンドらしい（wiki)。Sons of
Otisとスプリットを出していたので、名前をご存知の方も多いと思います。アマゾンで取り扱いがないのでATHにて購入。 ======================================== Sea of Tranquility Imagining the earth as a vast, scorched, barren wasteland, inhibited by large, lumbering prehistoric creatures might give you a bit of a mental picture of what you're in for musically on this massive sounding release Surya from an outfit that goes by the name of Queen Elephantine, currently based out of New York City. Recorded just over a year ago in Hong Kong, Surya is just now seeing a proper CD release after previously only being available digitally and through a self issued CD-R. However you want to classify the music made by these four promising young musicians and we could use such typical words as stoner, doom, psych, sludge etc… the fact is this 5 song disc is an epic and sprawling collection of kick ass jams designed to penetrate the thickest cranium. The world of Queen Elephantine begins appropriately enough with the song named after their creators. This track commences with the hypnotic droning sound of a tanpura, before the thick, throbbing bass kicks in and light percussion along with the chant style vocals take over. The ritual has indeed begun. "Ramessess II" starts almost the same way with more droning tanpura, (in fact this instrument serves as an anchor for four out the five tracks on Surya) before bassist Daniel Quinn slams out another absolutely killer bass line. Before you know it the beast has lumbered off with guitarist Indrayudh (Indy) Shome in tow, providing more chanted vocals to match the equally colorful, psychedelic textures of his guitar playing. This monster which clocks in at an exhausting sixteen and half minutes is nothing short of pure, primal sludge that goes for broke and eventually threatens to self destruct by breaking into an all out freak out towards the end. Next up is "Kabir" which begins with light percussive touches and a slinky bass line, sounding briefly like a darker, murkier version of Sabbath's "Planet Caravan" before the tension gradually builds and morphs into something much more menacing. While the majority of the music on Surya could easily be dismissed as being fairly repetitious, I have to admit that this was initially a concern of mine after the first few spins. However, with more listens I came to appreciate the time it takes for these improvised jams to fully unfold. The compositions on Surya have such a fabulously hypnotic quality to them, primarily due to these drawn out and repetitive progressions, that the lines quickly blur from one track to the next. As if the band had intended to save the best for last, the final two tracks "Plasma Thaw" and "Bison" add up to an almost forty minute, unrelenting dose of pure ominous sounding ultra-heaviness. Out of the two "Plasma Thaw" is certainly the groovier track and probably the fastest on the album as far as tempo is considered. Straight out of the introductory count in, the band immediately locks into a super tight groove and then spends the next ten minutes carving through the murky fog. The hard hitting drums and furious percussion work really propels this one into the stratosphere. "Bison" on the other hand is a completely different ball of wax though. Expanding to almost thirty minutes this composition is a prime example of just how adept these guys are at crafting, slow, brooding songs that utilize the tension and release method to sheer perfection. Surya is an extremely impressive debut effort and one that will keep listeners enthralled from beginning to end. If your musical tastes run towards the sounds of early Sleep, Earth or even elements of Om , then Queen Elephantine should be able to comfortably secure a place somewhere between them on your CD shelf. ======================================== Heavy Planet Album of the Day ======================================== The Sleeping Shaman It is dusk upon the river Ganges. Your gap year has prematurely come to an end because you are sooooooo stoned on some killer grass you bought earlier from an entirely naked man covered in cattle shit, that you are utterly convinced that you will never ever move again. This is the music you are now hearing. Rippling sitars, snaking bass, deft percussion, distant vocals and warm and heavy electric guitars. It feels magical, unearthly, intangible, spiritual. You feel impossibly sick. It's going to be a long night. You should have listened to your mother and stayed in Grimsby. A full length self released album by this rare treat of an underground band, recorded in Hong Kong in 2007 and released earlier this year, and clocking in at a fittingly lengthy sixty six minutes. First track, 'Queen Elephantine' is built upon the punctuating repetition of an ominous and super fuzzed out bass riff. Gentle singing and flecks of guitar, sitar and percussion put shreds of meat upon rough hewn bones. It's a promisingly psychoactive opener, drifting like an abandoned boat. 'Ramesses II' continues this limp limbed journey. Danny Quinn's bass is the only aggressive element at work here, loud in the mix, boldly distorted and played with concentrated attack. All other sounds, including Indy Shome's soft yearning semi-chants, are at once peripheral and central. Like all the best drug music, it just depends on what YOU choose to focus on. After the ten minute mark the jamming gets free and loose and noisier, and then dies to a lurch, the skilful drums of Michael Scott Isley taking command and changing tempo, hitting hard on the fills, the whole band picking up urgency and power, ending in a climax of numb exaltation to the magic of a world long since dead. Paralysis ensues with the lilting stoner riff of 'Kabir' that coils out and stretches off into the sunset until Indy breaks into a glistening instrumental. No singing on this one, just four men jamming around a cluster of notes, heads nodding in blissful unison. 'Plasma Thaw' continues the jam. Half chanted vocals float up through the air, yet again everything pin pointed by the driving bass riff. The drums are busy in the background, adding a certain urgency to this track. The last track is 'Bison', a great sludgy semi-instrumental dirge that moves away from their usual eastern influenced riffs and instead plows a more discordant avant-rock furrow, gently nodding away as the bass belches out minimal notes, sounding more 'western' than 'eastern'. This is also a more sparse affair than the previous tracks, with plenty of time given to space within the song, but unfortunately never really achieves the lazy yet focused momentum or fluid exoticism of the rest of the album. Out of all the tracks this is the most experimental and the least successful, and, at nearly thirty minutes long, feels like it could have been left off. QE's sound is languid, stoned and sensuous, evocative of the non-western environment in which much of it was no doubt conceived. I, for one, can't help but dig their murky lo-fi production because a). it sounds like they recorded it in a rotting Cambodian temple, and b). you can't really pin down their attractively weird, amorphous sound, which kind of gives QE the X-factor lacking in much contemporary 'rock' music. Incidentally, I'd like to see these lot on X-factor, jamming in front of Cowell, staring hard at the audience through a dense fug of marijuana smoke. ======================================== Terrascope A heady mixture of eastern strings and heavy bass sounds, Queen Elephantine, take a trip into the mystic on their album “Surya”, chanted vocals mixed low making you listen closely, the music spiralling around you. Surely music for deep meditation, the slow and languorous feel is maintained, even when the band crank it up such as on the hypnotic and lengthy “Ramesses II”. Final track “Bison” is a Hapshash meeting The Serpents, a 27 minute tumble through space and time, the primitive feel of the piece adding to the mystery. ======================================== Grey Day SOBRE LA BANDA: ME GUSTA: ME DISGUSTA: MEJORES TEMAS: ULTIMAS PALABRAS: ======================================== Ondalternativa.it "Surya"rappresenta il passo mediatico dall'esistenza al letargico divenire dell'impeto umano che racchiude in cinque soli pezzi l'ultimo album dei Queen Elephantine. Un gruppo di cinque esploratori del mondo della heavy psichedelica. Un lungo cammino dell'underground newyorkese moderno. Il disco registrato nella visionaria Hong Kong rappresenta la giusta interpretazione odierna del concetto di musica catartica e purificatoria,la quale conduce l'uomo ad un vero e proprio circolo violento a tratti dolce e liberatorio,a tratti sconvolgente quasi tutto il turbine della coscienza umana. Un vero e proprio space jam di effetti sonori,protagonista sempre lo stesso serpente pronto a mordersi la coda. Seppur le melodie rimangano pressochè e costantemente le medesime,risulta un vero e proprio rito mistico dalle sinfonie viziose.gruppo. Un viaggio tra etniche percussioni in un lento e soffice "bass groove" dedicato all'intera naturalezza che è in grado di possedere solo chi,in virtù di quell'anima musicale dominata dal mistero per la vita,può udire il suono.Un'intera melodia vocale avvolta da un intero "drone" non cambia,è sempre uguale nella sua durata,e pare così strano come possa catturarci e succhiarci in quello strato di suoni che sovrapponendosi l'uno sull'altro ci conduca ad una luce in cui la fase iniziatica ricorda parecchio l'effetto degli Om in "At Giza". Il ritmo ipnotico del basso,accompagnato dalla forza austera e solenne della sezione percussionistica,caratterizza,finanche elevare,il suono della seconda traccia dell'album:"Ramesess II".Il basso volume vocale,grazie al tono oscuro e profondo,espande un' eco tetra sull'atmosfera tutta del pezzo:una coltre di male,leggera e trasparente,sembra posarsi su esso.Lo svolgimento è piacevole;la