GOAT - Commune (Rocket/Sub Pop/Stranded 2014)

Gathering of Ancient Tribes art by KOJAK

GOAT

COMMUNE

(Rocket Recordings/Sub Pop/Stranded 2014)

commune 1 |ˈkämˌyoōn|
noun
1 a group of people living together and sharing possessions and responsibilities.

commune 2 |kəˈmyoōn| |kəˈmjun| |kəˈmjuːn|
verb [ intrans. ]
1 ( commune with) share one's intimate thoughts or feelings with someone or something, esp. when the exchange is on a spiritual level

 

     For the uninitiated, GOAT is a shamanistic psychedelic music collective from Arctic Sweden who just might be the best band around right now.  A steadily growing number of hypnotized devotees would agree. Since they emerged from the ether two years ago, few bands (if any) have been burning hotter, pushing further, or digging deeper than GOAT. They have a fantastical origin story, and their rise from obscurity has been absolutely fascinating to watch unfold, but it's too long of a story to tell here. Luckily i've been doing all of the legwork and chronicling their career since their debut so you can get caught up to speed.  Check it all out HERE.  It's worth it.

     GOAT's new album, Commune, is the sound of a frighteningly confident and talented band going full supernova. As crazy as it may seem, this album has evolved far beyond its brain-melting predecessor, World Music (which just happens to be one of the best albums of the last decade in case you weren't aware). Commune is even more diverse, performed even more masterfully, with warmer and richer production. Every raw edge has been shaped and formed to precision. Creatively, GOAT has broken through to an entirely different dimension, drawing from an even deeper well of influences than they were before... exotic sounds and styles from every remote corner of the globe, boiled down to their most primal core, and cranked to the point of spontaneous combustion. Technically, the band members have developed to a point where they can pull off just about anything their minds can conjure up.  Most notable are the strong performances from the anonymous dueling guitarists--among the very best in the world, in my opinion--and the bassist, who is on a John Paul Jones-level trajectory. These elements are combined with their trance-inducing percussion and the hair-raising wails of the twin priestess vocalists to create a limitless sound unlike anything else out there. Tranced out dance music from the past, beamed in from the future. As if that wasn't enough, GOAT continues to tap deeply into something that few others are even conscious of... an ancient tribal mysticism from a time far different than our modern day technological hamster wheel culture...traveling to the spirit world and returning to relay what was found... a strong sense of community where everyone tunes into each other on a far deeper level, attempting to create something together that no one individual could ever in a million lifetimes achieve.  It's a welcomed perspective in such a depressing, cynical time.

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     The album opens with a tolling temple bell, slowly fading in with each ring.  It is a meditational introduction to clear your mind and align your focus... Commune is one of those mesmerizing, perfectly sequenced travelogue albums that will pick you up and carry you to exotic lands, if you let it.  The more attention you pay, the more you will find.  Headphones are a must.

     "Talk To God" lifts off with hypnotic, cyclical guitar riffs that echo the sounds of the Tuareg -- Saharan desert nomads and their modern ambassadors Tinariwen, Bombino, and Terakaft.  Images of vast desert expanses float in... camel caravans off on the horizon.  The guitars magically weave through eachother for what seems like forever, in no hurry at all, in complete defiance of typical Western song structure.  and really, that's kind of GOAT's defining trait... zoning off for waaaaaayyyy longer than most while attempting to achieve transcendence through repetition.  At one point, the guitars and vocals drop out and all that is left is that sick Rickenbacker bassline and percussion gnawing at eachother.  It's an eyes-rolled-back-in-the-head moment and for the rest of the track, everything warps together into a hazy mirage.

     "Words" is quintessential GOAT... an ancient war drum beat, summoning a fucking colossus out of the earth... phased guitar spiraling into infinity... white hot guitar leads stabbing in and out... this is GOAT distilled to laser precision, unrelentingly driving itself into your head like a railroad spike.  Live, this song will turn a crowd into a delirious mass.

     Shifting gears completely, "Light Within" is a piece of Latin space rock, with a slinky samba vibe.  This tune pushes out GOAT's already boundary-less sound to something far more refined than they were capable of on World Music.  The musicianship is top shelf, and an attentive ear can appreciate the brilliant final mix with light touches of finger-picked acoustic guitar and vibraphone threaded throughout.

     "To Travel the Paths Unknown" is a brief instrumental meditation to chill things out for a moment. Effects drip off of the guitar and what sounds to me like a strummed banjo, bringing Ennio Morricone's spaghetti western muzak to mind.

     This transition leads into the serpentine funk of "Goatchild."  For the first time, we hear men's voices in a mating dance call-and-response with the girls, singing about getting together for some free love.  Things get steamy with layers of 70s porno wah guitar solos stacked on top of one another as the song washes out in a tantric sex blur.  The goatchild is conceived.  Classic.

     "Goatslaves" blazes by like a comet... Everything is fused together tighter than ever before and the girls reach through the speakers and shout "Dying for Freedom/Dying for peace/Too many people live on their knees." Blistering stuff, and should rightly be the band's next single.

     "Hide From the Sun" has an entrancing Middle Eastern sound, reminiscent of  Turkish psych funk pioneer Baris Manco. The mood is more ominous,  with an off-kilter rhythm and a savage fuzzed out guitar solo.

    Named for the creator deity from Haitian Voodoo mythology, "Bondye" aims straight for the psyched out center of it all.  This instrumental is based on a rhythm similar to those found in rural Thailand, recently represented to a larger audience by Khun Narin's Electric Phin Band.  GOAT thrives on the merging of sounds that have never been put together before, so of course there are Gothic Americana fiddle solos flying around with more fuzzed out wah guitar to top it all off.  They make a perfect fit.

     The album's majestic finale, "Gathering Of Ancient Tribes," (note the acronym) brings things back around full circle to the expansive sounds of the opening track, but this is even more focused.  The intensity continues to build higher and higher, and when the girls are screaming "Into the Fire!!" it sounds less like a condemnation than it is an invitation to join them in the flames.  The track totally breaks open here, and all of the tension the band has built up over the course of the album is released in a mind blowing finale.  The tolling temple bell from the beginning comes back around and brings the album to a silent close.

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     Commune, comes with considerably more interest and attention than World Music when it first appeared in 2012. Maybe even bordering on hype. With North American distribution this time around (finally) from the mighty Sub Pop, GOAT will have a unique opportunity to spread their gospel to a far wider audience than ever before. And as they have done at every step of their evolving career so far, Goat effortlessly rises to the occasion, unhindered by any outside force or pressure.  They are already in uncharted waters, it will be interesting to see where they navigate to from here.

Buy the album HERE in North America via Sub Pop,  and HERE via Rocket Recordings everywhere else

     GOAT is in the midst of their first ever extended European tour, and if you haven't witnessed one of their rare live rituals, I highly recommend trying your best to change that.  The shows are taking on mythic proportions.  If you can't, here is a taste of what you are missing: 

GOAT just released their first ever official video and it's fantastic.  directed by Sam Macon

For those of you who weren't able to get a copy of the limited edition 7" included with the Commune vinyl, here is the bonus track, "Dig My Grave."  Not only should this have been on the album, it should have been a single!  oh, those tasty guitars never get old...

