Dreams of Consciousness

In this addendum to Episode 100, I talked to Paul Ryan about how he ended up revisiting his pre-Origin bands Necrotomy and Thee Abomination for the compilation album Abiogenesis - A Coming Into Existence, as well as the transformative event that led to Origin's unique cosmic perspective. TRACKLIST: Necrotomy - "Mind Asylum" Necrotomy - "Insanity" Thee Abomination - "Murderer" taken from the compil...

Here's the 100th installment of the Dreams of Consciousness podcast, featuring an interview with Paul Ryan of Origin. Origin is near and dear to this writer's heart - with their self-titled debut, they were part of a wave of bands who helped re-establish death metal's dominance, but their staccato style and cosmic themes established them as a band that was not content to simply rehash the past. I...

Here is the 99th installment of the Dreams of Consciousness podcast, featuring an interview with Dylan Carlson of Earth. Earth's influence on metal can't be overstated. From Nadja to Sabazius, any band that takes heavy music to a new (s)low lives in the shadow of Earth's seminal early albums. I spoke to Dylan Carlson about the creation and intentions behind Earth's ninth album, Full Upon Her Burni...

Here is the 98th installment of the Dreams of Consciousness podcast, featuring an interview with Matt Harvey of Exhumed. bit.ly/335mXrm My history with Exhumed goes back almost 20 years, to the release of their second album Slaughtercult. Along with Nasum, Soilent Green, and other Relapse Records signees of the late Nineties, the band can be credited with grindcore's resurgence at the turn of the...

Here is a bonus episode of the Dreams of Consciousness podcast, featuring my conversation with Richard Knox about his band Glissando. When I spoke to Richard Knox a week ago, I made it a point to ask about his project Glissando; not only were they the first band to be released on Gizeh Records, but they were my introduction to both his label and ambient/experimental music in general. However, sinc...

Here is the 97th installment of the Dreams of Consciousness podcast, featuring an interview with Richard Knox of Gizeh Records, A-Sun Amissa, Glissando, and Shield Patterns. bit.ly/335mXrm Richard Knox should be no stranger to readers of this blog; his bands (particularly Glissando) have been featured regularly, and his record label Gizeh has been one of my entry points into the world of drone, am...

Here is the 96th installment of the Dreams of Consciousness podcast, featuring an interview with Patrik Wirén of Misery Loves Co. bit.ly/335mXrm Misery Loves. Co. are a band that are near and dear to my heart. I heard their self-titled debut in high school, and spent countless hours with its unique blend of Swedish metal and industrial. Since the band recently re-emerged after a long hiatus, I rea...

Here is the 95th installment of the Dreams of Consciousness podcast, featuring an interview with Toby Driver of Kayo Dot, Vaura, and maudlin of the Well. "Experimental", "progressive" and "avant-garde" are the ways Toby Driver's music is usually described. With his bands Kayo Dot and maudlin of the Well - as well as the music he's released under his own name - the prolific songwriter has crossed b...

Here is the 94th installment of the Dreams of Consciousness podcast, featuring the second part of my conversation with Kevin Whitley of Cherubs. In the second half of my interview with Kevin, we go over the band's recent releases, and have an in-depth discussion on the writing and recording of their new album Immaculada High. We also discuss Cherubs' present audience, how Cherubs ended up on Relap...

Here is the 93rd installment of the Dreams of Consciousness podcast, featuring the first part of my conversation with Kevin Whitley of Cherubs. Cherubs from Austin, TX are a cult band in the annals of noise rock; as described by vocalist/guitarist Kevin Whitley, their sound is a mix of "sweet and salty" parts - as good a way as any to describe their uncomfortable mix of unorthodox time signatures,...

Here is a bonus episode, featuring a 2012 interview with Filipino death metal O.G.s Brimstone In Fire. TRACKLIST: Putrescence Glimpse Of A Future War In My Thoughts Winter All songs taken from the 2012 "Live+" EP.

Here is the 92nd installment of the Dreams of Consciousness podcast, featuring an interview with Mike Score of seminal metallic hardcore band All Out War. My history with All Out War goes back to the fall of 1997, when I saw the band performing at a Sunday matinee at CBGB's. I purchased their first album Truth In The Age Of Lies soon after. Their style owed as much to German thrash as it did New Y...

