"The Asteroid has Landed": INTERVIEW with Robin and Johannes of Asteroid & SONG PREMIERE of "Wolf & Snake"

The Asteroid has landed with new album “III”, it has been almost 7 years since their well-renowned second album ‘II’ was released and the band are back with their most polished, solid record to date. For well over a decade, Asteroid, one of the scenes leading lights in the heavy psych community and with a sound firmly rooted in the hard-hitting field of stoner rock the third instalment in Asteroid’s spectacular ascendancy is a hugely diverse record and shows the advanced musicianship between the band, blending all kinds of stoner rock and fuzz.

This is a band who are firmly on the rise to the top and know exactly how to get there. Armed with one of the best releases of 2016, Jake Wallace caught up with band for a quick interview and if that wasn’t enough we have an exclusive stream of “Wolf & Snake”, which you can stream and share at the end of this article. 

SL: Hi guys, thanks for taking the time to do this interview. How are you guys doing today?

Robin & Johannes: Hey! Well actually I'm a little bit sick at the moment, got a bad cough after the last tour. But it's getting better so next week it's buissiness as usual.

SL: Your new record 'III' is a phenomenal album as I highlighted in my review for The Sludgelord. The first thing I’d like to ask is how the idea for the artwork came about?

R & J: Thank you very much, we are very proud of how it turned out. The art work for the album was put together by the amazing Mr Jerker Josefsson, who also worked with us on our new merchandise. We were throwing around ideas for the cover and came up with a couple of different concepts. This being one of them and actually the first one we tried. The photo turned out so good we didn't even try the other ideas...

SL: Can you give an overview on the main thought process for the album and which direction you wanted to take the music in comparison to your second album?

R & J: There has never been a main thought behind any of the albums. As soon as two or three songs come together, the rest of them sort of come natural and fill in the gaps of what we think is needed to make an album feel complete. It's very important that an album has a flow to it, ups and downs, ins and outs.

SL: Who were your main musical influences for the style of the songs on 'III'?

R & J: Hehe, I think we have the same influences as we've always had, we've just gotten better at making the songs sound the way we want them to.

SL: How do the songs usually come about? Does it begin with a guitar riff or do the lyrics set the theme for the music?

R &J: It can be any number of things. A guitar riff, a drum beat or a lyric. My phone is full of 10 second riffs or just me humming something. It can come from anywhere. I've used lines my friends and family say for lyrics and some have started from a beat I got from a machine. Most of “II” was written when I worked with Elvis at a printers standing across from an old cast-iron machine doing different rhythmic patterns. The mind starts to make up fun stuff when you do something monotonous.

SL: Was it a difficult process to write and record this album or did you find it to be manageable?

R & J: A bit, yes. We didn't have as much time to write and rehearse the songs as we did with “II”. So we had to do things a little different this time. The last song was actually written and recorded when everything else was already done. We have our good friend Mr Philip Saxin, who mixed and mastered the album, to thank for making it sound as good as it does! But it was hard work getting it done in time for sure.

SL: Asteroid is now a very well-known name in the world of stoner/fuzz rock, did you ever think you would achieve such recognition?

R & J: When me and Johannes started the band back in 2004 we didn't think much more of it than any other time you've started a band when drunk. So now, almost 12 year later, it feels very cool to still be able to make music that people find enjoyable. We never thought we would end up where we are today.

SL: What is the music scene like in Sweden? Were there many other bands playing similar music when you were first starting out?

R & J: When we started we were kind of the"odd man out"... Only a hand full of bands in Sweden were doing similar stuff and it was tough getting people to understand what the hell we were doing. When people don't understand something, they tend to get a bit uncomfortable, so it took some time o find our audience.

SL: What has been your most memorable gig/festival to date and where would be the ultimate venue to play?

R & J: Well that's a hard one... I remember one gig when we first started out, playing at a high school senior dance. Talk about being out of place! The weird ones always stand out. Utimate venue... Hm, hard to say. I like it when people dance and sing along to the songs, so I guess anywhere where people are happy and enjoying themselves.

SL: What bands are you guys listening to at the minute? Who is the hottest talent in the genre today?

R & J: Well our friends in Blues Pillsare great, Dorian was kind enough to lay down a solo for the album. Uncle Acid & The Dead Beats are good to, as well as Kadavar. Not to mention the darling lads in Limestone Whale, whom we spent the last couple of weeks on tour with.