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art and writing by KOJAK

Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures

the greatest director in film history.  everything he touched was fantastic.

here are a couple of nice documentaries:






everyone knows his famous films like The Shining or Clockwork Orange or 2001: A Space Odyssey, but his early black and white work is stunning as well and is only recently being dug up and revisited by film scholars.


the full movie Killer's Kiss.  stunning black and white photography here, inspired by his photojournalism for Life



Killer's Kiss by crazedigitalmovies

Goat - July 2013 Interview

GOAT:  THE JULY 2013 INTERVIEW

by kojak



After a blistering run through Europe's most prestigious summer music festivals, the Swedish tribal psych collective Goat have a growing number of fresh converts following in their wake.  Though only a live touring entity for less than nine months, Goat's performances were among the most talked about from their respective festivals, oftentimes staking their claim amongst some of the biggest and best bands in the world (watch their full Glastonbury performance HERE and the full set from Roskilde HERE)

HEAD MEDICINE recently checked in with the band to find out more about these stunning shows.  one thing is obvious after sitting down for a third time with the notoriously press-shy group:  Goat lives and breathes inside its own impenetrable bubble, unaffected by the fleeting whims, tastes, or demands from the outside world.  They are anchored by an unshakable self confidence and a genuine love of living in the moment, communing through music with each other and anyone who happens to be in attendance, whether it is 150 people in a small club, or tens of thousands at a major festival.  Their expectations and ambitions are unusually humble.  Goat will be whatever they want to be for as long as they decide.  Any future success will be on their own terms.



HEAD MEDICINE:  Goat's reputation continues to build after a series of high profile European festival appearances, including Primavera in Spain, England's Glastonbury, and Roskilde in Denmark.  by many accounts your performances were  among the best of those weekends.    are things just getting surreal at this point with all of this growing attention and praise?  any particularly memorable or unreal moments over the last few months that would have been impossible to imagine one year ago?

GOAT:  Well, that we were gonna play any of these festivals never crossed our minds one year ago but we are happy and thankful for the opportunity to do so. It has been amazing for sure. And I also think that the US tour improved our live set and has tightened us together as a live act so that these shows afterwards have been the best we've done live so far. But I'm sure we can still find new ways to develop live also, with new material and so on. But it is not in any ways getting surreal really cause you have to understand one thing, this is not taking over our lives. We keep our minds pure and simple and our feet on the ground. We know what is important in life and we just try to have a good time and enjoy the ride. If it ends tomorrow we will be just as happy. With that said I have to admit that playing that day time show at Glastonbury seing all those people was something out of the ordinary.


HEAD MEDICINE:  i would like to talk about the Glastonbury performances. the daytime show on the West Holts stage was your most high profile live show yet in front of your largest audience, many of whom had never heard your music before, and filmed from every possible angle by the BBC.  be honest, did you guys feel a bit more pressure with that show?  did you treat that performance the same as a small gig in a dark club, or did it require a different kind of preparation?  i am curious what kind of thoughts or emotions were running through you before/during/after that performance.

GOAT:  It was no difference in preparations or pressure. We can only do what we do and rely on each other. And play as good as possible. Actually we were very calm before that show as far as I remember. We discovered that there really is no difference playing small clubs then big festival stages. But it is fun to try both when we get this opportunity.


HEAD MEDICINE:  later that night you performed a second set on the Hells Stage in Shangri-La, and the previous evening, you blew up the Electric Ballroom in London in front of a bloodthirsty crowd of Goat fans.  what are the pros and cons to large daytime festival performances vs. smaller and more dramatic nighttime/club gigs, and a crowd who is familiar with your music vs. a mass of potential new converts?

GOAT:  I don't know. For me it is the same always. I feel no difference really. And I know that it is the same for everyone in the Goat band. It is just music and for whom or where you perform it doesn't matter as long as people enjoy it. If people were not enjoying it we would stop playing live I think but for everyone it is a nice feeling when you get this spiritual exchange of energy with the people listening and dancing. That really turns us on. We were not aware of this experience until we started to play live last year.


HEAD MEDICINE:  your Roskilde performance was notable for having a new member on stage playing keyboard, sax, and, harmonica.  he added an entirely new dimension to Goat's live show, and i was especially impressed with the addition of a harmonica solo during a blistering rendition of "The Sun The Moon."  will he be coming along on any future Goat tour dates or was this a one time thing?  was he by chance the guy playing keys and sax on World Music?

GOAT:  No he is not playing on the album. He is a long time participant in Goat born and still living in Greece. He travels a lot and plays with various groups around the world. He has done one show before with us at Stora Teatern in Gothenburg December last year. He will be with us when he has time or feel like it. He is great playing with, you never know what he is gonna do. The harmonica part on The sun the moon was never rehersed for example.

HEAD MEDICINE:  outside of Goat's live performances, are there any new song ideas bubbling to the surface?  is the band getting the itch to retreat back to the studio and cook up some new tunes or is everyone looking forward to some extended time off before considering new material?

GOAT:  Yes. We will start recording in September. Everyone is really looking forward to this more creative process again.


HEAD MEDICINE:  looking back, how do you feel the band has evolved over the last year since the release of World Music?

GOAT:  The live group is a more tighter musical unit now and we have learned how to play our songs good and with no stress. So as a live act we are much better now then last year. But Goat as a spiritual and living community, or as a musical creative collective, hasn't changed at all. Music shall be treated with joy and simplicity, use your ears and your heart and don't give a fuck about anything else. Loose your mind, stop questioning, thinking, and all that stuff. Are you enjoying the sounds you hear? Are you experience anything? Feeling something you like? Then it is enough. That is the principle we live by when we make music.


HEAD MEDICINE would like to thank Goat once again for their time.  tune in this fall when we check in on the recording of their new album.  should be interesting. 

come join HEAD MEDICINE on Facebook and you could win a Goat art print by Kojak

HEAD MEDICINE has all of your Goat needs covered.  the most complete online collection of exclusive interviews, album/live reviews, audio/video, links and more HERE

Goat - Roskilde Festival full set (july 6th, 2013)

Goat continues their tear through Europe with another stunning performance, this time at the Roskilde Festival in Denmark.  for the first time in public, there is another band member on stage adding keyboard, sax, and harmonica, greatly enhancing the group's sound.  it will be interesting to see if this continues in future performances.
stay tuned for another HEAD MEDICINE exclusive interview with Goat and these soon-to-be-historic live performances.

Mark Lanegan and Duke Garwood - "Black Pudding" (2013 Ipacac Records)

i like to think that i am objective about the work of Mark Lanegan and that i could say, "that song/album straight up sucks," if it needed to be said.  but so far, over the last 23 years, i just haven't had any reason to say it.  not once.  Lanegan is the fucking Man.  Period.

his new collaboration with London multi-instrumentalist Duke Garwood is no exception.  Garwood provides the moody, barren soundscapes, and Lanegan delivers his most stripped down vocal performances since his first solo album, "The Winding Sheet."  the production is stone cold, as if recorded in an empty and isolated cabin out in the wilderness; Garwood's acoustic guitar reverberating off of the walls and Lanegan's voice crawling down a lonely hallway.  the majority of the album is pretty heavy, thematically, but not exclusively.  there is a nice variety of sounds and never grows stagnant or comes off as overly wrought.


