OBELYSKKH

Called out as the „Phantom Of German Doom“ because of their self-proclaimed abstinence from record releases, the German OBELYSKKH have been shipping themselves for several years around the cliffs of ‘normal business’. If you dig into the history of this band hailing from the Fürth/ Nürnberg area it becomes obvious that something outstanding in approach and result must be happening here. Founded in 2008 as a project to work on a few ideas of guitarist Torsten (formerly of THE WALRUZ and VS. THE STILLBORN-MINDED fame) with his friend Adi it was never planned to become a full operating band. But you know, such an origin sometimes intends to become the hotbed for something different. At least it did here. Soon the two-piece got joined by Steffen of seminal German Stoner Rock stalwarts DESERT SUN, who played bass but switched to the drumkit after they couldn’t find a dedicated drummer. The vacant bass position was taken by the multiinstrumentalist David, who literally was recruited in a disco. And so history goes. The band became one, changed their mind and released an album called “Mount Nysa” in 2011, fully self-recorded and self-produced on the now defunct German label Droehnhaus. The response exceeded all expectations and the record sold out within less than 3 weeks. And this wasn’t the only surprise in an ever shrinking market for record sales – another one was a viral impact that almost seems like a made up story but it’s actually the truth: based on a 2-minutes live footage cut on Youtube the band’s inbox literally got stormed by promoters from Germany and other European countries and soon after they found themselves on the road playing clubs and festivals in sheer unbelievable amounts. And they didn’t disappoint. Slaying with a monstrous amount of heaviness and unbearable feel for sonic urgency OBELYSKKH have won over more and more fans and most importantly, us here at Exile On Mainstream as well. After the groundbreaking 3rd album ‘Hymn To Pan’’ Franconian Doomsters OBELYSKKH found themselves in an emotional turmoil involving different private focusses and even a line up change with bass player Dirty Dave leaving and being replaced by Seb Duster. All these ups and downs alongside the quite massive honesty and emotionality in OBELYSKKHs routines lead to a monstrous pressure which is sonically channeled into this album. You can hear it: ‘The Providence’ lives by pressure, groove and darkness – the album sees OBELYSKKH leaving huge parts of their former approach behind. Less Psychedelic, more groove. No Stoner Rock but Doom par excellence – all shaped into a crushing maelstrom of utter heaviness. The Providence was again recorded and mixed by Andy Naucke and mastered by the mighty Brad Boatright (Sleep, Tragedy, High On Fire, From Ashes Rise, Integrity among many others). The album is released on CD, digital and 2LP, containing 3 sides. Side D contains an etching. Order "The PROVIDENCE" LP/CD/DIGITAL via http://www.mainstreamrecords.de