It’s always a welcome sight to see more experimentation on the heavy music scene as without it there would be no expansion into different genres and everyone would be listening to the same handful of Sabbath and Zeppelin albums. Thankfully these two bands have given rise to what seems like an infinite number of sub-genres to the point where artists are experimenting with different types of techniques and instrumentation, transcending boundaries and, in the process, incorporating sounds from all over the musical landscape – outer space included. Enter Fellowship of the Riff, a concert series now in its 9th iteration (January 29) with more to come soon. The series showcases Polish bands from the doom/stoner/sludge genre and gives them carte blanche to take the audience beyond the heavy riffage guidelines originally set out by Tony Iommi & co. The January 29th version was held once again at PAON with a slight twist.
Drum & Bass Like You’ve Never Heard Before
Opening the event was the still officially unnamed duo of Mikołaj Spendel (Lethe, The Awarians, Neon Faces) on 8-string bass, and Adam Partyka (Street Band, Amok) on drum duty. The two put together an improvised instrumental set that jazz orchestras would struggle to replicate as a result of understaffing.
Partyka’s uncanny rhythmic ability allows him to seamlessly jump from one style of music to the next without skipping a beat and seems to utilize every last part of his drumkit complementing Spendel’s already eclectic use of different styles and effects pedals. The choice of an 8-string bass was a wise one as the range of sounds was that much richer thanks to the additional string harmonies; this and his choice of stomp boxes lovingly enhanced the sonic journey. Along the cosmic soundscape we got to hear a bit of call and response mixed in with the two musicians greedily feeding off of each other’s energies: a high-stacked platter of pure and honest musical expression. For what seemed like an improvised set, these guys could have easily held the crowd’s attention for several consecutive days, not counting bathroom breaks of course. Starting with a 70s space rock vibe, the boys slowly morphed into other styles, such as doom jazz, heavy blues, spacey funk as well as some good ol’ double-kickdrum metal with a heavy dollop of stoner rock. The duo played a well-deserved encore ending with a spaced out, ZZ Top-esque heavy groove (plus jaw-dropping drum solo) that could easily have started multiple mosh pits had they played a larger venue. Trippy, spacey, groovy, jammy, heavy and a ton of fun to watch. No word as of yet whether a record or future gigs are planned, but I am most certainly looking forward to either of those things happening, even if it’s just a two-man band. They definitely give a new meaning to less is more.
- Spendel-Partyka PAON 29.01.22
11:23
Space Rock Straight Outta Lower Silesia
Playing second was a highly underrated band hailing from the lesser-visited Lower Silesian area of Poland (Lądek-Zdrój) by the name of Low Fen (Piotr Sinica – drums, Krzysztof Mól – guitar, Wojciech Kuczwalski – guitar, Marek Sutowski – bass). Their purely instrumental set started with a melodic yet spacey number very reminiscent of Elder’s Gold & Silver Sessions but seemed to getting heaver and groovier with every subsequent song, though the soulful melodies and expressive leads never left the mix, resulting in some ferocious yet beautiful jams. Imagine the instrumental low-end grooves of Russian Circles meeting the heavy, lush sounds of Deftones with a sprinkling of space rock and you’ve got yourself some Low Fen. The lack of a vocalist would make most listeners assume they are merely a prog-metal or fuzzed out jam band, which they certainly are at times but their musical range covers much more ground than that. The crowd was also treated to elements of jazz and blues and their use of dynamics indicate they know a thing or two about composition as well as performing live and their 90-minute set was visual and aural proof thereof. Should they roll through your neck of the woods in the coming months, make sure to check them out, otherwise you can watch them go into deep inner space in Lądek-Zdrój on July 29-30 at their Mountain Jam Generator Party Vol. 5 where space exploration among the mountaintops will certainly be taking place for those adventurous souls willing to follow their calling.
Doomers To The Rescue
Fellow space rockers Andromeda Space Ritual were originally scheduled to headline the Fellowship of the Riff, however they had to pull out last minute due to illness. Filling in for them were none other than one half of local fungal doomsters Moonstone, who also put together an improvised drum & bass set despite their lack of sleep. Alternating instruments throughout the set, Wiktor Kozak (bass, drums) and Volodymyr Lyashenko (drums, bass, vocals) brought out their usual slow, heavy and deafeningly loud grooves with some Lemmy-inspired vocals that would make Mr. Kilmister himself proud. The set was a short one for a headliner but thankfully they kept the party rolling and the Fellowship could say it ended on a high note – in more ways than one. Looking forward to even more detuned and fuzzed out surprises when Vol. 10 is announced. Stay tuned!
- Kozak-Lyashenko PAON 29.01.22
16:55