Garwood starts things off with a bit of solo spaghetti western acoustic guitar work to set the mood.




when Lanegan joins in on the second track, Pentecostal, shit gets real.  it becomes clear what this collaboration is going to be.  it's a match made in heaven.  LYRICS



War Memorial is a solemn, brutal tale, courtesy of Lanegan.  garwood is willingly in the background here.  LYRICS




the mood lightens considerably with Mescalito.  the laid back, easy going music would sound at home on Beck's "guero." moments like this keep the album from sinking under its own weight.  LYRICS




Sphinx is an atmospheric, ghostly piece.  Lanegan's words are beautiful and mysterious, perfectly complimenting Garwood's guitar lines and harmonium drone.  LYRICS





Last Rung is a brief poem made up of only two verses set over Garwood's spooky minimalistic piano tinkling.  it comes floating in and dissipates into the ether forever in less than 2 minutes.  LYRICS 





Driver is another almost invisible track. pure atmosphere. Lanegan's three lyrical lines is all he needs. LYRICS




Death Rides a White Horse is a beautiful track, more beautiful than it probably has any business being. but it shows Lanegan's range, that even when he's singing about heavy themes, it can sound gorgeous.  Garwood paints the canvas in the background, and gets out of Lanegan's way, letting him do his thang.
LYRICS




meanwhile, Thank You is harsh and desolate.  Garwood's menacing string drones and piano snakes around Lanegan's bizarre words.  it is a hair-raising piece.  LYRICS





Cold Molly musically changes the mood a clean 180 degrees as Garwood's understated funk lights the fire with Lanegan once again crooning about dead girls.  it's a perfect fit.  LYRICS




Shade of the Sun is the undisputed album highlight.  this features some of the most wrenching yet sublime lyrics in Lanegan's entire career as he reaches something almost Biblical, and Garwood's haunting tones compliment it beautifully.  it's a faultless piece of music from two incredibly talented musicans at the top of their game.  LYRICS




the album closes with another Garwood acoustic guitar instrumental piece and perfectly bookends the record.






Black Pudding is another great album in the Lanegan canon, and was a successful introduction for many (myself included) to Duke Garwood.  i hope to see another collaboration in the near future, the two merge together seemlessly and i am eager to hear more.


~kojak

Goat: Live in the USA

HEAD MEDICINE'S EXCLUSIVE LOOK BACK ON GOAT'S FIRST US TOUR

written by KOJAK

photography by MIKE GUALDONI  (miketheeye.tumblr.com)

      I still find it a bit unbelievable that Goat, one of the most enigmatic and electrifying bands currently on the planet, chose to make a stop in Saint Louis, Missouri on their all-too brief introductory US tour. The fact that Goat had come to the United States at all was extremely exciting, but the thought that they were bringing their gospel so far off the beaten path and virtually to my front steps, a mere three-and-a-half hours away from me square in the middle of nowhere, was almost ridiculously unexpected. Three days prior, i was fortunate enough to witness the group give their most important performance to an American audience at one of the finest mind-expanding music festivals in the world at the Austin Psych Fest in Austin, Texas. The performance was the crown jewel of their recent trek through the heart of the country and solidified their growing international reputation as one of the freshest and most formidable live acts out there. I was still exhausted from the life-altering three-day Austin experience and the long psychic and geographic road trip there and back, but there was no way in hell i was going to miss this performance. The band had granted me a rare face-to-face interview to top it all off. As i drove to Saint Louis, i reflected on Goat's unlikely journey from their far away homeland to that night's performance and how, until just recently, they dwelled in complete obscurity but now find themselves on the furthest edge of a new musical frontier.

      Fourteen months ago, Goat was hidden deep within the shadows of Sweden, privately creating a vertigo-inducing style of worldly tribal psychedelia. Only friends and family were aware of their existence. According to their own legend, Goat is the modern incarnation of a centuries old musical tradition from Korpilombolo, a tiny village north of the Arctic Circle with a mysterious past, and are followers of the shamanistic voodoo religion practiced there. Goat was formed over the years by their ancestral ritualistic rhythms and a boundary-less approach passed down by the village elders to absorb all styles of music from around the world and integrate it into their own. The band itself has no real perimeters, featuring dozens of members that float in and out of the lineup; some members are from the original commune in Korpilombolo and others are scattered around Sweden. They had never performed to a live audience outside of their village's commune. UK psychedelic record label Rocket Recordings were the first to catch wind of what was going on when they were tipped off by Hills, a band already on the Rocket roster who shared rehearsal space in Gothenburg with Goat. [read HEAD MEDICINE'S interview with Rocket HERE]  Rocket excitedly released Goat's first public recordings with the "Goatman/The Sun the Moon" 7" single, and the genie was out of the bottle. Word quickly spread around the world by people with taste that something extraordinary was rising out of the tundra. Rocket Recordings commissioned an album and Goat retreated to their home studio, coming back a few months later with World Music, their debut full length record. [read HEAD MED'S review HERE]  World Music was instantly recognized as a fully formed masterpiece and one of the most exciting debut releases in recent memory. After quietly perfecting their refreshing mix of heavy African tribal rhythms, psyched out guitar, and a seamless blend of virtually every great style of music from around the world over the last 50 years, international demand for live performances began almost immediately.
   
      Goat finally emerged from the shadows with a handful of inaugural public concerts around Europe in the fall of 2012, and word began to gather even more steam when video of their incredible performances trickled online. Their outrageous and flamboyant stage presence reflected their tribal and ritualistic roots as the band members wore masks and brightly colored robes, keeping a sense of anonymity onstage while projecting an unforgettable visual for those in attendance. Goat showed a shocking musical prowess onstage, effortlessly recreating World Music for the audience while stretching the songs into new directions with long improvised jams. This was a band dramatically leaping from out of nowhere into the spotlight, fully formed and firing on all cylinders. Any awkward embryonic steps were long ago worked out. With barely a dozen live performances under their belt, Goat traveled across the Atlantic Ocean in April after a successful appearance at the Roadburn festival in Amsterdam left European fans and new converts clamoring for more. Their first performance on American soil was at the Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn, NYC (beautifully captured on tape by nyctaper), before continuing down the East Coast with dates in Philadelphia and Washington, DC. Goat then turned their sites on the Austin Psych Fest, giving one of the weekend's landmark performances amongst a line up featuring some of the finest consciousness-expanding bands in the entire world. The group changed course and headed back east for the final leg of their US tour, bringing them to this night's gig in St. Louis before eventually returning to Europe for a string of summer festival dates.

