Review: Comacozer / Vinnum Sabbathi - Here and Beyond LP

Ever since I started buying records split releases have always been something of novelty that gives you the feeling that they are rare and collectable in some way. In the cast of most of them, they’re not, but ever since the first split 7” that I possessed, the coming together of different styles and ideas adds to the magic and mystic of what you hold in your hands.

Fast forward over 25 years and the two separately produced pieces of photocopied artwork has long been replaced with full sleeve artwork that encompasses the whole feeling of the record, with Six.D.Six supplying the bands and the label with an illustration that stretched through space and time. 

Released by Australian based label Psychedelic Salad Records, they have brought together fellow countrymen Comacozer, a band who I have been a big fan of for quite some time, and Mexico's Vinnum Sabbathi, a band who I have known about but have for one reason or another never crossed paths with before, so here we go off in to the unknown.

If I had the chance to put music on one side of a 12” record then my method of delivery would be just one long song, and that’s exactly what Comacozer have done with their single 19 minute track Sun of Hyperion. Quoting the press release, Sun of Hyperion is journey that continues on from their debut track Helios Hyperion, written and recorded in 2014. A regular feature of their live shows, Sun of Hyperion was recorded at the same time as their last album Mydriasis.

The track starts slow and distant, buried somewhere in the realms of deep space. The guitar is slight and meanders through the dark paths, backed with space like samples and voices talking about taking trips on LSD and never coming back. From here the guitar line the song keeps returning to over the next 19 minutes, starts. Building and building, the bass, then the drums enter the picture as the keyboards pull you in and out the atmospheres of the different moons and worlds this trip is taking you too. Sounding uniquely like Comacozer, I can also hear the atmospheric build up’s that Electric Moon are oh so good at creating.

There is vast sound to the recording and that the guitar lines keeps repeating itself almost hypnotically and you know it is taking you to a place deep within the outer reaches, then at around ten minutes everything turns up several notches as though the journey is crashing through a meteor shower or the remnants of an exploding star.

From here onwards Sun of Hyperion soars through the night sky as the guitars take you up and beyond, and as the journey concludes through more cosmic turbulence, the 19 minutes could have really been 19 million light years.

Like I said earlier, this is the first time I have properly connected with the sounds of Vinnum Sabbathi, and I wasn’t disappointed. Reading in to the story here, the tracks HEX IV and HEX V are the latest tracks contribution to the bands HEX series, from the Base 16 or hexadecimal numeral system, with a goal of writing 16 songs in total to contribute to split collaborations, like the one we have here. Now that is quite some plan, which will really show their talent in expanding the musical boundaries, which the band look to definitely have, shown by the recording here being done in one take.

HEX IV: Cassini’s Last Breath starts slowly and interacts with the space travel communications between base and satellite, which I’m guessing is taken from real life recordings. As the raw feeling of the guitars play out in a Sleep like way, it doesn’t take long before their space travel slowly picks up some speed and sounds HUGE. Big riffs and cymbals that are recorded to tape this well really are something special. After the communication talk mentions about being proud of an amazing accomplishment, the bass line kicks in like Geezer Butler would, and the spacewalk drifts off into the dark realms of the cosmos.

HEX V: X-15 Research Project starts with early space travel text spoken over a slow bass line, then drum beat, then a big stomping riff that will have all of your head’s nodding in time. Over the 9+ minutes here you have a massive sounding beast of a slow mix of something between stoner rock and doom metal that sounds as though it is being played live right in front of you, it’s that good.

With both songs being the first time I have taken a trip on space cruiser Vinnum Sabbathi to their corner of deep space, I’m hooked and will be going back in time to visit the rest of the HEX.

The split 12” records is a format that more and more labels seem to be putting out at the moment and this one stands up with the best of them. Both bands are thousands of miles apart and have contrasting styles, but both versions of instrumental “heavy” really do complement each other and fans from each band will have no problem diggin’ what’s on the other side of the record.

Psychedelic Salad Records have done a fine job in putting out a couple of different colored versions which can be ordered from their website.

Comacozer - Vinnum Sabbathi - Psychedelic Salad Records 

Interview: Sageness

It has been exactly a year since Sageness released Akme on Vinyl, and has evolved in to an album that has received some great reviews across the music scene (see review). Even though it was only their second official release, something just clicked in a recording studio in Spain, producing some musical magic. After speaking with guitarist David, he kindly answered a few questions about the band.

