Dreams of Consciousness

Here is the 78th installment of the Dreams of Consciousness podcast, featuring the second part of an interview with Jason Göbel of Cynic, Portal, and Gordian Knot. [Listen to part one here.] In the second part of my interview with Jason, we discuss the origins of the post-Cynic project Portal, and his reunion with Cynic bassist Sean Malone for Gordian Knot's second album. I also asked Jason about...

Here is the 77th installment of the Dreams of Consciousness podcast, featuring the first part of an interview with Jason Göbel of Cynic, Portal, and Gordian Knot. Thanks to my friend Alex (of In Dark Purity zine infamy), I was made aware to the fact that Jason Göbel, guitarist of Cynic (along with the Cynic-spin off projects Portal and Gordian Knot) was travelling through South East Asia. I've bee...

Here is the 76th installment of the Dreams of Consciousness podcast, featuring an interview with Andrew Collett and Ben Claxton of Wellington, New Zealand-based progressive death metal band Grey Skies Over Rapture. Grey Skies Over Rapture kicked off the third and final night of Wellington's Symbiotic Metal Fest, and were the last band I interviewed. Unfortunately, due to a scheduling SNAFU, I miss...

Here is the 75th installment of the Dreams of Consciousness podcast, featuring an interview with Seth Jackson and Kris Gillan of Wellington, New Zealand-based death metal band Scorn of Creation. Though they draw from a wide spectrum of influences, both classic and modern, Scorn of Creation can best be described as simply "death metal". Though they headlined the third and final night of the Symbiot...

Here is the 74th installment of the Dreams of Consciousness podcast, featuring an interview with Beau Barnes of Wanganui, New Zealand-based death metal band Disemboweling The Limbless. Of the bands that played the second night of the Symbiotic Metal Fest, one that stood out to me was the slamming death metal outfit Disemboweling The Limbless. Their enthusiasm for the fest was infectious, and led t...

Here is the 73rd installment of the Dreams of Consciousness podcast, featuring an interview with Christchurch, New Zealand-based death metal band Organectomy. Perhaps the most well-known band that I spoke with during my trip to Wellington was Organectomy. They're well known to fans of slamming death metal around the world, thanks in part to the help of Unique Leader Records, who released their las...

Here is the 72nd installment of the Dreams of Consciousness podcast, featuring an interview with New Zealand black metal band Vargafrost. This past October, Nelson's Vargafrost headlined the first night of the Symbiotic Metal Fest in Wellington, New Zealand. Epic and filled with references to Norse mythology, their music brings immediate comparisons to Bathory's seminal "viking" period - perhaps o...

Here is the 71st installment of the Dreams of Consciousness podcast, featuring an interview with Christchurch, New Zealand black metal band Men An Tol. This past October, I made my second visit to New Zealand - a country that I'm slightly obsessed with, due to it having one of the more interesting and overlooked music scenes in the world. I planned my trip to Wellington to coincide with the Symbio...

Here is the 70th installment of the Dreams of Consciousness podcast, featuring an interview with Bryan Tabuteau, founder and curator of the Noise. Drone. Repeat experimental music series in Wellington, New Zealand. My second trip to New Zealand was filled with new musical discoveries. Though I was in Wellington for a different music fest, my visit coincided with a Noise. Drone. Repeat night- part...

Here is the 69th installment of the Dreams of Consciousness podcast, featuring an interview with Brad Gallen of New Zealand experimental drone project Sol Mortvvs. Evil and foreboding, Sol Mortvvs is an experimental project that heshers can embrace. Bathed in red light and accompanied by skulls and candles, a Sol Mortvvs performance makes a dark ritual out of ambient drone music. I caught up with...

Here is the 68th installment of the Dreams of Consciousness podcast, featuring an interview with Palm from Osaka, Japan. I haven't interviewed many Japanese bands for the blog; as much as I love their music, the language barrier often proves to be an insurmountable challenge, making interviews impractical. Luckily, Osaka's Palm has a natural translator in bassist Will de Monchaux, an Australian tr...

Here is the 67th installment of the Dreams of Consciousness podcast, featuring an interview with Lucija Ivšić, Anja Tkalec, and Goran Nježić of Croatian punk trio Punčke. Coming from the town of Vinkovci in the Eastern part of Croatia, Punčke are quite unlike any band that's appeared on this blog. Co-founded by vocalist/guitarist Lucija Ivšić when she was still a teenager, the band mix the raw ene...