      I have to be honest. As i walked up to the Old Rock House, an intimate music venue just off of downtown St. Louis, to talk with the members of Goat, i was a bit intimidated. Goat rarely grants interviews, and almost never conducts them face to face, but since i had interviewed a few members of the band via email back in January (read Goat's HEAD MED interview HERE), they were gracious enough to allow me a chance to sit down and get their thoughts on their first US tour. In today's Facebook and Twitter-obsessed culture where everyone knows everything about everybody, Goat has successfully managed to keep a dense air of mystery around themselves. No-one knows what they look like under their masks, and their mysterious background story of shamanistic voodoo worship deep in the Swedish netherworld gives them an air of impenetrable secrecy. As i approached the venues' entrance, i wasn't sure what to expect. I wondered if i would be led backstage to a dimly lit red velvet-draped room with heavy ceremonial incense hanging in the air; the band members cloaked in their ritual garb seated in the shadows on ornamental thrones. i told the doorman that i was there to interview the band. "They are all out on the patio," he said. And there was Goat and their road crew, probably a dozen unmasked smiling and laughing Swedes savoring the beautiful evening air, drinking beer with a perfect view of Eero Searanen's always spectacular Gateway Arch off in the near distance. Everyone was clearly appreciating this moment on what i would assume is one of the greatest journeys of their lives. i couldn't have imagined a less intimidating group of people. After pleasantly chatting with everyone for a bit, i paired off with one of the anonymous band members and was able to ask a few questions about Goat's tour of America and what is next for the band.

HEAD MEDICINE: Have any members of Goat been to the United States before or is this your first time?

GOAT: no, it is the first time. (to female member of Goat) well, you've been here before on some kind of journey?
GOAT-ESS: yes, with my family

HEAD MEDICINE: You have been traveling around this country for a week now, are your experiences different from any preconceived ideas you may have had before you arrived? 

GOAT: not really. the people are very very nice. very nice people here. everyone is very friendly and very kind everywhere we go. we knew some people who have been here, telling us that people are kind, friendly, and open minded. and it is true, at least with the ones we have met so far. so, i don't know if we expected it, but we weren't surprised.

HEAD MEDICINE: Goat has had alot of downtime on the road recently. What has been on Goat's road trip playlist? 

GOAT: In the car on this trip we have mostly been listening to The Shaggs, Fleetwood Mac's "Future Games," and the Carter Family.

HEAD MEDICINE: Your first American performances were in New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC. What was it like playing in those cities and can you tell us about those shows; the energy that was created and the reception you received? 

GOAT: well, for us, it was more or less like in europe. there were very many people, the first three places were sold out, so there were alot of people and most of them seemed to enjoy what we were playing.

HEAD MEDICINE: Did you feel that the audience was familiar with your music or did it seem that people were hearing it for the first time? 

GOAT: i'm not sure. people up front were singing along with some of the tunes, but we sold alot of albums so i guess alot of people didn't already have it.

HEAD MEDICINE: This tour has taken you a bit off the beaten path to some unusual venues in Newport KY and Denton TX and tonight's show in St. Louis. Since Goat is still relatively obscure in the US, i am curious how these shows in middle America compare to the East Coast performances. 

GOAT: the audience was more or less the same. nice people. in denton, it was more students... more of a student town. but, i don't see any differences, really. i really don't.

HEAD MEDICINE: What are your memories from your Austin Psych Fest performance?

GOAT: i think we all were happy with the show and how it went. we had a good sound, and we felt a good vibe from the audience. it was a beautiful location, with the river to our back. and it was beautiful to see the Dead Skeletons there before us. it was great to play there, we had a very nice show. 

HEAD MEDICINE: When i first interviewed Goat back in January, the band had only performed a handful of public concerts and any future touring was questionable. Now that you have several shows behind you and it's obvious that there is a receptive and hungry international audience for Goat, how has the band’s opinion towards touring evolved? 

GOAT: it's still... we don't know, but we are not going to make alot of touring. there is alot of offering going on right now, and we have taken some offers for some festivals this summer because they are comfortable and close, and some are because it's nice to travel to that place, and we do some festivals because we've never done anything like it, playing outdoors on a big stage. so it's a new experience which is fun to do. but i'm not sure if we are going to do it next year or if we are going to do any more in the future. we are trying it out now. like this tour... we tried it out and we are enjoying it.

HEAD MEDICINE: In a little more than one year, Goat has risen from complete obscurity to stealing the show at some of the world's most prestigious music festivals. With numerous European festival dates throughout the summer, the number of fans and attention will only continue to grow. Do the members of Goat find this growing success and attention overwhelming or intimidating? 

GOAT: if people like our music, it is definitely nothing to complain about. it is very nice that people enjoy it and like our music. we are very happy for that. but everything around it doesn't necessary affect us that much. we sit in the van, like now, and then we go to play and have a beer and then we get home and just hang out with our families and work, so it's nothing that we walk around and think about all day. y'know what i mean? you read some reviews and stuff, but it's unreal in a way, that part of it is quite unreal. it's more of a way of thinking, we don't focus so much on that part. this is not something that we have... we are happy for it, but we have not tried to move in this direction. we just released an album and thought we might sell a thousand copies, which is fine, but suddenly it blew up and we hadn't expected that or planned for it. it just happened. we don't think more of it now, really, than we did before.

HEAD MEDICINE: When your world tour is completed in August and you return to Sweden, what comes next for Goat? are there still plans to record in the fall? 

GOAT: we really love making music. we really love to record and the whole process of recording. it is more calm, more relaxed, more creative in a way than playing live. when you are creating music and just enjoying it, it's more creative in a way than performing which has it's limitations with the song that you have already created. but playing live is more energetic, which is fun, and it's nice to see when people like it and you meet new people. i think we are going to make a new album. we haven't decided anything, really, but we are going to start recording and see what happens, because we want to record. if we are happy with an album, if we put songs together into an album, than we want people to hear it. if people want to hear it, we feel that they should be able to. but we might not tour for it, we will see. or maybe less shows. it depends, maybe not everyone... this is not a band in that sense. people might feel like they want to do other things, and that's fine. we will see. we will record some stuff with the people that are involved at that time. we will see who that will be and see what happens, and if it turns out to be something that we would like to release.

     As much as i wanted to continue chatting with the band, i politely thanked them and allowed the band members and crew to enjoy a few more moments of privacy before their performance began. i felt grateful for being given such a unique opportunity, and i looked forward to the night's performance more than ever, unsure if i would have the chance to catch a Goat live show again in the future. During their performance in Austin, i was on a very powerful and personal journey through the astral plane with Goat as my psychic guides (more on that at a later date), so i was excited to see another show, this time filtered through more clear eyes. i wanted to soak up and savor every minute of this. i loosened up with a couple of tall Guinness’s and took my place at the front of the stage.

     The show opened with the two guitarists alone onstage slowly setting the hypnotic mood with a simple, repetitive spaced out guitar line. The bassist soon joined them and "Diarabi," the atmospheric opening track off of World Music, slowly began to unfurl. The drummer then walked on, adding dramatic cymbal washes with mallets, enhancing the tension. When the conga player took his seat and the song fully lifted off, the priestesses emerged, dancing through the crowd, and made their way to the stage. As the music swelled and surged, the women danced furiously, banging on a wide variety of assorted percussion instruments and twirling ribbons that were laid out at their feet, generating electricity that fueled the band and the audience.  As "Golden Dawn" exploded and the band was washed in undulating swirls of colored liquid lights, the entire performance melted into a pure transcendental psychedelic experience, and the crowd totally flipped.