SL: What is the future for the band? Where do you see yourselves in 5 years time?

R & J: I guess we'll keep making music and exploring what we can do, keep moving forward. We'd love to be able to do this for a living, but as you know that's not easy these days. We've started booking for next year and we're gonna try to visit a lot more places we've never been. And new music is on the horizon as well. But first we 're gonna spread the gospel of Asteroid“III”.

SL: Cheers for taking the time to chat, I wish you guys all the best in the future!

R & J: Thanks, it's been a pleasure. All the best to you all.

The End

Band info: facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Asteroid - "III"

By: Jake Wallace

Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 11/11/2016
Label: Fuzzorama Records

It is a hugely diverse record and shows the advanced musicianship between the band, blending all kinds of stoner rock and fuzz. This is a band who are firmly on the rise to the top and know exactly how to get there. One of the best releases of 2016 without a doubt.

“III” CD//DD//LP Track listing

1). Pale Moon
2). Last Days
3). Til' Dawn
4). Wolf & Snake
5). Silver & Gold
6). Them Calling
7). Mr. Strange

The Review:

The Asteroid has landed. Swedish heavy psych giants Asteroid have set the release date for their highly-anticipated third album for 11th November through Fuzzorama Records. It has been almost 7 years since their well-renowned second album ‘II’ was released and the band are back with their most polished, solid record to date. A 7-track album following the naming trend of its predecessors, this is Asteroid - ‘III’.

Firstly, the album artwork is strikingly brilliant. Whoever is in charge of the design and creative direction of Asteroid deserves credit for an unbelievably eye-catching and vintage styled arrangement of their instruments taking pride of place as the album cover.

The album kicks off with ‘Pale Moon’delivering a thick, rumbling bass line which gives way to some eerie psychedelic slide-guitar work. It has a triumphant sounding vibe with lots of dark nuances that give it a truly evil sound. It also has a somewhat spacey feel, with effects playing their part in the backdrop towards the end as the song comes to a close.

‘Last Days’ is the second track from the album and was the first track that was publicly released on Bandcamp by the band after announcing the news of the record coming out this fall. The intro has some nice big chords and paves the way for what’s to come as the vibe changes abruptly. Robin Hirse’s vocals begin as the song slows down and takes on a very similar vocal feel to Alice in Chain’slate great vocalist Layne Staleyin ‘Love/Hate/Love’. Memories of the opening track, ‘The Great Unknown’, from their first release are also re-kindled in this track. The guitar effects bring some very unique sounds to the table and the drum breakdowns are instrumental in making those parts as hard-hitting as they are around the 3:40 mark. The chord section comes back round again at 4:06 and reminds me of a Dead Meadow or Screaming Treeskind of feel. Two tracks in and we already have a diverse selection of music and it’s evident that Asteroid haven’t rushed into their song writing, it was most certainly worth the wait.

The third track ’Til Dawn’ rips back into the classic stoner rock style that we know and love Asteroid for. Their dynamic skill of switching from fuzzed riffs to beautiful, clean sounds is remarkable and they flit effortlessly between the two styles. The middle-end section slows down and each chord is powerfully punched out with some impeccable harmonised vocal parts between Hirse and Johannes Nilsson on bass. Drummer Jimmi Kohlscheen stands out on this final section as the drums are building in power and ferocity as the track climaxes before winding down with ease and ending on another sweet, clean chord.

‘Wolf & Snake’ has a very mellow vibe and reminds me of something that should be played as the sun sets on the beach at the infamous Dunajam Festival. This specific style of stoner rock is extremely pure and incorporates both the calm, mellow vibes and the earth-shaking fuzz. The intro section reminds me a lot of bands like Colour Haze and Sungrazer although Asteroidhave their own brand of heavy psych and it’s still incredibly unique. At the 2:00 mark, the song takes off with a blasting rhythm section and some lead parts from Hirse, showcasing his searing guitar abilities. The drums and bass are extremely tight and give Hirse a blank canvas to let rip. Near the 3:50 mark, the tempo drops and the fuzz doubles and we’re witnesses to a crushing, sludgy section. The final outro section is another sharp contrast with clean guitar playing some beautiful sounds.