Q1. So how did the whole Covid-19 lockdown and social isolation work for Sageness and you as individuals? Like here in the UK, it looked as though you were all under some heavy restrictions a few weeks ago.

As you say in our country, the government made some very heavy restrictions, we were locked up at home for 3 months, only going out to buy basic things. As for the band, imagine…

I took advantage of writing new songs and riffs and recording some new ideas. Aitor, the new bassist learnt the Akme album and some songs from the first album, and Fran the drummer, he managed to get hold of a digital drum set, so as not to rust and be able to start with some ideas that I sent him.

Q2. Can you explain the meaning behind the name Sageness?

It was Koke's idea, our first bassist. At first when he said it I thought it was a kind of weed, ha ha, but it means something related to wisdom, but with common sense. Exactly the trait of utilizing knowledge and experience with common sense and insight. And we like it how it sounded.  

Q3. I remember reading an interview with you guys a while back and one of you said “music does not need words to tell” which is a good statement. As the band evolves, do you still feel the same way?

Personally, yes. I remember when I was younger and I did not understand the lyrics to songs, but they transmitted many feelings and emotions to me. But of course the voice is an instrument and I value good lyrics a lot too. After listening to a lot of music, I am left with the experiences that instrumental music gives you, due to its sound and complexity of structures, it makes me immerse myself in to it more and somehow travel. I highly value the different sounds and vibrations.

Q4. The tracks on Akme have quite a unique sound in the way that you can make songs that shouldn’t sound heavy, actually sound heavy (but not in a metal way), and other parts sound as though they have been played on almost antique equipment. Has it taken some time to refine your sound and style?

Thanks Martin, I really like that perception you have. Not having a singer, you have to take more care of the song and have to expand the sound spectrum. Personally it has taken me time to find a sound and I have been trying various pedals until I feel comfortable. The effect you refer to may be a pedal that imitates that analogue tape effect touch, or may even be a thing of the mix and the master, because Marco Lima from Herzcontrol did an incredible job, just like our friend Nacho when recording us. We are very happy with the result!

Q5. How do you all go about writing songs? Do you all come to the table with ideas or do you just jam it out for hours, feel the flow and let the music write itself?

I usually go with ideas from home, and at then when together we start shaping it. But we like jamming a lot to see where the song can go, in fact we record those jams and tried to extract the best of them.

Q6. Do you have “Jam Room” so that you can get the right vibe when recording?

We really only have one room and what we record is with mobile phones or with a single microphone. But the room is cosy, and we have a fridge there!

Q7. Can you ever see Sageness having vocals on a track? Or writing a verse/chorus/verse kind of song?

Hmmmm… I think not, but who knows. I see more the possibility of a verse/chorus/verse structure with a bit of something.

Q8. Have you started writing and demoing material for your next release?

Yes, and we are excited about it! But we want to work the tracks without haste, and we are doing that right now by sending each other demos.

Q9. Can you tell us a bit about the artwork for Akme?

Diogo Soares did a great job, with the artwork we loved it at first sight. It has many elements that we think fit with our music: the door, the desert, the space, we see it as a kind of portal. I think Diogo called it "The Healers" and that also fits us well.

Q10. Have you had a chance to get out into Europe to play live? It doesn’t look as though live music will happen much in 2020 with the ongoing worldwide pandemic, but I can see 2021 being the year of the gig and festival. What would I expect from seeing Sageness play live?

This year is going to be difficult, apart from everything that is happening in the World, Fran is still 800 km away, and is coming to visit for a few days. Maybe some concerts near our hometown. Our goal right now is to create another album. We really want to try and play a few concerts in a row soon.

Q11. What the last 3 records you have listened to?

The last ones I have purchased are Kryptograf, Heavy Trip and the last album from Slift. Awesome bands!

Q12. What does the rest of 2020 hold for Sageness? Anything else to add?

We will continue working on the new songs remotely, and if I have the time I would like to record a song on my own. It's not a big deal, but it's our turn right now, but we're excited about the new ideas.

We are trying to edit our first album on vinyl. Many people asked us if we can press it and we believe that we can do it with some help. Stay Tuned. Cheers from Spain and Stay Safe.

A big thanks goes to David for sitting down to answer these questions. Keep an eye out on their social media as their debut self-titled album looks to be getting the vinyl treatment soon, followed by new material which should be arriving not to far after that.