     Now, i have seen many incredible live performances over the last 20+ years from some of the best bands and musicians in the world, but very few, if any, have been this visceral and electrifying, wedging themselves deep into my memory. Goat's performance had to have been what it was like seeing a young Led Zeppelin on their maiden US tour, lighting a place like the Boston Tea Party on fire and leaving its small audience stunned and mystified. Or maybe it was similar to the Bacchanalian carnival of an early Jane's Addiction performance on the Sunset Strip circa 1987. This is a band that has effortlessly lived up to every word of it's hype, and then some; an awesome and entertaining stage presence with blistering musicianship delivering one of the most unique sounds ever produced onstage. If you have the chance to witness this show and it has no effect on you, then get the fuck out and make room for someone else. i can't even imagine what it takes to get your engine cranked up.

     The rhythm section formed the solid bedrock of the performance as the drummer's ferocious bass drum and the percussionists rippling conga propelled the entire machine constantly forward, while the bassist, a goddamn monster for the entire set, laid down monumental slabs of thick, rubbery grooves. Meanwhile, the guitarists tore holes in the space/time continuum with blasts of distorted guitars drenched in mesmerizing wah effects. Among the many show highlights was the extended jam on "Disco Fever." On World Music, the last half of the song warps into an LSD-soaked organ solo, but live it honed in and riffed on the Rolling Stones unheralded disco funk classic "Hot Stuff." The spaced out guitars spun around that ass shakin' groove for a solid five minutes, and it was still too short for my tastes. The Hendrix-ian "Stonegoat," a new track from a double A-side single out in June, features some of the tastiest wah guitar out there, with an aggressive drum beat driving it all off the cliff. "Let it Bleed" was slowed down juuuuust enough to allow the groove to dig one step further in and grab hold of your gut. "Dreambuilding," the flip side of the "Stonegoat" single, shows a bit of an evolution for the band. It started off as something that would have fit right in line with the first live Jane's Addiction album, and after a short drum break, cracked open to reveal a blissful, life-affirming ray-of-sunlight wah solo that raised every hair on my body. At that moment, i realized how lucky i was and that there was nowhere else in the entire world i would rather have been. "Run to Your Mama" is a frustratingly short 2:23 on World Music, its monolithic Sabbath roar begging to continue. Live, it delivered the goods and for nearly seven minutes beat the crowd into glorious submission with its dense tribal pulse and blasts of heavy guitar chords. By this point, Goat was in charge and had complete mastery over the room and its inhabitants. On record, the show closer "Det Som Aldrig Förändras" is a psychedelic swirl of organ and bass and drums, but here it was a ruthless monosyllabic pummeling, almost unrecognizable from its previous incarnation. It was a tidal wave of sound that washed over the audience for nearly ten minutes, forcing everyone in the audience to submit to its transcendental power. The mass of people were locked in a hypnotic sway, eyes collectively rolled back in their skulls. The music eventually came back around to the opening melody of "Diarabi" for its finale, and when it was over, Goat left the stage to a stunned applause. i wish St. Louis would have known to ratchet up their ovation to get them back on stage to pull out their encore, a mind blowing rendition of "The Sun the Moon," but it was not to be. the show was over and the congregation stumbled out into the soothing night air, blown out by what their brains had just soaked up for the last hour.

     I'm not sure what the future holds for Goat, and do not know whether we will have the opportunity to see this extraordinary performance ever again. But i am going to remain optimistic. We need Goat. They are a reminder that all people from all corners of the globe, to the past and into the future, are connected by a collective musical consciousness. There are no genres, there are no styles, there are no boundaries. Music is a language that we all speak, and when Goat is playing, everything else in the world drops away. All of the pain and misery that beckons right around the corner is lost and all that remains is a joyful musical communion that will not be forgotten anytime soon by those lucky enough to be a part of it.





HEAD MEDICINE would like to thank nyctaper.com for capturing Goat's first US appearance on tape and offering it as a free download HERE for all. please show your support and gratitude and drop a buck or two or five in their tin cup.


~Kojak

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The Bernard Krigstein Illustration Archive: "St. Helena and the True Cross" 1958

part three of HEAD MEDICINE'S Bernard Krigstein Illustration Archive, a collection of over 50 rare illustrations from 1957-58, many never reprinted since their original publication, and scanned directly from tear sheets in the legendary artists' own collection. for more info on Krigstein and to view part one of the Archive, click  HERE  and to view part two, click HERE

i believe that these illustrations are from "St. Helena and the True Cross, " published by Vision books in 1958, but i cannot be completely certain.  outside verification would be greatly appreciated.


krigstein's line work here is the very definition of "liquid"... at times it's almost as if he is pouring the ink on these pages.  these examples are further proof that krigstein never adhered to any particular style, but constantly pushed out his creative boundaries to their furthest limits.

GOAT - HEAD MEDICINE'S 2012 Album of the Year / Song of the Year / Best new artist

GOAT 

"World Music" - 2012 Album of the Year

"Goatman" - Song of the Year

 Best New Artist




Last year at this time, virtually noone knew about the music of Goat.  they were a band hidden away in an isolated communal village in deepest Sweden called Korpilombolo, a village with a mysterious voodoo history.  music has always been a large part of their commune's way of life and Goat claims to be continuing their ancestral musical collective consciousness, still heavily influenced by the voodoo rhythms of the past and assimilating music from every corner of the globe to create a revolutionary mix of sounds, void of trends or styles or genres.  Goat's debut full length album, "World Music," has been universally acclaimed by people with taste around the world, landing on many reputable year end best-of lists. until only recently, they had never performed live outside of their commune, but they are now bringing their music to the rest of the world, putting on a handful of amazing live shows in europe and preparing to carry it over here to america for a series of dates as well in the spring.

the first sounds transmitted to the outside world by Goat was on the "Goatman" 7" single released by the psychedelic UK record label Rocket Recordings in February of 2012 (check out HEAD MEDICINE' interview with Rocket HERE, which details their discovery of the band).  the song is utterly amazing and was the easy choice for the Song of the Year



that summer, Rocket Recordings released "World Music," and it was the hands down 2012 Album of the Year (read HEAD MEDICINE'S review and listen to the music HERE).  it sounds like nothing else and yet sounds like everything that has come before it.  it is an intoxicating album and is one of the most stunningly electrifying debuts i've ever had the privilege of hearing.   The cosmic sounds of Goat... traversing space and time, conjuring sounds and rhythms that are embedded in our DNA and our collective consciousness... this is music that would impress humanities far away ancestors, ritualistically praying and dancing around a campfire as they communed with the stars, but this is also music that would have been legendary among the psychedelic 60's acid rock crowd.   this is music that will resonate with a hipster kid in New York City, an African Bushman in Mozambique, or a tribal elder in the Amazon rainforest all the same.  the music of Goat has no boundaries.  it adheres to no  rules or styles.  it is a mainline into pure creativity, that collective mind that we are all a part of, and Goat draws inspiration from all of it as if it were water.

HEAD MEDICINE wanted to learn more about this unusual and electrifying new band and we were excited to recently speak with two anonymous members of Goat. we were thrilled when the first set of answers to our questions showed up in our inbox, and was incredibly gracious when a second set of answers from another band member came in a couple of days later.  i'm sure if Goat #2 had known that Goat #1 had already taken care of the HEAD MEDICINE interview, they would much rather have jammed than spend the time typing their own answers, but we couldn't be more appreciative and excited  to have the opprotunity to peel a few more layers off of the Goat enigma from two separate viewpoints and take a peek at what's underneath.  a special thanks to these members of Goat for their time. 