Here is the 91st installment of the Dreams of Consciousness podcast, featuring an interview with Aidan Baker. Aidan Baker is a prominent figure within the world of experimental/ambient music, and his band Nadja is one of the most recognizable proponents of drone metal. Since Nadja was one of my entry points into drone, I reached out to Aidan to see if he was interested in being interviewed for thi...

Here is the 90th installment of the Dreams of Consciousness podcast, featuring an interview with Dome Diego of Italian death metal band Fulci. Based in the southern Italian city of Caserta, Fulci combine two things near and dear to my heart - death metal and horror movies. The band was created in tribute to the master of Italian horror, Lucio Fulci, and use his films as inspiration for their pit-f...

Here is the 89th installment of the Dreams of Consciousness podcast, featuring an interview with Doug Brown, director of the documentary Slave To The Grind: A Film About Grindcore. When I interviewed Richard Hoak of Total Fucking Destruction for my last podcast, he encouraged me to get in touch with Doug Brown, the director of the grindcore documentary Slave To The Grind. I've been hearing about t...

Here is the 88th installment of the Dreams of Consciousness podcast, featuring an interview with Richard Hoak of Total Fucking Destruction, Brutal Truth, and Peacemaker. Richard Hoak should be no stranger to readers of this blog - as drummer for both Total Fucking Destruction and Brutal Truth, he's been a major part of the history of grindcore, as well as my own history with the genre. Richard was...

Here is the 87th installment of the Dreams of Consciousness podcast, featuring an interview with Skyler Preston, who performs as Castration Anxiety.

Here is the 86th installment of the Dreams of Consciousness podcast, featuring an interview with Suaka. Suaka are a New York band with deep roots in South East Asia, with vocalist/guitarist Rully Roots Rochmat and bassist Patrick Salomo both being originally from Indonesia; drummer John Meredith completes the line-up, as well as recording and releasing the band's albums. I caught up with Suaka whe...

Here is the 85th installment of the Dreams of Consciousness podcast, featuring an interview with Cult Leader from Salt Lake City, Utah. I caught up with Cult Leader before their set at Rumah Api. We talked about how their South East Asia tour came about, their writing process, and the recording of their last album A Patient Man. We also spent some time discussing the past reputation of the Salt La...

This is the 84th installment of the Dreams of Consciousness podcast. I recorded this interview back in September of 2015, a few weeks after the raid at Rumah Api (wherein over 100 people were arrested for being at a punk rock show the night before the Bersih 4.0 rally). Originally my plan was to transcribe the interview, post it, and share it with my friends at the PEN American Center. It was a gr...

Here is the 83rd installment of the Dreams of Consciousness podcast, featuring an interview with Sea of Bones from 2015. Back in 2015, I interviewed Sea of Bones before their set at the Acheron in Brooklyn. I had intended to transcribe the interview and post it that same month; but transcribing interviews (especially with multiple participants) is extremely tedious, and as the months drew on, it b...

Here is the 82nd installment of the Dreams of Consciousness podcast, featuring an interview with Execution from Melbourne, Australia. Execution played Not A Fest 38 on the same night as No Future and Territory; this was the third of three interviews I conducted that night. I sat down with the band downstairs from Rumah Api before they played their set. We talked about about how the band got togeth...

Here is the 81st installment of the Dreams of Consciousness podcast, featuring an interview with Michael Larkins and Luke Eller of Territory from Perth, Australia. I caught up with the band the same night I saw No Future and Execution. We talked about their previous experiences in playing Malaysia, the hardcore scene in Perth, as well as their unique approach to blending hardcore with heavier infl...

Here is the 80th installment of the Dreams of Consciousness podcast, featuring an interview with Chris and Ben of No Future from Perth, Australia. I caught up with No Future when they played the 38th installment of Not A Fest at Rumah Api. It was the first show I'd been to in 2019. I spoke with guitarist Ben and bassist Chris about the band's history and the DIY scene in Perth, Australia. I also a...

Here is the 79th installment of the Dreams of Consciousness podcast, featuring an interview with Fear The Setting Sun from 2015. Back in 2015, I recorded an interview with Brisbane-based post metal band Fear The Setting Sun. I had planned on transcribing and posting the interview soon after our conversation - but I under-estimated how tedious transcribing interviews are, and over-estimated my abil...