Clockwork Psycho had done so much in relatively small time. With their hard work, DIY ethics and fanatical devotion, they became one of the most appreciated psychobilly or punkabilly bands in Europe. They toured an awesome amount of time, played almost all the important psychobilly and punkrock festivals but at the same time they kept the punk roots in their music. I last heard and saw them live about almost two months ago when they played with Michale Graves in Zagreb and back then I was astonished with an great amount of energy they delivered in their new songs. Finally, this is their new album, out on Diablo Records, so I listened to it and reviewed it for this webzine.
The record contains 12 songs. In my opinion, this is the most versatile Clockwork Psycho album until now. Besides always having the trademark Clockwork Psycho vibe, there are some surf influences for example in “Corpse Collector”, or awesome ska in “Bootstomp Man” and rockabilly in “Sin & Repent”. What I always liked about this trio is how much they enjoy their playing and enjoy when people appreciate what they do. Singer Lilith sounds better than ever, sometimes shouting angry like a fiendette from Hell, sometimes singing melodic like a fallen angel. Guitaris Al and drummer Marko are also singing and the three of them complete each other perfectly. For me the best songs on the album are “Knife Edge Mind”, “Lost”, “In the Pines” and above mentioned “Bootstomp Man”. Excellent album!
Slovenska pretežno ženska doom metal grupa Mist otkriva pjesmu The Ghoul, drugu stvar iz nadolazećeg debitantskog albuma s naslovom »Free Me Of The Sun«, koji će biti objavljen 1. lipnja preko nizozemske izdavačke kuće Soulseller Records.
Snimanje albuma održano je u studiju Ork u Jevnici, za kojeg kažu, da su se bez sumnje odlučili. “Odmah, kad smo prvi put došli da razgledamo nas je uvjerio – ne samo zbog vintage opreme ili biste Josipa Broza – Tita u prostoru za gitare, ali i zbog dobre atmosfere i umirujuće prirode koja ga okružuje.” svoj izbor objašnjavaju Mist. “Obavezna oprema uz glazbenu u studiju uvijek je dobra hrana i jaka kava, za koje se stalno trudio marljivi vlasnik studija, Sašo Kisovec.” rekli su još. Za produkciju i miks je ponovno bio odgovoran Benjamin Kic, dok je mastering ovaj put obavio Patrick W. Engel (Candlemass, Pentagram, Darkthrone, Exodus) iz studija Temple Of Disharmony.
Ovaj put bend je uzeo puno više vremena za pisanje materijala nego za prethodna dva izdanja. “Stoga smo više naglaska dali na pripreme za snimanje i traženje željenog zvuka, za svaki instrument pojedinačno kao i za cjelinu. Može se reći, da smo ponosni što smo ovaj put doista dobili onaj pravi Mist zvuk, kojeg smo izgubili na EP-ju Inan’.” zadovoljni su konačnim rezultatom višemjesečnog rada. Basistkinja Neža još dodaje: “Ja sam osobno također ponosna i na predanost, koju smo pokazali tijekom samih priprema za snimanje i izdržljivost u studiju. Doista smo dali sve od sebe i nismo se prestali truditi, kad smo znali da u određenom trenutku neku stvar možemo odsvirati i bolje.”
“Pjesme na albumu nastajale su pojedinačno, što nam je ostavilo slobodne ruke u stvaranju, ali to ne znači da nisu povezane, jer ih vežu teme, koje su bile kod nas uvijek vrlo prisutne – smrt, uroci, život poslije smrti, priroda… Svaki je tekst proizvod trenutne inspiracije umjesto planiranog slijeda tema ili događaja.” kažu o nastanku pjesama i moguće veze između njih. Pa i sam omot konceptualno odražava naslovnu pjesmu albuma. Ili kako još kažu Mist: “Valovi krvi i emocija su more, gdje se osoba diže u dubine preostatka svoga života i pozdravlje se od sunca. U mraku onda prihvaća mjesec, koji mu pruža novu nadu u posmrtnom postojanju.”
Službena promocija albuma »Free Me Of The Sun« održat će se 9. lipnja u Klubu Gromka u Ljubljani, gdje će se Mist pridružiti odlični riječki doom metal bend Old Night, za kojeg će to biti premijerni nastup u Sloveniji. Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/444518919326971/
Reach from Slovenia, Prekmurje region, are a relatively new band in the scene. They were already featured in this zine when I reviewed their debut demo. Now was the perfect time to talk with the guys about their band, music scene and state of hardcore in general and many other themes.
HI GUYS, WELCOME TO MY WEBZINE. IT HAS BEEN A WHILE REACH EXISTS AS A BAND, SO FIRST OFF, ARE YOU HAPPY WITH THE THINGS YOUVE DONE UNTIL NOW?
JAN: Our guitarist Luka and drummer Benjamin started the band back in spring 2016 and later I joined the band as vocalist at the end of the year. During our first months we had our friend Tomaž on bass as a session player, but then this year in April, Jože joined as a full time bass player. So if we consider that I’m studying in Ljubljana and other guys all have full time jobs, we can definitely say that we are very happy with what we have accomplished so far.
YOU RECORDED ON DEMO E.P.AND I GUESS YOU HAVE MORE MATERIAL THAT DID NOT FIND PLACE ON THE E.P.SO WHEN IS THE NEXT E.P. OR FULL LENGTH ALBUM COMING OUT?
LUKA: Yes, of course. For the demo we just picked three of the best songs we had at a time, but we still have a lot of material. Currently we’re working on new songs and we’re planning to record a split with fellow Slovenian hardcore band Laid To Rest sometime in early of 2018. And after that we will focus on making our first EP.