The HEAD MEDICINE  Q & A with GOAT

HEAD MEDICINE:  Goat's backstory is unique, to say the least.  can you tell us a little bit about growing up in the isolation of Korpilombolo and how that tight knit commune lifestyle--it's culture, rituals, and traditions--informed the music of Goat?


GOAT #1:   Our past growing up in the village has of course affected us somehow like everyone's childhood does. We are followers of the shamanistic voodoo religion practiced there and we are always very close to the people and the way of life we live there. The collectivism is something we always practice even when we live in other places.

GOAT #2: This has been done before and in respect of people who have asked us not draw any more attention to this matter I must say no. You have our music I would say that is enough.


HM:  from interviews and your lyrics, you talk about The Goat as a spiritual deity or presence.   could you enlighten us about The Goat?


G #1:  It is a symbol for surrendering your individuality to the greater good of the group, the collective. A kind of sacrifice. It is also a person, or a being in our old mythology.

G #2:  As has been stated before The Goat is a mere symbol of things much greater and at this time I have neither the time or interest to get into specifics about my personal worldview. But I can tell you that the Goat is equal to any & all of the following: The great vastness that is the human experience & mind. That which never changes. That which remains throughout our earthly " existence " before and after. The experiencer. The one that never sleeps not even in dreams. Is there maybe more to human life than what we have learned? I say that it´s all a matter of how you choose to perceive things. Do you have the will to see reality for what it is or do you wish to persist in what others have told you about reality ? Simply, will you base your life on your own experience of it or on the experience of others? What people told you that you are. In other words, people, try to have an open attitude & question authority. it can be helpful in life. 

HM:  i've heard you say that Goat is a continuing musical consciousness that has spanned many generations in your village.  how would you describe your traditional music and what do you feel is the running thread from the original native music of the past thru today and into the future?  is it a literal musical thread or is it more of a spiritual thread?

G #1:  The rhythms are essential. The search of a transcendental state. But also the openness to music, in all forms. The constant search for new inputs and ideas of how to expand your mind thru listening and making music. It is both a spiritual and literal way of approaching sounds.  We believe that all music is the same in a way, a constant dance we all take part in from birth to death. The various expressions of music are just cosmetica. The essence of all music though is maybe the biggest secret of mankind and to explore it open minded is the biggest adventure.


G #2:  I would say both. We live in a time of great change & also a time of great unrest. You basically just have to go outside and walk around for a bit or watch the evening news to come to the conclusion that we are not living on the height of our capacity as human beings right now. With this in mind the music of the Goat throughout time was always a way to unite our tribes, to rejoice, dance and sing together. What can be a better way to celebrate life?  

HM:  there is a wide variety of musical styles blended into your work, from 60's psychedelic rock to west african blues, trancey krautrock to scuzzy detroit prepunk, among many others.  when did these styles begin to infiltrate the traditional music of your village?  was it embraced or was it considered rebellious by the village elders?


G #1:  Various music has influenced our traditional rhythms thru the years, but as I said, we don't think of music this way. What we hear comes out somehow and changes what we do. We don't analyze this process and do not even think of it. Since we believe the heart of all music is the same, our traditional music is not constant but is changing with the people making it. The elderly people are not in opposition to this. They are a part of it.

G #2:  Our forefathers were actually very into mind-expanding music since a very long time ago and if by psychedelic you refer to indulgence in substances and repetitive drums and/ or riffs and melodies as a means to achieve a "higher" consciousness, to the vast body of Goat this is certainly the case.  I kind of think that if you like music a bit more than just settling for whatever is the latest "thing" or whatever suites the way you dress best, then you will probably continue to dig deeper and deeper and the more you dig the more you´ll find and then you just naturally open up to a wider array of influences. Whether I listen to Repulsion or Harvester the outcome is the same. I have a good time. Like they probably had when they made and recorded the music as well. Music is not rocket science!   

HM:  recently i've read a bit about the long history of psychedelic mushrooms used in Sweden for shamanistic rituals.  was/is the psychedelic experience important in the creation of the music of Goat?  


G #1:  No. The important thing in the creation of our music is the transcendental state. That is the psychedelic experience. You can reach this state in many ways. I would say the most superficial way is using drugs. We don´t like to talk about the use of drugs in interviews.  We don´t preach the use of any drug to people.


G #2:  This is true and king Erik XIV was at the psychedelic forefront during his reign in Sweden. The only thing that is "important" as far as Goat´s music is concerned is that we devote our selves to the cause whenever we get together. In what way we choose to do that may differ from time to time and person to person but the result is always the same. There is the obviousness  of the ever expanding consciousness and the temple echoes with grim and thunderous sonic vibrations. 

HM:  you have said in the past that there are many members of Goat, and that the line up is very fluid, allowing  Goat to conceivably play multiple shows from various locations simultaneously.  this is a radical idea.  how many core members make up Goat, and how many flow in and out?  are they all a part of the Korpilombolo commune or is the group geographically spread out?


G #1:  I really don't know. We are some people living in Gothenburg, everyone is not from our village. The collective is loose and people move in and out. And I guess we could make various shows at the same time if we are able to organize it. When we played in Gothenburg the 21st of december, there was at the same time a mass in Korpilombolo where music was performed together in order to celebrate the end of the world.


G #2:  I would say that there is a core of about 15 - 20 people ( musicians ) more or less involved in Goat at this time. A couple of these people come from the old commune and the others are from all around Sweden basically. There are even some people involved outside of Sweden. The last show we played in Gothenburg we had a long-time spanish friend join in. So to conclude, geographically not all members are connected to Korpilombolo but spiritually everyone most certainly is. Simultaneous gatherings have already happened..


HM:  how did you hook up with Rocket Recordings?  were you apprehensive about releasing Goat recordings to the public?


G #1:  They contacted us thru some people we know here. We just said fine, we have no principles against releasing albums.

G #2:  I think someone tipped them off and they got in contact with us. Apparently they had a hard time finding us. Luckily some of us still own computers, others prefer to dwell in the dark unknown for one reason or another. Well not really, but we never expected it to take off the way it has done either. Had we known things might have been done differently.


HM:  the Goatman/The Sun the Moon 7" was your first release.  were these the first official Goat recordings?  what kind of statement did you want to make with these first transmissions to the outside world?


G #1:  There are recordings made from various incarnations of Goat but I don't think they will be released. Homemade recordings of hours of jams. We didn't really have a statement but if I try and figure out one I guess it is that we call out for a boundless world, no boundaries between people, no genres of anything, a collective mind and heart connected with the universe.

G #2:  No, there is stuff recorded long before that 7" but yes it´s the first " official " release. No statement, just to make the great gospel available for people I guess. Give people a chance to have a good time, freak out and perhaps dance morbidly through the disco.


HM:  World Music is a flawless album.  where was it recorded and how long did it take to create?   how would the compositions typically take shape?  are you surprised by the acclaim the album has received?


G #1:   It was recorded in our own studio in Gothenburg. The recordings were totally effortless. All ideas are good except the ones that do not work. Many songs are built up in the recording process thru overdubbs. Took about a year but we had long pauses between the recordings.  And yes, we are very surprised. And very grateful!