chitarra sembra riuscire ad andare oltre ordini e leggi prestabilite ed immutabili;in una tempesta caotica in cui il tutto si risolve.Il pezzo apre la fase psichedelica dell'intero album in uno spazio rock rumoroso ed eccitante.Soprattutto alla fine,quando tutto è stanco e la voce ristagna un'eco dolorosa,i suoni giungono all'estrema lacerazione. "Kabir"è la terza rappresentazione desertica dell'album. Un altro esercizio a ripetizioni che scattano come arma sull'intera e avvolgente melodia. Una danza tra movimenti a volte rapidi a volte più tranquilli. Un vero e proprio groove circle tra doppi colpi di percussioni e tamburi,i quali fanno di questo piccolo kit di tagliente artiglieria un'arma che scova nella profondità più ricca della sensibilità umana. Una visione abbastanza "peyote" che ricorda le criptiche note blues dei Kyuss. Un suono che ci riporta al deserto dei Mammatus,o addirittura all'effervescente temperamento mistico dei Comets On Fire. Il catartico rito di liberazione si plasma,ed ecco "Plasma Thaw".Rivela il lato più pesante e toccante dei QE. Una serpentina bufera che si perpetua in una lunghezza assai epica e trascendentale. Un tortuoso gioco di riffs pesanti che ricordano parecchio una gerusalemmica visione musicale ritrovabile nel giro dell'Holy Mountain degli Sleep.Una nebbia,una foschia mistica che porterebbe ad un'unica direzione,verso la concezione atomica della purezza del tempo.Non è facile poter comprendere quanto sia possibile entrare a far parte di una concezione cosi sbandata e pronta a colpire i punti più delicati dell'essere umano.E'una corda a filo teso,che vibra muovendosi in un'aria arida,che solo il deserto è in grado di poter decimare. Il disco termina sulle note di "Bison" lo sciamanico pezzo contributo ai vecchi collaboratori della band canadese "Sons Of Otis".Il suono è distorto,ritorna sempre il giro ipnotico in attesa di dare facili risposte al misterioso fascino che avvolge l'intera esperienza.Bisogna trascendere il tutto e trovarsi in un'altra dimensione. E'un buco nel vento in cui l'ordinaria fenomenologia non è in grado di accedere. Lo stato dei riffs anche qui si ripropone con un salto nel buio in grado di poter svegliare quelle zone paludose e oscure che invadono la mente. Il loro debutto,grazie alla realizzazione artistica di quest'album (assieme,ovviamente,alle grafiche delle copertina dell'album) mi hanno molto impressionata e resa particolarmente partecipe di questi enormi paesaggi psichedelici. In queste rumorose pianure in cui si disperde un suono incessante che libera la mente da quel castigo in cui persevera e agisce silenziosa. Consiglio quest'album a tutti coloro che hanno bisogno di una boccata d'aria proprio per sentirsi liberi e sani nella genuinità nei confronti della vita. Per coloro che considerano la musica un fenomeno capace di trascendere l'esperienza ordinaria delle cose. Un giusto modo per risvegliarsi e ritrovare se stessi. ======================================== KvltSite I remember when Jayaprakash heard Om for the first time last year without prior knowledge of Sleep's existence, he said the grooves reminded him a lot of early Pink Floyd. I frankly never saw it that way but here's a band that's doing something a lot more like he'd mentioned. Queen Elephantine is a band, having its origins in Hong Kong and now based in NYC, consisting of four teens making a name for themselves in their local scene. They also recently put out a split with the mighty Sons of Otis. I've not heard that yet, but after a few thorough listens of their self-released debut album Surya, they certainly deserve a record label to fund the production, help them put out a fully packaged album (this comes in a CD-R with a cool sleeve) and render them the distribution. The sound is somewhat easy to describe if you're already familiar with what I said in the first paragraph. Queen Elephantine does extended psychedelic jams with unsophisticated repetitive grooves. They have this tanpura sound to go with their chanty vocal lines and the fuzzed out psychedelic jams. Warming up with a brooding 5 note doom groove over 5 minutes, the song 'Queen Elephantine' doesn't go all crazy with the jams yet. It all peaks on 'Ramesses II', the sixteen minute monster song that's pretty much the centerpiece of the album. I especially dig the bit that sounds like a dirged out Led Zep riff. 'Kabir' is all about this one long hypnotic riff and the way the rest of the band play around it for a good 6 minutes. 'Plasma Thaw' is the most Sleep-sounding song on the album with a monstrous doom riff and some wild drumming. After some trippy sounds that made the speakers jar, the band eventually get back to the thundering main riff and jamming some more before ending the song. The twenty six minute epic 'Bison' eventually draws the album to a close but not before intentionally rambling with help from a rock-steady riff, spacey sounds and noisy drones. This would be their most unique song on the album. Good album, though the production needs a lot of work. They're working on a new album and are still hunting for a label to put it out. In the mean time, you can get a copy of this CD-R for cheap or download their latest EP for free from their website. It sounds heavier and more evolved than Surya from the one listen I gave it, so go for it by all means. ======================================== Get Off My Elevator If I say a band from China, what would you think? Don't think my friend, that's why we are here, for you don't have to think. This Queen Elephantine is a rare "a la" Colour Haze experimental fully instrumental thing...., another "must have" from the GOME fellows, stay around. ======================================== Deaf Sparrow Zine This is a great record. And in the methodical, stellar, emotional and astral plane, Surya is to me as good as Om’s latest Pilgrimage. It is also rougher, less detailed, choppier, looser, more rustic, more excessive, fatter, and longer. Surya drones spliff in hand and entrances in a deeper and more monotonous fashion, but with that approach it also holds you tighter to its bass-centric core. For the whole duration of Surya, this New York quartet (that’s where they reside but Queen Elephantine came together in Hong Kong) seems to channel the post Sleep mantra of Al Cisneros and the guitar tonalities of a pubescent Josh Homme. Of the first one they have taken (some might say stolen, but this is good so fuck it) the sense of jamming, the free flowing vibe that carries good stoner doom outside of rock parameters, and from the latter they have taken the exact tuning (especially during the solos) that made of Kyuss’ such legends. Queen Elephantine have studied the stuff, and as premeditated as Surya may be, the 5 songs that comprise it are a plain lesson on how to bend two or three notes into innumerable shapes. Surya is massive in all fronts; recorded in the land of Jackie Chan it serves to its advantage that its lo fi qualities add a timeless warm tone to the whole recording. Wise move, as that sound adds to the band’s fat ass bottom. And it needs the weight as the songs extend over ten, and in the case of “Bison” , the thirty minutes. These tunes are at times insisting and moving at others groovy and always psychedelic. If they stay together, Queen Elephantine might have a great future. Not sure how old these guys are, but pictures on their MySpace present a teenage looking quartet. And a generous one at that; while they are recording their new album (Kailash) Queen Elephantine is offering a two-song EP for free download at their MySpace page. Yeah, it’s two songs and together they total over forty minutes so no whining allowed. ======================================== Organ Magazine ALBUM OF THE WEEK ======================================== Born In Blood Forums 2008 Albums to check out: ======================================== HeavyHell.pl W zasadzie ta sama liga co tegoroczny Jex Thoth. Równie? ho?dowanie przesz?o?ci, podobne ?rodki, jednak istot? tej muzyki s? inne za?o?enia. Ju? od pierwszego, i?cie stapletonowskiego, orientalnego drone'u i wej?cia sekcji wiadomo, ?e b?dzie transowo, psychodelicznie. Czu? ducha Amon Duul II, aczkolwiek tu jest wi?cej transu, mniej kombinacji... Na wst?pie odradzam s?uchanie myspace, gdy? te wa?ki si? powoli rozkr?caj? i w?a?ciwie ms nie daje odpowiedniego pogl?du na spraw?. Mam takie dziwne wra?enie, ?e gdyby to doci??y?, to momentami brzmia?oby jak Neurosis Mruga Generalnie warto pos?ucha? takiego Ramesses II aby zobaczy? jak w ostatniej minucie robi si? przepi?kna d?wi?kowa burza. A? mi sie Acid Mothers Temple przypomnia? Mruga Przyjemna, poprawna rzecz. Takie 7/10. Wydali to na CDR - 7,50 $ z wysy?k?. My?l?, ?e warto sie zainteresowa?. ======================================== Cloud Magoon Ever heard about people that take drugs to make music to take drugs to? (Yeah! I know it´s almost the same as the album title that SPACEMEN 3 gave one of their splendid albums back in the days). For me QUEEN ELEPHANTINE - SURYA embodys that precise impression on me, regardless if they take drugs or not this is one piece of heavy-psychedelia. But i would also call it easylistening because of the reason that it isent any traces of aggression in the music. It feels like a laidback jamsession perfect for deep meditation. The riffs are so intense, come in waves together with a extremely relaxed rhytms, the vocals are mellow and delivers just enough to push the songs further, it´s pure, organic and gives me a rush of pure wellbeing! This album really fits the meaning of "MEDITATION WITH MEDICATION". NEXT LISTENING IS GOING TO BE WITH BONG IN HAND! ======================================== Stonerrock.com Best described as a sprawling psychedelic space jam, Surya is the full-length debut of Queen Elephantine and a crushingly impressive follow-up to recent split-albums