Bandcamp – Facebook – YouTube 

Interview: Astrodome

One of Portugal’s finest heavy psych export’s Astrodome have been quiet of late. Hopefully it’s a sign that the instrumentalists are hidden away some place, jamming out new music. Let’s find out…..

Q. So how is the Covid-19 lockdown and social isolation working for Astrodome and you as individuals? What restrictions are holding you back right now?

It's been a tough time for everybody. As a band, we had to stop jamming and rehearsing like we normally do and started adopting some other ways of being productive. We also had a show cancelled in our hometown that we were really excited about, since the last time we played there was quite some time ago! As individuals, since we are not full time musicians, we try to work from home as much as we can.

Q. Astrodome have been quiet over the last few months. Does this mean that you are in the studio or in the writing process for album number three?

That's right, we are mostly focused on the writing process of the next album, for this album we decided to not rush things and take our time, maybe for a next year release, we hope...

Q. How do the 4 members go about writing songs? Do you all come to the table with ideas or do you just jam it out for hours, feel the flow and let the music write itself?

We don't have a particular way of writing songs. In the beginning, we definitely used a lot the classic "jam and let's see what happens" formula, but that way of making music can sometimes lead to monotony and repetition, and we are trying to not fall in the mistake of releasing the same album over and over again. As we get more maturity and responsibility as a band, we think it's important to start adopting some other ways of thinking and composing, so, it's not impossible that if someone brings an awesome and fully structured song to the rehearsal or if the drummer creates a cool guitar riff, it won't end up being an Astrodome song! There's no rules...

Q. Do you have “Jam Room” so that you can get the right vibe when recording?

We do have a rehearsing space or if you wanna call it, a jam room. It doesn't have the most inspiring vibe ever since it's located in a basement but it gets the job done... we guess! (haha)

Q. It has been well documented with the mess your previous record label left you with at the release point for Astrodome II. Did you ever get all the legal stuff sorted? And on a better note, do you think we will ever see the record available to buy as it deserves a proper release. 

Oh man! That still haunt us to this day! We have sorted most of the stuff, except for the streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music, we still couldn't get control over that unfortunately. We also still get contacted by people who are not aware of the problem and think that we scammed them. Nightmare...

About the record, we would like to release a new edition of it and the previous one also, maybe at the same time we release of our third album? Maybe sooner? Let's see!

Q. Can you tell us a bit about the cool artwork for “II”?

We started working with talented artist Clara Pessanha on the cover artwork, discussing references for illustration style even before finishing the album. In a certain way at some point the music, artwork and the concept of the album were mutually developed, and they're deeply related with each other.

It represents something like how our perspective on things changes as we move through space and time. We see a mirage of the Sun, which we forget as we get into the landscape. As we move forward, we realize the Sun is there and it is real, so we celebrate it. On the back cover it turns out that, although it is there, the Sun doesn’t hold itself as we thought, and there is a titan raising it. It has to do with subjects of curiosity and illusion, scepticism, belief, devotion, ending with deception, the final surprise revealing that the truth is different from everything we thought before. This is related to what happens throughout the music, like its tonality, or root note changes.

Q. “II” was released, like the first album, on cassette. You must be a fan of the format and enjoy seeing it make a small comeback?

Actually, those releases were just something that happened naturally. We have a friend, Jonas that had just started a small label and booking agency called Ya Ya Yeah! and he wanted to start releasing some bands that he likes on cassette, so he just asked if we wanted to be the first band and "test the waters". We guess that tape and analogue stuff is one of those "fetishes" that every band must have, and a cassette is an awesome piece of memorabilia you can get from a band, so it was a cool thing to do!

Q. Have other labels approached you to re-release “II” or release a new record?

When we announced all those problems with our ex-label, we got contacted by a couple of labels who shared their interest in working with us but none of them actually said something definitive, we also didn't want to rush things and end up being in a bad situation again so we decided to let the things cool down for a while and think about all the possibilities sometime later when we have our next album... 

Q. Can you ever see Astrodome having vocals on a new track or a song that has a verse/chorus verse/chorus structure to it?

We can't say we don’t see that as a possibility. We try to impose ourselves less and less on what we can or should do, and we let things evolve in ways that are not necessarily the same as what we've done so far. We work on every new track based on an idea that is being built, and the structure develops accordingly. Someday an idea may justify having vocals, or having verse / chorus verse / chorus structure, or both. We don't have anything against that kind of structure.

Q. I haven’t had the pleasure of experiencing Astrodome in the live setting yet, what would I expect from one of your shows?