G #2:  Thank you very much. It was recorded on tape in our own studio. Some songs are re-arranged traditional songs, others are excerpts of longer jams and others still are based on a riff or drum pattern. It was recorded in a couple of sessions during the past year. I am still very surprised about all the fuzz surrounding the release, the raving reviews & all but also very, very thankful of course. We were just asked to record an album and so we did. There was simply not a whole lot of effort put into the recording of WM.


HM:  Sweden has a national philosophy called "lagom," which roughly translates to "there is virtue in moderation," where it's citizen's rarely try to gain attention to themselves individually and strive to keep their temperaments at an even keel.  how has this philosophy shaped Goat and your ambitions, as well as how the band has handled the international attention that World Music has received?  is that one of the reasons for Goat's performing with masks, to keep that anonymity? 

G #1:  Yes. We believe in this philosophy as long as it is not exaggerated into self-oppression. We hate the individualism of our time. We strive for collectivism and spiritualism. And we see Goat as ONE organism, not several.  But what you describe is not totally true. You dont have to stay moderate or stay calm all the time, you just have to realize that you are not important.  You are a part of everyone and everything and that is important. We wear masks because we have no need for self-affirmation, we like to be free spirits not recognized by anyone. The music is what you should listen to, there is no need for you to put our faces on top of that.

G #2:  For me " lagom " has more to do with just settling for average. I don´t think we have done that with World Music.  quite the opposite. Goat is a collective were all members contribute equally. There are different reasons for wearing the masks on stage both cultural and personal. The main reason being that we as individuals don´t want to take credit for making the music since it already always was, long before we molded it into " world music ". We are just tools..

HM:  Goat recently performed in public for the first time on a handful of European dates.  how would you describe those first performances?   what are your thoughts on your upcoming US dates and the Austin Psych Festival in April?

G #1:  It is all good fun. We are very grateful for the opportunity to travel and meet new people. Playing live was more fun then I expected.

G #2:  Simply Unimaginable! All the wonderful people we met ( Chris & Johnny at RR, the people in Newcastle, all the crowds ), the great venues we played. We could ask for nothing more. And actually there is no big difference in playing for our selves or for a bigger crowd apart from the numbers in those attending the event and the limitation time-wise.. And the opportunity for some of us to be able to go over and do a tour in the US is just awesome!

HM:  i have seen two different performances of Disco Fever from Supersonic and Gothenburg, where i swear you guys jam on the Stones disco classic "Hot Stuff."  was that consciously done?   are there any cover songs that Goat weaves into their performances or rehearsals?

G #1:  Ha ha! If so, it is totally unconsciously! I must hear it! I hope we jam on that! About covers, we make a cover of Diarabi, a traditional Malian song. Maybe we will make some more in the future.

G #2:   No, not intentionally at least and no not at this time apart from Diarabi.

HM:  what lies on the horizon for Goat?  any new recordings or releases planned?

G #1:  Yes, we have some stuff planned. First  is a new song to be featured on a Rocket compilation.Then some surprises..


G #2:  A new album will be recorded during the fall. We just recorded a new song for the Rocket 15 year celebration that will be available through them by the end of january i think.
It turned out quite nice. And then there are plans for some kind of a recording to be released on the eminent Cardinal Fuzz label as well.


HM:  Goat seems to come from a completely different musical perspective.  what could the world learn from the music and philosophy of Goat?

G #1:  So this is the time to speak out my truth to the world I guess... Well, People, understand that we are all one and connected.  I mean REALLY understand it.  Quit dividing people into various groups. That is old fashioned and just plain stupid. Then stop doing this with music as well. Understand your unimportance in the world. Then you can realize your part in the development of the evolution by working for your collective. Then you become important for real. Individualism is your enemy. Spiritualism is your guide. Togetherness is happiness.

G #2:  To do your own thing. To try and be of benefit, be polite & take care of each other. To listen to all albums by The Velvet Underground but especially white light / white heat.
That pretty much sums it up.



Goat recently announced a short tour through America, their first time playing here.  do yourself and your grandchildren a favor and check it out.  you'll want to brag about this one for years to come.

UPDATE:  HEAD MEDICINE recently caught up with the members of Goat for a rare face-to-face interview.  we discussed their first American tour and what the future holds for the band.  check it out HERE





April 23
Glasslands Gallery
Brooklyn NY


April 24
Johnny Brenda's
Philadelphia

April 25
Black Cat Backstage
Washington DC

April 26
The Southgate House Revival
Newport KY

April 28
Austin Psych Fest
Austin TX

April 29
Dan's Silverleaf
Denton TX

May 1
Old Rock House
St. Louis MO

May 2
Empty Bottle
Chicago IL

May 3
The High Watt
Nashville TN

~kojak

HIGH ON FIRE - HEAD MEDICINE'S 2012 Band of the Year/Video of the Year

HIGH ON FIRE -- 2012 BAND OF THE YEAR

"FERTILE GREEN" (Directed by Phil Mucci) -- 2012 VIDEO OF THE YEAR


2012 was a banner year for the Oakland California stoner power trio High on Fire.  over the last 12 months, HoF released their most finely honed album to date, De Vermis Mysteriis... they unleashed the video of the year for "Fertile Green"...  their heavy-as-fuck debut record, Art of Self Defense, was remastered and re-released by Southern Lord... and after singer/guitarist/badass Matt Pike's rehab stint forced the cancellation of the band's summer tour, High on Fire emerged healthier and stronger than ever with a triumphant headlining tour across the country.  This was the year when the planets aligned and all doubt was laid to waste as HoF rose up and grabbed the ring as the best metal band on the planet.

in case you didn't know, in the meatheaded, knuckledragging world of modern heavy metal, HoF is a more evolved breed.  Walking upright and having touched the Kubrickian slab of enlightenment, they roam the land, conquering all that comes before them, ruthlessly destroying anyone who challenges them, and consuming any mind altering substance that can be scoured to fuel their violent and entrancing vision quests.  High on Fire's instantly identifiable brand of brutally heavy psychedelic stoner rock quite simply decimates anyone else in music today.  there's noone even close.

Forming in the late 90's from the ashes of the legendary sludge lords Sleep, High on Fire has been constantly evolving out of the primordial ooze of their first album, The Art of Self Defense, to the towering monuments built upon 2007's Death is this Communion and culminating with their most recent release and the densest example of their full range of sounds, De Vermis Mysteriis.  Pike's legend as one of metal's greatest guitarists only grows taller throughout the record with his staggeringly heavy riffs and flesh melting solos, all with that super stoney flair that separates him from his peers.  and hidden under his crusty and oftentimes unintelligible vocals is the fact that he is an absolutely killer lyricist... celestial, biblical, and full of Lovecraftian terror... and  De Vermis Mysteriis is his masterstroke.  built upon concepts originally laid down by Robert Bloch, Lovecraft, and Robert E. Howard, Pike weaves a bizarre tale of the twin of Jesus Christ who sacraficed himself to give his brother life, and is now a celestial time traveler, aided by an ancient Chinese black lotus serum, allowing him to see the past through his ancestors' eyes. it's all absolutely fucking insane, of course, andif  you find yourself a bit confused by the concept, don't worry.  you are about to get the shit kicked out of you for the next hour... you won't even notice.  not to be overshadowed by HoF's frontman, Des Kensel has built a reputation as one of the hardest drummers in the world and he only adds to his legacy on this album.  pummeling grooves continuously trample over the listener like a charging mass of armored war horses.  your skull has never felt so good being crushed into a fine white dust.  and Jeff Matz, the only non-original member, turns in a stunning performance, and stakes his claim as a powerful creative force within the band.  while still filling in the concrete-heavy bottom end, his bass cuts through like a rumbling chainsaw, literally growling at times, while also flashing several slower cliff burton-esque melodic bass solos.  As a whole, the band has never sounded better.  there is an unmatched clarity that never declaws the ferocity of the music (which is what happened on their previous album, Snakes of the Divine).  credit the production of Kurt Ballou for all of this.  where Billy Anderson, Steve Albini, Jack Endino, and Greg Fidelman fell just short, Ballou perfectly captured the fury of High on Fire and helped them craft their possibly career defining album.