with Sons of Otis and Elder. Queen Elephantine's formidable contributions to those records were weighty works themselves, but a mere sampling of what they could do on their own. Surya's five tracks stretch out to over an hour, as the band lives up to its name and presents a perfect soundtrack to the unwieldy march of a mystical elephant caravan across the celestial plains. They melt down the sounds of Black Sabbath, Sleep, Hawkwind, Pink Floyd, early Monster Magnet, and a variety of other influences into a cosmic swamp all their own, populated by droning numbers like the self-titled lead off track and lumbering epics such as the 16-and-a-half-minute "Ramesses II," which rumbles along almost religiously with its chanted lyrics and smoky atmosphere until the pace picks up for its swirling climax. The Middle Eastern influence of the instrumental "Kabir" provides a trippy interlude before "Plasma Thaw" swings in on a monstrous groove reminiscent of the usual suspects from the '70's and doesn't let up, definitely the catchiest song on the album. "Bison" closes the record at a mammoth 27 minutes and 24 seconds, an expansive sonic journey that never gets boring or monotonous. The layers upon layers of hypnotic rhythms and molasses riffs, enhanced by the jammed-out feeling throughout Surya should please fans of bands like Sons of Otis, Mammatus, Acid Mothers Temple, Ufomammut, and Om. The band is still in search of a record label to release the album as a physical entity, rather than its current digital format, but Queen Elephantine won't be denied for long as they continue their trek to the throne of heavy space-rock royalty. ======================================== Doomed To Be Stoned In A
Sludge Swamp The elephant trudges on and on, devastating all in it's path... ======================================== Rompiendo Huesos Queen Elephantine son uno
de los secretos mejor guardados del
underground Stoner/Doom que poco a poco empiezan a salir a la luz. ======================================== Hellride
Music/Stonerrock.com Queen Elephantine is a group of young explorers in the world of heavy psychedelia, and ‘Surya’ is their first full-length, coming hot on the heels of various split releases and such in the past year or two. ‘Surya’ is a long, contemplative trip into the world of inner visions, a journey in which the devotional merges with the visionary to stake out a unique corner of the musical underground. ‘Surya’ begins with ‘Queen Elephantine,’ a lurching, meditational drone with plenty of heavy, distorted bass; a recipe the group uses to its advantage throughout the album. The song builds very slowly, offering visions that are somehow relaxed yet filled with anxiety, bringing to mind a space voyage with a crash landing on a far planet, where the alien sands drift quietly over blurry shapes both bizarre and sinister. ‘Ramesses II’ is a desert mirage of jerky military rhythms and monks offering devotional chanting that builds into the wails of lost souls. ‘Plasma Thaw’ is more rawkin’, while the 27+ minute ‘Bison’ is as thunderous as its namesake, with leaving-the-rails blues-based thrashing reminiscent of English cult doom/sludge outfit Ramesses. This tune pushes Queen Elephantine territory out further, with various plodding sludgy riffs creating a claustrophobic blues hell colonized by nasty Tibetan demons of every des c r i p tion. Lovers of heavy psychedelic doom or drone as manifested by groups as wide-ranging as Sleep, Acid Mother’s Temple, Mammatus, YOB, and even ‘Saucer’-era Floyd should climb aboard with these young musicnauts. It’s not a comfortable or easy trip by any means, but it will reward your (lysergic) attention. ======================================== Prognotfrog.com OKEY!!! Some days ago we recived an e-mail with a link with a band that was so heavy that I couldn't wear headphones while I was listening caus it would be hard to hold my head up. It sounds like OM or Sleep but with 5ives speed. But a lot more psychadelic. It's really hard to compare with something cause these guys sounds really new and fresh. Their first full length album is a limited edition so get it now before someone else do it! ======================================== Hellride Music The Queen Elephantine story continues to grow with this limited edition CDR of their upcoming debut full-length “Surya”. QE visionary Indy Shome started out this project in Hong Kong (where this album was recorded) but has since crossed the Atlantic to find residence in New York. It is there that he will begin to carve his mark across the United States with QE which now boasts a new line-up that features Andy Jude Riotto (Agnosis, Tides Within) on bass alongside Chris Diaz who pounds the skins and Rajkishen Narayanan being responsible for vocals and noise. This current QE roster will be embarking on an upcoming weekend tour that will hit Delaware, Virginia and Pennsylvania, so what better time to get yourself acquainted with this album! The album was recorded by the older line-up and features 5 new cuts from this psychedelic behemoth. Much like their split mates Elder, they are seeking representation to get this disc out there. Honestly if you’ve got a label, I say pick both of these phenomenal acts up as a package deal and go to town! QE boasts a sound that gravitates largely towards expansive, psychedelic rock that also incorporates doom, stoner rock and drone into its all encompassing tapestry. The hypnotic, repetitive riffs literally float above a cloudy fortress of overdriven bass lines and atmospheric drumming. Vocals are still mostly in the chanted, slightly sung ballpark and they have only gotten better as well. The sucking vacuum created by opener, “Queen Elephantine” gets things started out on a very trippy foot. Light, tribal percussion pulsates softly beneath the dense bass groove and ethnic drone that is topped off with spacious, overlapping vocal melodies that all combine into a mesmerizing mix. The song really never changes up drastically throughout its duration but it is the layered sounds and how they combine with each other that make it so memorable. The plodding, “Ramesses II” is a slow-burning number that is just over 16 minutes long. I actually pulled out the split with Elder to make sure I’m not going batty but this version is not the same one that was on the split. I’m not sure if it is directly involved with any of the four parts of “Ramesses” on that split but maybe I’m going crazy. In any case this song is an awe-inspiring piece of work that builds on a strong drum and bass foundation with deeply chanted vocals in the beginning that open up into more traditionally sung vocals later on in certain places of the track. The guitar work builds nicely throughout; unfolding leisurely while becoming increasingly more psychedelic by the second. The track also boasts an appropriately bombastic finale that seems to stop and start several times before exploding with noisy space-rock and distant vocals that tie everything together nicely at the very end. The desert baked groove of “Kabir” follows next and is another exercise in using repetition as the ultimate weapon. The track maneuvers its way around a solid, continuous groove that dances between louder moments and quieter, trancelike textures. The double shot of percussion that features both drums and back-up artillery creates a rich depth to the song that wouldn’t have been entirely there had only a traditional kit been employed. The psychedelic guitar leads sound like Kyuss lost on a peyote vision quest as the bass provides the necessary blues injected rumble. A cryptic sample ends this instrumental piece on an especially barren note. Seriously, this song melds the desert feel of Kyuss with a great spacey template employed by the likes of past greats like Camel or Caravan tempered by the more modern effervescence of Comets on Fire and Mammatus. “Plasma Thaw” brings out a bit of the heavier, doom-y side of QE. It is another epic length track that builds on a looping groove that features a heavier than thou riff that is serpentine in its winding heaviness. I feel a bit of Sleep in this one for sure. It has the long drawn out qualities of the “Jerusalem” era but manages to find a more sizeable groove in the vein of “Sleep’s Holy Mountain”. An arid midsection casts a mystical haze over which possible direction the song might head before they slam down on you with a thunderous riff one last time. The drumming on this one is particularly hard-hitting and the overall crush factor is at an all time high for these Elephantine lads as they set out to decimate you with sheer atomic weight. The sprawling, “Bison” brings this disc to a close and it is somewhat in the vein of their gigantic contribution to the Sons of Otis split. The song wanders in a steadfast, deliberate manner with a foreboding mess of distorted, droning chords that lock into a hypnotic shuffle that isn’t in any hurry to give you the easy answers to its mystery. There are a few shifts in sound and the overall effect lulls you into a comatose, dreamlike state where the distorted riffs bounce around the catacombs of your mind. This is a great debut record from QE. I was very impressed by their two splits and just like Elder, they have grown by leaps and bounds which is perfectly illustrated on this debut record. These songs are huge, psychedelic landscapes that you can get lost wandering forever amongst their vast plains of noise, space-rock and doom. Fans of the really heady, space jams would do well to check out QE. This is an awesome disc and hopefully someone will wise up and release this and the new Elder album. In the meantime, you can pick up a copy of this CDR until a label steps forth and delivers the goods. I can’t wait to see these guys in December is all I know based on the strength of everything I’ve heard so far.