‘Silver & Gold’ begins with a slow, angelic sounding guitar section before the vocals come in and bring so much to the sound. This track stands out on its own and its superb blend of layered vocals and guitar, gives it that kind of Tarantino movie soundtrack feel, definitely one of my favourite songs on the album.

The penultimate song ‘Them Calling’takes things back up a few fuzz gears and we’re dropped into an Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats style riff which just rumbles on ferociously throughout the song. It also has elements of the late Graveyard from Sweden. Around 3:35 they flick on the ‘evil’ switch and the riff gets steeped in gloom.

The final track ‘Mr Strange’ makes use of some awesome guitar harmonies to begin with before progressing into a lighter sounding, almost Zeppelin-esque section. Around 3:20 the vibe changes again and we have another killer, thumping riff with some spaced out lead guitar dodging and diving through the mix. The end section has some chanting vocals which go extremely well with the harmonies and it all blends into a perfect stoner rock package.

‘III’ is a masterpiece of an album from a band who need no introduction or a manual on how to create masterpieces. It is a hugely diverse record and shows the advanced musicianship between the band, blending all kinds of stoner rock and fuzz. This is a band who are firmly on the rise to the top and know exactly how to get there. One of the best releases of 2016 without a doubt.

“III” is available here

Band info: facebook

FFO: Colour Haze, Graveyard, Sungrazer, Dead Meadow

ALBUM REVIEW: Truckfighters - "V"

By: Kat Hilton

Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 30/09/2016
Label: Fuzzorama Records |
Century Media Records

All in all, a solid offering; a sound that is current; one that rocks effortlessly and one that proves regardless of line-up changes Truckfighters continue to be strong.

“V” CD//DD//LP Track listing

01. Calm Before The Storm

02. Hawkshaw

03. The 1

04. Gehenna

05. The Contract

06. Fiend

07. Storyline

The Review:

With just 7 tracks lasting a smudge over 47 minutes and fresh drummer blood; Truckfightersoffer their fifth studio album, “V”(I see what you did there you sneaky sods), a journey on their evolutionary path towards maturity that requires one to switch off pre conceptions, ideas and judgement and requires the plugging in of headphones and a nice chilled beverage of choice.

Having said that in all honesty “Calm Before the Storm” left me underwhelmed, I still cannot pinpoint why, it shouldn’t have done. With its Tool-esque intro, swarthy attitude and an ending which is fuzzier than a tumble dryer’s lint trap I should have loved it but it wobbled me a little. Fear ye not! “Hawkshaw” is the second little ditty and quite frankly knocks the spots of the previous number. A powerful bass and drum intro eases the lugholes to an immense fuzz injection that hits the spot superbly. With ever flowing peaks and troughs of 0-100 mph in seconds it is Truckfighersmastery.    

As track 3, “The 1”, makes its way through there is another line-up change with Peter Damin taking the drums; although subtle, there is a difference- believe it or not more cymbals…who knew that was possible! “The 1” is a classic Truckfigthersnumber; slightly distorted vocals, smooth riffs and an ear blowing assault of a chorus make it so. For the energy alone it is a clear contender for stand out song of the album. “Gehenna” the fuzz gives way to possibly the most satisfying drum roll in existence making this a veritable time warp of a tune; turning back time it is akin to listening to “Gravity X” all over again. Ok so not as prog like, but the mesmerising vocals and pacey guitar stand it proud.

As “The Contract” makes its debut with its thundering bass/drum play off building the track to the properly heavy levels needed; the thick and fuzzy strings crawl over the senses entwining with the chaotic drums, it kinda shouldn’t work but it does. It be prog/sludge/fudge/aceballness.

“Fiend”is the penultimate track; cheeky, pacey and even more drum rolling perfection make this a fantastic number. Off all the superbly vocalised songs Ozo has done, this is the one that demonstrates the incredible range and versatility he has. The ending can only be described as a co-ordinated pissing contest as the sound increases, the drums hammer more, the vocals step up, the guitars get beefier. Everything makes this a superb ending.

Last but no means least “Storyline” has an instant shift in style and sound; the vocals are the dominant force here. Melodious, gravelly and solid. On one hand an easy, relaxed and somewhat calm offering, on the other a hard core Truckfighters number that shakes the listener to the core. What a delicious juxtaposition.  All in all, a solid offering; a sound that is current; one that rocks effortlessly and one that proves regardless of line-up changes Truckfighterscontinue to be strong.

“V” is available here

Band info: official || facebook