De Vermis Mysteriis 

*click HERE for full album lyrics... a must to enjoy this album to the fullest*

all of the elements that make up classic High on Fire is on display with the opening track "Serums of Liao"... a punishing Kensel drum roll starts things off and then, next thing you know, yer face is blasted off. and there is nothing you can do about it.





next is the full throttle punch to the neck of "Bloody Knuckles." absolutely no subtlety here. ouch.





the video for "Fertile Green," directed by Phil Mucci, is a brainblowing Ralph Bakshi/Frank Frazetta Metal Hurlant hallucination and is easily the winner of HEAD MEDICINE'S 2012 Video of the Year.  an awesomely heavy ode to marijuana, with a war march drum intro before the full on assault begins... a searing guitar solo giving way to a devastating, downshifted, primal sex groove (which just might be the coolest thing HoF's ever jammed on), before finishing off with it's bludgeoning finale. the video is fucking spectacular from beginning to end, and it's not everyday that you get to see a  sex scene with a marijuana goddess and the time travelling twin of Jesus Christ, so just sit back, spark one up, and soak it all in.





The slo-motion molten metal being poured on "Madness of an Architect" harkens back to pike's old days in Sleep.  monolithic and terrifying, this will make your eyes roll back in your head, lost in a leaden fog





but High on Fire isn't just about the vicious head beatings they routinely deliver.  lately, they've been able to stretch out and explore more expansive terrain with exotic instrumentals like "Samsara,"  with Matz's layered melodic bass work and a mesmerizing Pike lead woven through.  HoF cannot write enough songs like this one.





"Spiritual Rites" scorches the earth as it stampedes through the countryside, setting everything aflame and sending the villagers screaming into the night.  This song is just ruthlessly heavy, as any tune about burning witches should be.





"King of Days" is as close to a ballad as HoF can get yet still densely heavy.  This dirge has Pike's most soulful vocals to date and the triumphant call-and-response solo trade-off between the guitar and bass is fucking magical.  get yer lighter up in the air, this is an album highlight for sure





the terrifying title track, summoning an ancient behemoth from the earth's core.  it sounds like pike prepared for his vocal performance by swallowing a handful of rusty nails and chasing it down with a coupla shots of battery acid.  unforgivingly brutal and fucking awesome





"Romulus and Remus"  tells the ancient tale of the infant twins,  heirs to the throne, who were left for dead and kept alive by suckling a she-wolf.  they eventually went on to found the city of Rome.  classic Pike reference material.   Matz and Ballou combine to capture the perfect chainsaw bass growl on this one




and "Warhorn" closes the album with a final thunderous battle charge.  




HERE is the bonus track, "Speak in Tongues," from the limited edition vinyl



The Art of Self Defense re-release


originally released in '00 on Frank Kozik's legendary Man's Ruin record label, "The Art of Self Defense" is an indisputable  stonerrock classic.   these are minimalistic, mystical interpretations of the sacred Iommi texts from the hallowed Temple of Sabbath.  riffs and grooves that drone on and on, gathering a heavier mass as they expand outwards into infinity.  cosmic metal at it's absolute finest!  but the album, produced by Billy Anderson, always sounded a bit murky, and maybe not necessarily on purpose.  this year, the mighty Southern Lord Records stepped in and dispatched Brad Boatright to scrape away 12 years of thick stoney resin to reveal, for the first time with startling clarity, all of the rich sounds that lay underneath.  Southern Lord even gave the package the deluxe treatment, with updated original cover art,  a 48 page booklet of classic photographs, the two bonus tracks from the 2002 Tee Pee Records re-release, "Steel Shoe" and the Celtic Frost cover "The Usuper,"as well as the three tracks from the band's original 1999 demo recording.  it's the definitive version of a must-have all-time classic.  easily the Reissue of the Year here at HEAD MEDICINE.

*note:  these are not links to the re-issue.  these are from the original release.  buy the reissue HERE*



"Baghdad"... There isn't much to say about the melted lead psychedelic riff, the warped groove, or pike's cosmic chant that the song doesn't say for itself.  a classic of the highest order.


i love the part around the 3:00 mark where the riff collapses under it's own weight and just punishes the listener for a few moments before straightening back out again.  fuck yeah







High on Fire - Live! and a short Matt Pike  Q & A


earlier this year, just after De Vermis Mysteriis was released and HoF was prepared to embark on a summer long trek of American and European music festivals, Matt Pike, who had been touring with the newly reformed Sleep, suddenly announced that he was going into rehab and the entire tour was scrapped.  Things were looking a bit grim for HoF, but Pike emerged clean and sober and was ready to get back to work.  another tour was plotted.  after several missed attempts in the past, i finally got my sorry ass to a High on Fire show in Kansas City in December and,  as expected, the performance delivered a transcendental pummeling.  i couldn't tell you what songs they played, i couldn't even have told you my name at a certain point.  the show is a hazy fog in my memory.  waves of sound were bombarding us on a molecular level, rattling each cell in our bodies.  and when we staggered out of the Riot Room's doors, it was like we were taking our first breath all over again. 

afterwards, i talked with Matt Pike for a few moments.  it was balls cold outside, and the man just played his ass off for us and i'm sure he wanted nothing more than to enjoy his smoke and get back on the tour bus, but he graciously answered a couple of brief questions for HEAD MEDICINE.  thanks matt.


HEAD MEDICINE:  This year saw the release of what may be your finest album, a deluxe reissue of your first record, a successful stint in rehab, and a victorious tour.  what are your thoughts looking back on 2012?

MATT PIKE:  It's just one day at a time, man.  just trying to, y'know, keep my bearings... keep my head straight.  y'know, there's alot more work to it now that i don't have my comfortable buzz on... there's just alot of anxiety that i have to overcome.  but i've been killin'... i've been playing very well.

HM:  your video for "fertile green" is our Video of the Year.  what's the story behind that one?

MP:  well, i came up with the story, it's a part of the story of the theme of the whole record and Phil Mucci put it to film.  i told him over the phone exactly what the song was about and he did the rest.

HM:  The Art of Self Defense definitely benefited from a facelift... are there any plans to re-master any of your other early records?

MP:  um, not as of now.  not yet.

HM:  you said you are taking things day by day... are there any plans at all for High on Fire in 2013?

MP:  yeah, there's some talk of tours, y'know, but yeah i'm just taking it slow at the moment.



~review, interview, and art by Kojak