Crucial Blast The first part of their set is the three-part "Ramesses The Second/The Weapon Of The King Of Gods / Ramesses The Fourth", which starts with droning guitar rumble and murky down tuned doom riffage, rippling waves of black amplifier noise coursing across a blasted sonic wasteland for a minute before the drummer finally kicks in. The song lurches into this muddy, narcoleptic drugdoom dirge that sounds like something Sleep could have recorded after communally downing a bucketful of benzos. The music is seriously slow and tranced-out, stoned chanting vocals rising up in the background, a slow-motion riff-ritual winding around deep bass guitar tones that sometimes seem to emulate the sound of a Rhodes. At around the thirteen minute mark, it starts to break down into a brief, furious percussive jam with tabla joining the drums within a storm of howling feeedback, then reforms into another sprawling free-psych jam as the third section kicks in, the tabla now out in front with both percussionists slipping into some immensely funky and hypnotic polyrhythmic grooves, the guitar spreading even further out into buzzing raga-like drones. The band keeps getting more and more zoned out, until theu eventually find their way out of the fug back into the lumbering elephantine doom, which at the end becomes even more aggressive and crushing. The second half of the disc is a piece called "Down In The Valley" that opens with the same buzzing cloud of raga drone, introducing rumbling guitar sludge after a moment, and then starts to move forward into a droning mono-chord dirge, surrounded with feedback hum and dark drift, joined with more delirious chanting and moaned singing. It gets into a Burnt Hills/Sleep mode of stoner psych heaviness that gets more diffused as the band sprawls out into a minimal dreamlike fog of static rumble drawn across tribal rhyhtms, and a final black riff that crawls through a fogbank of cosmic noise. I definitely dug this disc, and now need to track down their various other releases, which include splits with Elder and Sons Of Otis. Fans of those two band as well as the likes of Mammatus, Sleep, Electric Wizard, the current Meteorcity roster, and any lysergic tribal heaviness, check these guys out! ======================================== Faunasabbatha Heavy riffs and dark
nihilistic atmospheres in a world of
psychedelic violence. The absolute slowest, heaviest doom imaginable
like molten lava flowing down a mountain. Slow yet unstoppable,
consuming everything in its path... YATRA ..and... TO TARTARUS (UNRELEASED
7") Spirit
of Metal 20/20 In
the Summer of 2008, Hong-Kong based Indrayudh
Shome, front-man and founding member of QE, temporarily resettled in
New York City, USA for reasons of study. This brought along great
changes for the band, which had started out back in 2006 as a Hong-Kong
high school outfit, at that time the band members averaged 16 years of
age! Although aged only 18 at the time of his moving to the US, the band
that Indrayudh had set up with his friend and classmate Daniel Quinn
had already five releases to their name, including the full length
album “Surya” and a split with renowned stoner
doomers Sons
of Otis. Once arrived in the USA, Shome quickly teamed up with classmate
Rajkishen Naryanan (Vocals), but recreating the band as a whole proved
more difficult and costed time. During live gigs a whole number of
musicians were tried out until finally with Brett Zweiman, Chriss
Dialogue and Andrew Jude Riotto a full new line-up was established. Queen Elephantine’s core members are deeply connected with
the
Hindu culture of India, and that often shows in their music, which,
although in its essentials is clearly stoner doom, contains lots of
ethnical elements. So, do the sleeve designs, and Yatra is no exception
on this, depicting a naked goddess Kali, who has just beheaded a man,
she had clearly lured into his own undoing as a lover. Scary and
stunning and certainly belonging to the somber doom-drone like music.
Extra refinement is brought into the picture as the whole foreground
scene gives a shimmering shadow in the background. Wonderfully done and
in for just as high rating as the music of the album! Yatra was originally available as a internet release only and as such
is still downloadable from the bands official website. It is said that
later it was also made available as CD-EP on Concrete Lo Fi Records.
Although the existence of a sleeve design makes this highly likely, I
cannot confirm it for sure here as I have so far not been able to trace
it down. Anyway, true or not it changes very little about the self
produced status of the release as Indrayudh has said in interviews:
“Concrete Lo Fi Records? Oh, well, that is basically
me” From their beginning as 16 year old high school kids in Hong Kong, a
little more than 4 years ago now, the idea behind the sound of the band
has been crystal clear and very few changes have been made in it so
far. Whereas most bands of such extreme youthfulness for quite some
time contend themselves with covering songs of others, QE immediately
managed to lay down a unique concept by themselves. As far as I know
they have never recorded a single cover. Basically their songs can be divided into two distinct categories. The
first one is closer to standard stoner doom and bases itself strongly
on drums and extended down tuned solo guitar work, with bass guitar
more in the background. On these kind of tracks traditional percussion
is absent, guitar is only moderately distorted and sludge and drone
elements are clearly recognizable.. The second type of compositions are
much more inaccessible, creating an outspoken ethnical atmosphere with
tabla and sitar sound, (Although no sitar is actually involved, it is
all the result of effect boxes on the guitar). Both types of songs are
generally long to very long in duration and create a hypnotic effect by
sustained repetition. Vocals on both types of songs are usually clear and undistorted but
often venture into wailing and lamenting, and more recently, narrative
elements. I needed time to get used to the style of the new vocalist
Naryanan. In the beginning I thought them placed to much in the
foreground and sounding to much self-confident, almost arrogant in some
parts. But, the more I listen to them the more I recognize the hypnotic
qualities and by now have developed a real liking for them. The track is outspokenly monotonous over its entire length with endless
variations on the same theme. Main elements in the composition are
Shome’s downtuned, dragging, guitar solo’s on a
thick
background of drums. Instrumental and vocal parts are equally very slow
and repeatent, but, the brightness of the vocals makes for that it
doesn’t get boring anywhere during the more than 20 minutes. This song is an extreme example of the first type of QE compositions,
so much that it could not be considered misfiling if this song is
classified as drone rather than stoner doom. The track gives drummer
Chris Dialogue plenty of chance to prove that he is fully compatible
with the sound of the band. Towards the end his presence becomes more
and more prominent with the drumming getting thicker, noisier and
angrier. As usual with the “QE type 1 songs” the bass is
quite
hidden in the sound structure, leaving the front to the solo guitar.
Vocals are extended, loud and dragging, descending into lamenting style
at places but remaining clear and easy to understand everywhere.