Here is the 66th installment of the Dreams of Consciousness podcast, featuring an interview with Extreme Post Op Power Grind band, Scrotal Vice. True story: I spent more than 20 minutes staring at Scrotal Vice's logo before I managed to decipher the band's name. [Blame warm weather and a lot of loose skin.] Their logo isn't the only thing baffling about the band; though originating from Sydney, Au...

We're like the B-side of every good record," is the self-deprecating way Genaracion Suicida describe themselves. A throwback to the genre's earliest years, the band draw from the raw simplicity of Seventies punk, as well as their own Latin heritage. I caught up with the band downstairs from Rumah Api on the first night of their South East Asian tour. We spoke about their recent South East Asian to...

Here is the 64th installment of the Dreams of Consciousness podcast, featuring an interview with Singapore-based thrashers Tormentress. Tormentress are no strangers to this podcast, having contributed a track way back in 2015. In addition, their bassist Gwen was a part of my interview with Reyerta a few months back. But this is the first time I actually met the whole band - and since they made the...

Here is the 63rd installment of the Dreams of Consciousness podcast, featuring an interview with Worcester thrashers High Command. I discovered High Command on my most recent NY trip, when they shared a bill with Black Tusk and Whores at Saint Vitus Bar in Brooklyn. They were the odd men out that night, with their fast thrash standing in stark contrast to the slower, more "rock" centric bands that...

Here is the 62nd installment of the Dreams of Consciousness podcast, featuring an interview with J.R. Fritsch of Seratus Ribu Records. James Russell Fritsch and I have been in the same room several times in the last 20 years without knowing it. As the projectionist for Meatjack, he was responsible for the visuals that played during the band's performances. I saw Meatjack regularly during my colleg...

Here is the 61st installment of the Dreams of Consciousness podcast, featuring part two of an interview with Brian Daniloski and Ann Everton of Darsombra. In part two of my interview with Darsombra, we discuss the role of costumes and characters in the band's live performances, as well as the spiritual and religious aspects of their music. I also reveal the secret origin of Dreams of Consciousness...

Here is the 60th installment of the Dreams of Consciousness podcast, featuring part one of an interview with Brian Daniloski and Ann Everton of Darsombra. I've been watching Brian Daniloski perform since the turn of the millennium. His previous band Meatjack played CBGBs regularly, and shared the stage with the likes of Grief and Today is the Day while representing the most forward thinking edge o...

Here is the 59th installment of the Dreams of Consciousness podcast, featuring an interview with Parisian punk rockers Youth Avoiders. "Eighties inspired hardcore punk without distortion played as fast as we can." That's how the Paris-based Youth Avoiders describe their sound. I caught up with the band before their headlining Not A Fest set at Rumah Api. We talked about their origins, their South...

Here is the 58th installment of the Dreams of Consciousness podcast, featuring an interview with Seoul-based power violence band Mymanmike. Mymanmike is as international as it gets: Based in South Korea but with 2 expats in the line up (guitarist/vocalist Matt is American and drummer J.P. is French, with vocalist/bassist Sunwoon rounding out the trio), the band has played over 100 shows throughout...

Here is the 57th instalment of the Dreams of Consciousness podcast, featuring an interview with Rasyid Juraimi of Singaporean stoner rockers Marijannah. I caught up with Rasyid when Marijannah played Rumah Api, on the same night that I interviewed Australian psychedelic metal band Potion (with whom Marijannah were touring). Though I've seen him play a number of times, and have actually interviewed...

Here is the 56th instalment of the Dreams of Consciousness podcast, featuring an interview with Sydney psychedelic metal band Potion. I had never heard of Potion prior to the day they were scheduled to play Rumah Api; but the Sleep/Electric Wizard-esque doom I heard on their Bandcamp page convinced me that they were well worth checking out. Besides, since they made it all the way from Australia to...

Here is the 55th instalment of the Dreams of Consciousness podcast, featuring an interview with Ryan Quarrington, Matthew DeSisto, and Pat Callaghan of Adelaide metal band Shatter Brain. Shatter Brain opened for Ratos de Porao at their (somewhat troubled) gig in Kuala Lumpur. Since RDP's flight was severely delayed and we all had time to kill, I approached the guys about doing an interview. We tal...

Here is the 54th installment of the Dreams of Consciousness podcast, featuring an interview with Boka and Jão of Brazilian hardcore legends Ratos de Porão. As soon as it was announced that R.D.P. were playing Kuala Lumpur, I knew I'd have to get them on the podcast. It was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to interview a legendary band - a band that influenced the bands I grew up on, and who I probably...