YOU DID SOME GIGS IN SLOVENIA AND I THINK ONE IN CROATIA, SO DO YOU GUYS HAVE ANY SPECIAL RITUALS OR PREPARATIONS BEFORE THE GIG?
JAN: Well, I think there is nothing special… yet! Everyone is just chilling, hanging out with other bands or just drinking beer. We warm up in the backstage, I also stretch a bit just to be ready for all the moving on the stage, but otherwise nothing special. We are still a bit nervous before going on stage and I think that with more and more gigs a routine will come by itself.
photo by:Andreja Barbarič, taken from Reach FB page
YOUR LYRICS ARE PERSONAL BUT DEAL WITH SOME THEMES KNOWN IN THE HARDCORE SCENE. WHERE DO YOU GET INSPIRATION FOR THE LYRICS?
JAN: Most of the lyrics I wrote on the bus ride back home from Ljubljana. I guess, that was a good place to reflect back on what happened through the week, what I saw, heard, what bothered me and I just put it on the paper. Sometimes when me and my girlfriend go for a walk we try to “save” the world and some inspiration comes from these long talks and then sometimes I am listening more closely to some music and feel the same way as the band I listened to felt, and just try to write my own opinion about that.
PREKMURJE WAS KNOWN TO BE PRETTY BARREN AND POOR AREA, DOES THIS ALSO EFFECT YOUR INSPIRATION AND FEEDS YOUR ANGER AND FRUSTRATIONS? IS IT EASY TO GET A JOB IN YOUR AREA? HOW IS THE LIVING ON THE EVERYDAY BASIS?
LUKA: I think that at this time it is hard to get job anywhere in general, not just in Slovenia. You really have to be patient and you have to try many times. It’s true that Pomurje doesn’t offer many options so that’s why so many young people go to work in Maribor, Ljubljana or even abroad (Austria, Germany…). So there are two aspects that come out of it. Anger – because of the state of the country (or even the whole world) is in right now and gratitude – respect for people who helped us to be the people we are now, that sure was not easy.
DO YOU GUYS BELIEVE IN STREET JUSTICE? WHEN SOMEONE DOES HARM TO YOUR LOVED ONE AND THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM FAILS, DO YOU BELIEVE IN TAKING MATTERS IN YOUR OWN HANDS?
LUKA: Well, the whole ‘eye for an eye’ principle is really flawed. It’s an never ending cycle of aggression and pain. Life always finds a way to punish those who are exploiting other people for their own self-gain. Even if we don’t see it somewhere something isn’t going like they wanted it and they are just left with paying their dues.
WHAT ABOUT TOO VIOLENT DANCING? I KNOW THAT HARDCORE GIGS ARE NOT POETRY EVENINGS BUT I FEEL KINDA STUPID WHEN TWO OR THREE ASSHOLES DO KARATE DANCING AND YOU CANNOT COME CLOSE TO THE STAGE AND ENJOY THE GIG AND IN A WAY PARTICIPATE IN A SHOW.
BENJAMIN: We are all those type of listeners who want to participate on a show to the fullest – sing-along, dance, stage dive, mosh. But we don’t really like crowd killing. Don’t get us wrong – we like hardcore dancing, good old mosh pit and circle pit but there is a difference between swinging your arms and kicking in the air or intentionally punching people around you.
DO YOU GUYS HAVE YOUR OWN REHEARSAL SPACE OR DO YOU PAY FOR THE SPACE?
LUKA: We share our space with two other bands from Pomurje (Odpisani, Cyphre Louis) but we don’t see them too often so it’s almost like we’re the only ones there. Other than that it’s nothing special. The rehearsal space is in Ljutomer.
YOU PLAY MODERN VERSION OF HARDCORE. DO YOU BELIEVE HARDCORE IS LIKE A LIVING BEING CONSTANTLY EVOLVING AND CHANGING? THE SCENE PURISTS CERTAINLY HATE THAT. WHAT IS THE STATE OF SLOVENIAN AND WORLD HARDCORE SCENE IN 2017.FROM YOUR POINT OF VIEW?
LUKA: We think that it really is changing and evolving all the time, just like us. There is always something new in the scene, something fresh and that’s what I love about it. I’m always surprised by the new things some of bands can come up with.
I really love what a small, underground scene like hardcore can accomplish and the most important part of this scene is the attitude, the view on the state of the world, that you can share and find a way to overcome obstacles in life.
I constantly hear people argue over what is and what isn’t “true” or “real”. Not just in hardcore but in every genre of music. And this is really where the hardcore stands out for me, because the basic principle isn’t a dress code, a hair style or some slang – it’s the attitude, the mentality. It’s about solidarity and accepting anyone and everyone for what he or she is, and also for you to stay true to yourself.
photo taken from Reach FB page
WE HAVE COME TO THE END OF THE INTERVIEW, SO FEEL FREE TO STATE YOUR PLANS FOR THE FUTURE, MAYBE ANNOUNCE SOME GIGS YOU PLAY OR HOW CAN KIDS KEEP CONTACT WITH YOU? THANKS FOR THE ANSWERS.
LUKA: The main thing in the near future is going to be putting together a debut EP and of course, to play as many shows as we possibly can. The first one is on 14.10. in Gornja Radgona, then we’re playing in Kranj on 28.10., Ljubljana on 17.11. and later in 2.12. we’re playing again in Lendava with Slander and Hawser.
You can find all our show dates and news about the band on our FB and Instagram pages. If you’d like to get in touch with us just drop us a message.
Thank you for showing interest in us and doing this interview. Cheers from Pomurje.
KRAYKULLA-WEBZINE 