Beautiful long piece, but I must add that the type 2 songs of the band
are more to my personal liking. To this could be added that, although
not bad, the production sure leaves something to optimize From beginning to end there is the strong covering layer of ethnicity
and not a few at first would think that they are listening to genuine
sitar sound instead of effected guitar. In the intro part to this is
added laid back, minimalized drums, spiced with whiffs of traditional
percussion Drums, although put quite prominent in the mixing have mainly a rhythm
function here and the real sturdy elements come from intermittent,
short distorted rhythm guitar licks, but most of all from dominant
strong vocals, which alternately are put thick in the foreground and
put behind the bass with less volume In the meanwhile the band has already released a full length follow up,
Kailash, which shows clearly that the teething troubles of the New York
QE have been largely overcome and with a man so driven, gifted and so
given to music as Indrayudh Shome in front, one can only expect great
things to come from them in the future. ======================================== Ritual
Room Hopefully you've heard the mindbending Queen Elephantine release "Kailash" by now, but reguardless if you have or if you haven't here is an EP that was released a free e-release while "Kailash" was being worked on called "Yatra". The first track on this release, "Droning Earth", previously appeared on the Droning Earth Vol. 7 compilation and is a 20 minute epic of droning psychedelia, fuzzed out guitars and trance enducing riffs. And as if all that wasn't enough, then the second, previously unreleased track called "Chariot of Solemn Procession" really gets down to business with absolutely mindblowing, dark, tribal, Ufomammut-esque vibes combined with meditative chants and a mammoth backbone. Brilliant band. ======================================== Mescaline
Sunrise Queen Elephantine is a predominantly doom/psychedelic band formed in Hong Kong, which is where I first heard of them and watched them perform, and are now operating out of New York. Their music is incredibly layered and almost trance inducing throughout, consisting of stoner/sludge riffs, parts with classical Indian music (one would've thought that the inclusion of the sitar in psychedelic music was an obvious choice but we don't see that very often, do we?), amazing atmosphere, somewhat creepy spoken word passages and more. You'd think a mix of all this would come across as messy but it isn't in the least. Yatra has 2 songs, both of generous length and very enjoyable. Just play and enjoy. ======================================== The
Sleeping Shaman Imagine the eldritch and arcane sound of a cultish band of blind, hooded, albino acolytes, engrossed within their eerie sonic witch-mantra, performing before a vast cyclopean temple of ice-cold basalt, jutting forth into an alien sky of pure indigo, triple moons illuminating the sickly fungus encroaching every shining edifice, built by some insane crustacean race at non-Euclidean angles a millennia before the great lizards ruled the earth. That band is Queen Elephantine. Mystic, doomed, beautiful. Two e-releases here, put out by the band themselves on their website and available as free downloads, and may I say, both are definitely worth listening to if you like drugs and stoner-trance-drone. In fact, you don't even need the drugs, they're an optional addition if you feel up to it. I just had a cup of tea and a flapjack. Q.E. are a rather exotic and cosmopolitan collective originally formed in Hong Kong as teenage droners just a few years ago and are now based in New York. They recorded both these releases as a four piece but they've had a bit of a loose line-up history with members floating in and out like sorcerers on flying carpets. The current band revolves around the writing duo of "Indy" Shome and Rajkishen Narayanan (both handle guitars, vocals and various other instruments). 'Yatra' was released this spring and comprises two long and meditatively structured tracks. 'Droning Earth' starts with a few seconds of feedback and breaks into a lazy and buzzing guitar riff. Far away sounding vocals then enter the mix (and proceed to distort and modulate at various points), followed by undulating bass and cymbal heavy percussion and proceeds to build for the next twenty minutes. Occasionally the main riff drops out, and sometimes the drumming, to allow space for general guitar improvisation and feedback. 'Chariot in Solemn Procession' is an even more beautiful piece of music. Thirteen minutes of droning after-life trance, the bass pulsing, the vocals, harsher than the last track, wailing in places and almost chanting in others. On both tracks I hear what sounds like the wobbling drone of a sitar, buzzing and humming in the background. The production is rough and lo-fi which really suits the music. 'To Tartarus' was recorded for a 7" that never was, and was released for download this summer. The five minute title track is a slowburning and brooding instrumental (as are all the tracks here), featuring menacing distortion, a touch of slide guitar, and subtle, understated percussion on the toms. 'Nagin' is under a minute long and features shrill pipes and percussion, and feels like some kind of long forgotten tribal music from somewhere deep within the lost rain-forested valleys of Asia. 'Mirage' is solemn strummed chords, bass, and the merest hint of percussion. It sets a sombre tone that reminded me of my own mortality, and my place in the universe as an infinitesimally tiny spec of sweet fuck-all. Q.E. have created some genuinely moving and deeply 'spiritual' music here, and the feeling of narcotic other-worldliness is definitely enhanced by the murky production. Sure, one can detect the various influences; traditional Asian folk music based around pentatonic scales, Indian ragas, the ambient drone doom of Earth and Sunn0))), stoner rock and even classic late sixties/early seventies psychedelia like late period Thirteenth Floor Elevators, plus a hot lazy desert Josh Homme/Kyuss kind of vibe. This band have a very special feel to them, a heady brew of eastern notes dancing and snaking around a central droning riff that anchors each song to a central point of psychic audio-focus. On paper I've heard it before, but listening to it in my living room is a simply riveting experience. Mightily impressive. Download from http://queenelephantine.clfrecords.com/music.htm. ======================================== Sputnik
Music Queen Elephantine’s latest EP, Yatra, takes the plodding desert camel ride aesthetic of their debut full-length, 2007’s ode to Hindu sun goddess Surya, and pushes it further into the dry barren fringe of narcotic lo-fi stoner drone. It is also their most accomplished work so far, with a line-up overhaul after a base change from Hong Kong to New York City, and featuring some of the best improvisatory modal psychedelia yet to come from the group. There are many obvious changes in sound here. The first thing is the lack of the auxiliary percussionist who colored Surya’s plodding beats with additional washes of cymbals and exotic bongo patterns. In place of the dual percussionists of releases past stands only one man behind the kit, New Yorker Chris Dialogue. His rhythms are deceptively layered and nuanced, but more importantly, his switches from gargantuan cymbal-smashing ferocity to placidly propulsive groove add a whole new level of dynamic intensity to the band’s music. The music still carries the exotic punch of the past, however. The Eastern sensibilities of the band manifest themselves in the meditative drone climaxes that characterize both tunes, and “Chariot in Solemn Procession” brings back the familiar tanpura drone from previous releases. It’s used brilliantly, creating a hypnotic swirl over which the band paints its most imposing doom epic yet. The climax sees a pulsing, bassy groove explode into overdriven chaos and Sleep-esque anthemic chants while the stolid, unflinching tanpura drills its presence into your head. Opener “Droning Earth” is a two-part epic, beginning with licks of feedback that transmute into a thunderous fuzz riff, laying the seeds for a groove which the band will explore infinitely over the next ten minutes, leaving no sun-drenched stone unturned, no meticulous, consciousness-altering repetition unfulfilled. The vocals in the first section maneuver the riff with an addicting, stoned swagger as if Queens of the Stone Age's most seductive tendencies were married with swathes of mutating feedback. The second section abandons the up-front presence of vocals for a towering instrumental jam that pulses with tribal urgency and marries cosmic Pink Floyd-esque aspirations with endless deserts and a focus on channeling the mysteries of the bold red sun. The guitar riffs are meandering in an exploratory sense, using simple motifs to establish the world and then going off and exploring from there. The bass work is also far more adept than in the past; and, while lacking the outright monolithic fuzz presence of Surya, the syrupy groove with which the bassist slinks through these songs locks in with the drums for a rhythm section that grabs you by the throat and propels you to the frontline of these monolithic marches. Queen Elephantine purveys a new era of doom/drone metal in the tradition of star-gazing doom acts like Ufomammut. But more importantly the group traverses other realms of musical exploration in a way similar to the Six Organs of Admittance ilk, with their merging of Eastern and Western flavors to a bed of psychedelic aspiration. ======================================== Cloud
Magoon The first time i ever heard QUEEN ELEPHANTINE was when i was living in MALAGA for a while, i dropped by a cool recordstore that had a new split cd whit SONS OF OTIS/QUEEN ELEPHANTINE. I have been listening allot to SONS OF OTIS before and likewise bands through the years but i immedietly got hooked to what QUEEN ELPHANTINE delivered, their music impressed me by their own unique kind of way of mixing the heavyness of drone with the laidback feeling of a stoney psychedelic rock-jazz-jam. I felt like, yes! Finally there is a band that knows how to jam the shit out of it like no other, that kind of music that let..s you, me, the listerner to wander of to oblivion and beyond and just indulge the massive experince that these musician..s certainly let you do! Get..s you in to trance while you are headbanging your head into deep sleep with a big smile on your face. If you ever heard QUEEN ELPHANTINE before you know what it..s all about, plenty of room to breath and a athmosfhere that is perfectely combined with lots of toxic smoke etc. When they released SURYA i cant explain the overwhelmingly feelings i got, nothing else then- NICE, FUCKING NICE !!! Been listening to SURYA on repeat too long, but sudenly QUEEN ELEPHANTINE released YATRA, a great album free to download at their homepage, they definetely showed themself worthy of being the masters of heavy psychrock, QUEEN ELEPHANTINE is not just a band, there the new leader of a new generation of heavy psychrock, i am really excited about their fortcomming new album Kailash and what it will show to the non belivers! Collective
Zine Dual doominess across two sides of wax here, things beginning inauspiciously with Brummie types Alunah's serviceable if vaguely uninspiring plod through detuned chords and winding female vox, all of which doesn't much offend the ear but seems to lack any clear purpose or direction. Queen Elephantine have a shittier name but are eminently preferable, their turgid, swirling lope somehow hypnotic as it traipses from one tarry note to another like a primitive, sleep-deprived Om or a less accomplished Electric Wizard and making for a worthwhile end to an otherwise unmemorable encounter. ======================================== Bad
Acid ======================================== The
Obelisk In
and out in a little over 12 minutes, this
split 7” between British rockers Alunah (whose ending
‘h’ seems a recent addition) and multi-continental
experimental droners Queen Elephantine is a quick trip, but a
satisfying one nonetheless. Limited to 250 copies and issued through
Catacomb Records, each side of the vinyl features one song just past
six minutes long and though the two bands work in different
atmospheres, there’s a far-off echo that permeates both
pieces
and builds cohesiveness between the styles. ======================================== Doommantia 9/10 One track from each band and all on spectacular purple vinyl with
awesome production, there is something special about bands like this on
vinyl and both Alunah and Queen Elephantine are perfect specimens for
the vinyl format. Its released on "Catacombs Records" which has quickly
established as one of the best labels going around, the quality of the
bands on the roster and the superb packaging they provide gives other
labels a good run for their money. Alunah's track "Song Of The Sun" is
a stunning riff-tastic track with a exceptional vocal performance from
singer "Sophie". She has developed a style all of her own, the sultry
way she delivers the words are a perfect match for Alunah's
psyche/stoner doom sound. The song is not only catchy but it sounds
like a band that has finally found its feet showing some real depth to
their performance of the track. The guitar sound is even thicker than
what was on their first release and the drums kick louder than ever
before, this is all pushed along but some huge production that is big
but still retains a live feeling. "Alunah" has always had the potential
to do a lot more than just another riff-happy doom band, they have some
real songwriting ability that should take them a long way in the future.