We think our live shows are a completely different thing from our studio albums, at least we try to make it that way and honestly that is the exciting part of seeing a live concert from a band that you like. When we have the right conditions, we try to set up a mood that makes it more like an experience rather than a musical concert, we use lights, drones and sound effects for an uninterrupted show. Hope we can meet you at one of our concerts in the future! 

Q. Once the world starts to get back to normal, will Astrodome be hitting the road again to tour?

Unfortunately we are not full time musicians so we have to carefully manage our time between our jobs, making music, playing live and taking care of the band’s "office" side. Playing live and doing a good show requires a lot of practice and planning and we agreed that while working on the new album, we would play less shows and that's what we are trying to do. We are really focused on making a good album. We might still play here and there but we don't think we will hit the road very soon for another big tour.

Q. With festivals like Sonic Blast hosting some awesome line-ups over the last few years, the psych/stoner music scene in Portugal looks to be getting bigger. What other Portuguese bands should we all be checking out?

Sonic Blast is our favorite festival to play and to be as a fan, and it definitely helped the "scene" getting stronger and we even risk to say that it influenced many new bands being created! About the bands suggestion, it's going to be hard to list them all because there's a lot of amazing stuff happening in the heavy and psych scene, and we are friends with almost everyone! We recommend the "classic" ones like Black Bombaim, 10000 Russos, Solar Corona, Stone Dead, Kilimanjaro, Big Red Panda, Black Wizards, and some of the newer stuff like Jesus the Snake, Fuzzil… There's a lot happening and we could stay here for days listing them all, and that's great!

Bandcamp – Facebook – Instagram  

Review: Sageness "Akme"

Spanish Psych Rock Instrumentalists Sageness are back with six new songs in the form of Akme. If I set the scene for those who may be unfamiliar with them, they have a laid back spacey psych feel to them that mixes a little Elder, some Yawning Man and a sound that is distinctly European sounding but in their own special way that makes me think of surf films like "The Endless Summer". I can’t quite put my finger on it but, when listening, my mind keeps wondering back to watching 90’s surf videos with the slowed down wave barrel’s crashing down towards the camera. Maybe it’s because I’m sat looking at the sea whilst I’m reviewing this, but probably not as a dark grey North of England sea is a long way from Maui. I’d like to think you get the idea of what I’m thinking though.

Opening the record, Andromeda slowly drifts in as the guitar soar and the instruments work together to create a soundscape that has you floating in and out, back and forth. As the songs moves along, the song keeps dropping back to a riff that grows and evolves through the song (think Dead Roots Stirring) building and building until the full riff kicks in for the last 90 seconds and gives that “hairs stand up on the back of your neck” feeling that Colour Haze specialise in.

The Thought starts a bit prog that turns funky with the bassline and drumbeat but still makes me think of space travel with the repetitiveness of it and the way the guitar layers itself over and over. The song then starts to mellow and shows the signs that it’s building up to something, which it does with a couple of big guitar riffs, then it slides away in to more of a jam then its guitar, bass and drums in loud driving harmony for the final 3 minutes. I’m sure the ghost of Dick Dale (RIP) is playing a few riffs in there as well.

Sizigia feels like a song written from a happy place with its softer opening and guitar riffs that are constantly on the upturn. If you sit back and close your eyes, the hooks and riffs will make you think of an ever transcending kaleidoscope with its light and patterns. 

The albums longest song Ephemeral has Sageness really showing their skills and what the band is good at. The song works between parts that remind of Rotor and how they bring a song to the edge, then cymbal crash and the magic seems to happen with one of those riffs. The drums are big throughout and pull everything together again and again whilst the song transcends between the loud and the space like drifting when the song fades away.

Mindbender crawls along more that it floats reminding me of later Colour Haze and then half way through the drums kick in and they dive into a stomping stoner rock workout to finish off.

Hydro closes the record with the feeling of desert rock being played in space that drives along at quiet a fast pace. Building up with cymbals crashing, the bass kicks in to change the songs feel and the guitars begin to soar in and out to close the 43 minutes of a really good album.



This is a really good record that will easily fall in peoples top 20 lists at the end of the year. I have yet to see them live (apart from YouTube) and hope they make it over to the UK one day. 

After its release on digital formats and CD, the vinyl version has been released and it is a thing of beauty that is the perfect complement to the songs they have written. Check it out on the links below.

Bandcamp - Facebook - YouTube