Ritual
Room I'm sure everybody knows of the crushing and spacey Sons of Otis - well here's their split with Queen Elephantine, a younger, lesser known group of a similar musical branch. The first two tracks on this split are by Sons of Otis and plod and drone through a thick wall of sludge and sonic psychedelia, and the Queen Elephantine track is a tribally heavy, epic finish to this other worldly experience. All in all this split is apocalyptic, chillingly psychedelic and crushingly medatative... a perfect soundtrack to make this depressing and chilling month called February even more depressing and chilling. ======================================== Roadburn This split is an interesting mixture of the dense, blues-heavy Sons of Otis and more experimental, tribal-sounding Queen Elephantine. Both bands succeed in creating a similarly trippy vibe, just in radically different ways. The two Otis tracks are a fairly good introduction to the band's main styles. Opener "Tales of Otis" represents their dark, ambient and disturbing side with a droning bass riff and minimal drumming augmented by echoing guitar shrieks and wails drifting in and out of earshot. The second Otis track "Oxazejam" is a scorching example of the finest electric blues playing this side of Robin Trower saturated with Baluke's heavy and warm tones and soulful playing. "Oxazejam" is a seamless mesh of halcyon Otis solos flowing together into a heady 9 minute whole. Queen Elephantine's single 25-minute monster rounds out the EP with mantra-like drumming and bass slowly propelling the tribal vibes of the track along. The drumming is what really keeps this soundscape moving through its different sequences of minimal bass and ambient space through to chanted vocal sequences and odd guitar interludes. Very satisfying and an excellent counterpart to Otis' heaviness. ======================================== Nat Records ?gu?L?|{?A??q?a`?Oe^?oe?h?A??q???q-???e?t?@??g?????e?e?LCanadian heavy spacy doom?o??g?hSONS OF OTIS?I?L3,4?hN?U?e`?I`?????[?X! ????g?o?[?I?L2?l?E?L?E`?A?L?A?N?U?N??E???e??oeI?N?i?L?c???I`?\h?e^?e?L?g(C)?OEcosmic doom blues????g?O?i??g?o?[2?qE`?u^?^! ???`?I`?a?L?e`?o??g?hQUEEN ELEPHANTINE?I?L25?oe??E?L?a`?qy?O^mantra drone doom?i??g?o?[1?qE`?A??qOM?`HOLY MOUNTAIN?OE?[?x??q?I`?t?@??g?E?L?I?X?X???A??q??E! ?eS3?qE`?gu?N?e`(?C??g?X?g)/43?oe? ======================================== Doom-metal.com A really massive heavyweight of a split. It starts with 'Tales Of Otis' by Sons Of Otis, which is a track full of incredibly slow and slightly unnerving riffage. While most of their previous works have been very stoner influenced, this would come closer to being a mixture of doom/sludge and doom/drone. The attitude is very dark and slightly agressive. In fact, this is pretty much the same kind of music that Corrupted make. The main difference would be that this track has no vocals. The second track is more in their usual style, though still without vocals. The riffage is much less deep and jams along in a very spaced manner. High as a kite, in other words. In addition, it must be said that the melody line is incredibly relaxing while at the same time tickling the air guitar lobe in the stoner fan's mind. Clearly one of the most far out tracks in the doom/stoner genre. Exactly what any Sons Of Otis fan would be looking for. The far out music on 'Oxazejam' is a perfect passage over to Queen Elephantine's track. While they have only half as many tracks as the direct descendants of Otis, 'The Battle OF Massacoit (The Weapon Of The King Of Gods)' lasts a whole 26 minutes and that's nearly ten minutes more than the other two tracks combined. The music is nearly as high as on 'Oxazejam', but less stonery and more droning. An interesting aspect of the music is that the regular drumwork is supplemented with what sounds like a set of bongo drums. The track even ends with the bongo drums jamming it out in a solo. It really gives the track a slightly Middle Eastern feeling. The vocals are very slow and does sound a bit drunk or drugged. All in all a very relaxing track that make you feel like you're floating around above a desert on the back of a slightly psychadelic camel. The music from both bands fit really good together, giving the overall feeling of the split a comfortably holistic tinge. This wouldn't have been a big thing if the bands had more active and more intensely chaotic music. However, when the music is this relaxed and as chaotic in the same way an etheral wave would be, then good continuation is very welcome. Most importantly for my verdict, it enables the music to become really pleasant music for relaxation. And that's exactly what I would recommend it as. If you want something far out to allow your mind to wander, then this is probably a very good choice. ======================================== Stonerrock.com I've cooled on Sons of Otis since I first heard and was captivated by Songs for Worship years ago. I can't remember when the last time I listened to their last album, X, let alone if I still own it. So hearing that the band had taken a break from losing another drummer to record some new songs with upstarts Queen Elephantine wasn't exactly something that set my world afire. While their two tracks on this split won't send the band back to the top of my priority list, it does remind me of what I liked about them in the first place, in particular “Oxazejam.” Neither that or “Tales of Otis” is all-out heavy, but they're dense songs, and they both have that bluesy, soup-like psychedelia that the band's known for. Put it this way - if you could make psilocybe gravy, it would taste like Sons of Otis. As for Queen Elephantine, they have only one song, but at 25 minutes, it's enough. Of all the material I've heard, “The Battle Of Massacoit (The Weapon Of The King Of Gods)” is the definitely the strongest. It's very low key in mood, a sort of a simmering drone that at the end encroaches Om territory (vocally, that is). I'm not sure if this is the case, but it sounds like it was recorded live. All in all, it's a good slice of psychedelic drone. Fans of that take notice. ======================================== Hong
Kong Magazine One of a rare handful of cross-Pacific split albums, this joint venture between Toronto's Sons Of Otis and Hong Kong teen prodigies Queen Elephantine will prove a morose delight for fans on either side of the stoner/doom rock divide. It's an instrumental album comprised of only three songs, each of more than substantial length (Queen Elephantine's single track, "The Battle of Massacoit," lasts a good 26 minutes). Granted, some vocals do find their way into Elephantine's contribution, but they somehow sound more instrumental than many of the instruments themselves. While Otis are clearly intended to provide the album's selling point, having amassed a 12-year reputation as prime purveyors of doom-laden psychedelia, one could argue that it's Elephantine who tip the scales here. The band couldn't be more aptly named. After experiencing the sheer heaviness that emanates from their epic soundscape track, you'll be shocked to learn that it was recorded live – at HKIS of all places (and guys, while we're all for keeping it real, perhaps that last piece of info didn't need to be mentioned on the inlay.) This is doom rock and its brooding, soul-striping best. Not to be listened to if you're having a good day. Sounds like: Grim reapers hanging out in an autumn forest. ======================================== AntiMusic.com If the expression, "speed kills," proves true sonically as well as automotively, then welcome to your musical crash helmet. The particular brand of slow, goopy, metal known as Doom has long strained every guitar string and bass drum in it's collective arsenal to achieve new feats of heaviness, usually at the expense of any sense of getting on with it. Since the mid-90's when "Stoner Rock" began to partner up with Doom, Sons of Otis have been lurking somewhere in a dark basement of the underground, with cohorts like Electric Wizard and Sleep, making that soupy recipe of wonderful, snail paced, practically unconscious Metal. Their latest offering makes its way slowly to your speakers in the form of a split CD with Queen Elephantine, another similarly minded band with Orange amps and no watches. The release has no particular title, although the catchy little phrase: "War is Good Business, Invest your Sons," does adorn the inside of the cover. One can only speculate if this has any meaning within the music or if the bands have just included that for us to ponder in any free time we, the intrepid listeners, can scrape together while not plowing through an ocean of quicksand riffs and the dense fog of distortion quickly filling the room. Still, not a bad buy at three songs…three songs clocking in around forty-five minutes. Sons of Otis start things off with two songs. Those familiar with the band's previous work will almost certainly wonder at seeing the running times for the two songs, if this is a Ramones tribute album by the Sons, with each song clocking in less than ten minutes. While not a tribute to anyone in any way, the song "Oxyjezam" does provide a bit of a sonic departure, with the band more or less soloing cleanly for nine-plus minutes, rather than sticking with their more typical approach that finds them hammering out a monster riff, veiled in distorted, wailing guitar every three or four seconds. The clean guitar is strange, and the fact that they skipped out on lyrics completely is an added bonus, as their lyrics are usually undecipherable and ultimately unnecessary. "Tales of Otis", however, clings more doggedly to the aforementioned formula, although for a relatively short burst of about eight minutes. Queen Elephantine provides a somewhat different approach. Rather than the pounding drums and heavy riffs, the band employs a smoother style, with more nuanced percussion providing the backdrop for ethereal guitars. The epically named, "The Battle of Masscoit (The Weapon of the King of Gods)" floats along for over twenty-five minutes, never really hitting any kind of boiling point, but never really washing out either. A decided lack of vocals, as with the Sons of Otis songs, is a huge plus. It will be worth watching out for this band if they release a full length in the near future. Starting with the high minded musicality of YOB and buffing out the rough patches by eliminating unnecessary vocal interruptions, Queen Elephantine create a solid sound that's all their own. Generally, the split CD in general is cross promotion and marketing at its worst: Two bands covering each other's songs to draw the audience of one towards the other, or some such. Usually, it's a good novelty, but little else. Doom and its related genres are proving the exception to the rule, however, with great offerings already from the Hidden Hand with Wooly Mammoth, and going back a ways, ATP with Halfway to Gone and Unida with Dozer. Add Sons of Otis and Queen Elephantine to that pantheon. ======================================== Hellride Music The Sons of Otis/Queen Elephantine split is a trance-inducing slab of psychedelia, steeped in illicit substances and left to dry under an alien sun. It matches veteran Canadian heavy space voyagers Sons of Otis with Hong Kong newcomers Queen Elephantine in a most satisfying trip to the center of the mind. Sons of Otis! Where have they been hiding lately? Despite their Spinal Tap-like problems with keeping drummers, they've been a towering presence in heavy space music for a decade or so, from the sludgy 'Paid to Suffer' through the classic titanic space voyage of 'Spacejumbofudge' to the more focused 'X' from 2004. So although Otis is best known for their space trips, they've experimented with other genres here and there throughout their history. The initial track on this split, a slug-slow minimalist mix of thunderous bass chords, bass drum, and feedback reminiscent of Khanate or Earth may throw many fans for a loop, it's not like they've never experimented before, as a thorough investigation of their past will demonstrate. The second tune, 'Oxazejam,' will be more familiar, a somewhat lo-fi space rock jam that will have you seeing colors in no time, with Ken Baluke's guitar sounding like Robin Trower or Hendrix played under the heavy gravitational weight of Jupiter. It's good to have Sons of Otis back! Queen Elephantine is the new dude on the block, a group of Hong Kong teenagers (!) who love the classic psych journeys of yore, and aren't afraid to rekindle the past, adapted to the 21st century. For players so young, they've really done their homework! Their single song on this split, the epic 'The Battle of Massacoit (The Weapon of the King of Gods)' is a droning psychedelic trip that, despite its 25-minute length, is over too soon. The music has a meditative space sound, like a solarized wind calmly blowing on an alien planet, or a brace of Tibetan monks on PCP, glued to their prayer mats and ommm-ing themselves to oblivion. It is reminiscent of the more organic, calmer moments of early Hawkwind or the cosmic Krautrock explorations of Walter Wegmuller or Sergius Golowin on the elusive 'Lord Krishna von Goloka' album. Oms blend with guitar strumming and sitar until the vocals come in around 19 minutes, sounding not unlike Sleep on the must-have 'Dopesmoker.' There's plenty of galactic bliss on this disc, and plenty of underlying dread as well. These Concrete Lo-Fi Records tend to disappear pretty quickly, so now's the time to merge with our uneasy universe. The Atman will thank you. ======================================== South China Morning Post What were you doing at 17? Chances are you weren't playing in several bands, managing a record label and distributing releases from some of your most revered musical figures. Indy Shome is, and over several years the teenager has made a name for himself as one of the most dedicated figures in Hong Kong's underground music movement. After first emerging as frontman and guitarist for stoner-rock monsters Molten Lava Death Massage, Shome has gone on to form doom-metal outfit Queen Elephantine and found Concrete Lo-Fi Records, which has helped with the local distribution for big names such as US garage rockers Brian Jonestown Massacre and Canadian sludge kings Sons Of Otis. Whereas Molten Lava were an amalgamation of intense guitar jams and guttural vocals, Queen Elephantine have stripped back the sound, revealing strong influences from the likes of pre-grunge godfathers the Melvins and drone pacesetters Earth. Queen Elephantine's latest release, a single 25-minute track on a split three-track CD with the Sons Of Otis, sums up the band's modus operandi: the constant strumming of a low bass chord intermingles with sparse guitar notes, creating a subtle interplay that drones as much as it rocks. "There's actually quite a lot going on underneath," Shome says of the track Battle Of Massacott. "The guitars are kept really low, so just the higher and lower frequencies penetrate. There's an intense amount of an emotion that can be expressed in such a small variation in the music. "We were trying to make something with a spiritual undertone. We all got lost in a trance when we made the track. It was four guys standing in a circle in the dark for 25 minutes, and by the end we were all chanting into our mikes, really drained." Glacial-slow doom metal brings the headbangers' soundtrack back to its logical progression after the extremes of lightning-fast grindcore. These aren't the sorts of tunes that are going to appeal to people seeking pyrotechnic guitar antics. ======================================== Into The Sun |
Doom-sludge.com This time a bomb comes from Hong Kong - it's amazing split with space rock geniuses from Canada - Sons Of Otis, and young psychedelic rock masters from Hong Kong - Queen Elephantine. The split has 3 tracks: 17-minutes total two songs from Sons Of Otis and 25-minutes epic song from Queen Elephantine. First track is "Tales Of Otis" from canadians. It was a little unexpected for me what i heard. Extremely monotonous and heavy drone-march in the vein of Stephen O' Malley's works. Really "mind-crushing" 8 minutes of oppressing and monosyllabic drone guitar riffs. But this painful heavyness fortunately has a counterbalance as a disturbed mad squeak/clang sounds. Moreover, these sounds adds a little variety to this gloomy funeral procession. Really dark and heavy song! But when "Tales Of Otis" eventually comes to an end - there comes a time of true space rock! I'm talking about a second track "Oxazejam". We all know HOW Sons Of Otis can play, but in this song they've surpassed themselves. Drums set an elegant placid slow rhythm, which doesn't change up to the end of song. But the main thing is certainly a Baluke's guitar. I always ask myself - how the hell he does that??? It's so awesome, that you simply dissolve in sound, a cosmic tranquillity seizes you. A sound envelops you, envelops all room, envelops everything around at all. A tremendous song! Third track is Queen Elephantine's "The Battle Of Massacoit/The Weapon Of The King Of Gods". Queen Elephantine is a young band from Hong Kong, which will blow your head off. They present a substantial 25-minutes epic canvas full of diverse pieces. Mysterious beginning with percussion and powerfull bass-waves is a prologue of this long psychedelic journey. Drums is a most intensive part of music here. Sometimes a beautiful melody appears and brings some notes of melancholy. In the first part of song there's practically no vocals. They start, when a song gradually comes to an end. A rhythm becomes slower and facilitated. A song is closed by a percussion solo. In spite of the fact that song is damn long, you really enjoy it and listen with a big interest. Hong Kong masters made a good job! This split is so good that i'm absolutely sure it will be on the top of the best 2007 albums. It's an excellent release and absolutely must have for all psychedelic-headz!!!
Stonerrock.com Concrete Lo-Fi Records's Indy Shome is a busy teenager. He's not only running the Hong Kong based indie label, but also playing in (at least) two bands – the stoner-doom-hardcore-sludge Molten Lava Death Massage, who released Eye of Ra last year, and Queen Elephantine, a more psychedelic minded band making its debut with this split with Massachusetts' Elder. Queen Elephantine's “Ramesses” suite ranges from promising to satisfying. Like Molten Lava Death Massage, there's a “recorded live in one take” quality to the four songs. When it works, it's a fairly engrossing take on the stoner Hawkwind/Pink Floyd motif. When it doesn't, it comes off awkward and under-developed. That's mostly due to the drumming, a similar complaint with Molten Lava Death Massage, but also with the vocals, which generally sound out of place. “Ramesses I” is probably the best overall, but I'd like to hear “Ramesses III” re-recorded with better production. There's enough going on with it musically to warrant the band indulging in everything a studio has to offer. Massachusetts' Elder sounds like they've been practicing longer and therefore come off as the stronger of the two acts. Their four tracks range from the slow and punishing to the more groove-friendly (albeit in a 100% doom way) to an almost hardcore stomp. “Black Midnight” is currently the favorite, as that's the one that rumbles the loudest, but “[untitled]” takes the rehashed Kyuss sound and makes it meth addict mean. The only real stumble is with “Red Sunrise,” which I've heard under different titles by different bands. I'd put this in the “There's Hope for the Future” pile. Both bands look like they're recently acquainted with the legal right to vote, and in spite of the flaws, there's plenty of promise to this split. ======================================== Hellride Music I love split albums. In most cases you’ll get two pretty sweet established acts fighting it out for top honors and more often than not serving up some pretty ass-kicking, non-album tracks. Then you’ll have cases of two sort of under the radar bands pairing up and delivering killer music that is about as hard to come by as most of the releases in their career. I would put the Lost-it/Igon split that I just reviewed into that category. Then finally, there are the split albums that serve as the introduction to two awesome bands that you are probably going to hear a lot more about in the future. I would put this split album between Hong Kong’s Queen Elephantine and Massachusetts’s Elder into the third category for certain. I haven’t heard anything about either band but stumbled across info on this split on the good ol’ net. Queen Elephantine are up first with their four parts of “Ramesses”, which are all separate tracks but really deliver their best impact when listened to as a cohesive unit. The first part of this four piece epic is an instrumental track with clean guitars and mesmerizing rhythms that set things up for the second part’s heavier, more distorted swells of sound. It is still a psyched out affair though and doesn’t really dwell into the realm of all out heaviness. The vocals kind of have an early Josh Homme flavor to them and it fits nicely with the spacey, Hawkwind and Pink Floyd elements in their sound. The vocals are mellow and smooth but with enough strength in the delivery to make them not just part of the background. Every once in awhile they feel slightly forced but for the most part it’s a solid delivery that usually comes across well enough with the music. The bass plays a prominent role in building up the track and the guitar plays distorted, buzzing riffage that eventually builds into a strong, and 70’s psyche groove. I really think fans of Titan and the recent Mammatus record would dig on these guys a lot in addition to fans of the older stuff just because they have so many psyched out, 70’s prog influenced tendencies. The third part is another psychedelic affair that builds up slowly and hypnotizing with plenty of awesome guitar lines and tribal drum rhythms. The vocals make a brief, melodic appearance in the beginning and the entire track just sets things off into a dreamy atmosphere. An out of place gravelly, vocal enters right before the mid-point (I’d drop that stuff in the future) and things start really building in intensity as the rhythm section locks in a massive groove and the guitar provides ambient background, before the distortion kicks in and things get heavy until the end. The final part of “Ramesses” builds up with bass, drum and ambient guitar before turning into the heaviest part of the jam with distorted riffing, screaming/shouted vocals backing up the melodic voice. Phew, these four tracks are a real workout and it’s interesting to note that this stuff is all improvised. The sound quality sounds like a good live recording but gets the message across without a hitch and adds to the charm of these songs. Very nice tracks by Queen Elephantine for sure even though a few quirks could be ironed out for future releases. The other side of the split turns up the heaviness big time with Elder’s, hateful doom/sludge that combines classic influence with sprawling heaviness and touches of psychedelic atmospheres, metal and vicious vocals. “1162” is a sludge fan’s wet dream with furious, Sabbath tinged riffs, huge bass, screaming vocals, elephantine tempos (hehe, I had to) and some awesome lead work that sounds straight out of the Maryland doom scene. Goddamn, really sweet track. The track is also a meaty 10 minutes long and never loses your attention or the swinging doom that it begins with for even a second. “Red Sunrise” mixes thing up a bit and maintains an upbeat, early Soulpreacher and even a Sofa King Killer kind of vibe. It is definitely sludged-out and crushing but has swinging grooves and southern friend riffs n’ leads to make this madness a toe-tapping good time! They slow down and knuckle drag almost until the end after a certain point before switching back to another blues/doom groove, giving the track a great Jekyll and Hyde type of feel. Hell there is even alternating singing and pissed off screaming at the end of the track for the ultimate finale. The singing is good too, so it doesn’t offset the sludge factor at all. “Black Midnight” is up next and it a sprawling effort roping together many varying influences. The track starts off with a grooving, epic southern riff that almost reminds me of something Rwake might have unleashed in the past before the band bring in huge, Sabbathian riffage with shouted from a mile away vocals akin to something like “Blood of Zion” on High on Fire’s mighty “Art of Self-Defense” album. There is southern doom and Sleep and early HOF all over this track and the combined result is fantastic to behold. I even feel that there is some Vitus style heaviness going on in the later part of the track when the band bring in slow, crawling doom that will lay waste to empires before descending into a massive groove once again. Seriously, I don’t know how these guys do it. They look like really young dudes and as far as I know they haven’t been around too long at all but they are jamming out MASSIVE sludge/doom epics like they are seasoned pros. Their final track is an untitled jam that starts off with an almost black metal feel and kind of reminds me of some of the Fistula related projects with a blazing riff and a cold as ice feel, topped off with sneering vocals but the track eventually brings in elements of psyched out, sludge-ridden guitar work, that caps things off on an excellent and varied note. Damn, this is a surprising split. If you are looking for pristine recording quality then you probably will be turned off by this, but fuck it. I like the way it sounds and it’s not that muddy or anything. Queen Elephantine sounds live on the floor and Elder are heavy as hell and have a grimy but clear production so that you never lose track of what is going on. I wouldn’t call it muddy, just grimy bringing forth the filth perfectly and layering the psychedelic elements with a layer of mystery. This is a damn fine split all around, and serves as a great introduction to two bands that are well-worth checking into. I’m going to be spinning this one a bunch in the coming months so definitely give it a check if you are in the mood to check out some brand new psyche and doom music. The length of this review is ridiculous but this is a pretty epic piece of work, especially by two bands I have never even heard a mention of until a mere few weeks ago. Killer stuff, don’t be stingy and miss out on this one. You’ll be sorry. ======================================== Doom-metal.com The cover art with very colorful shapes melting into eachother, mushrooms and the god Kernunos in a symbolic presentation of the divine and nature, suggests to me that whatever is to be found on this CD is highly psychadelic. The music did nothing to dissapoint when it comes to following up this prediction. The most psychadelic of
the two bands is Queen Elephantine. In
particular the vocalist sounds like a Woodstock '68 preacher who has
just tested all of his substances. The music is almost meditative in
it's repeating and voidlike strukture. To achieve this they have in
many tracks sacrificed the groove often associated with the rock part
of psychadelic rock, yet the music remains very much in that direction.
The effect is perhaps best described like this: Who cares if substance
abuse is illegal or immoral, you can get pretty high on this alone.
However I can't help but wonder how on earth all of this relates to While Queen Elephantine is a constant upper, Elder trip on far lower notes. They get their own high from grooving heavy stoner/doom metal. They bring out a lot of the good stuff from the genre and their definately strongest point is the very technical riffage and percussion. However, unlike most of their genremates, this is not a laid back band in any way. They focus on dark and agressive tracks with growled vocals. This is stoner/doom that doesn't just frown, it's sneering with vicious, shiny white teeth. In fact they are the only stoner band that I've encountered thus far that can compete against sludge or death bands when it comes to being menacing. Both bands are very good in what they do and while being very different, when combined like this they provide a complete experience from top to bottom. In addition the experience is quite unique as the bands are highly original, which can make it hard to find the right fanbase to reccomend it to. I think fans of extreme psychadelia would be the one to fancy Queen Elephantine and those who fancy stoner/sludge mixtures can expect to find something to their liking from Elder. But perhaps th easiest way is to listen for yourself. The split is free for download here, at their record company.
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