JJ from The Obelisk
@jjkoczan.bsky.social
I run The Obelisk. https://theobelisk.net
Why now? The Monsignor of Heavy, @jjkoczan.bsky.social has been running through Fu Manchu's discography, and made the point I made above far more expansively and elegantly here: theobelisk.net/obelisk/2026... /11
FRIDAY FULL-LENGTH: Fu Manchu, 'California Crossing'
The early aughts were a weird time to be in a rock and roll band. The landscape had changed and was changing. Sadly, Y2K didn’t wipe out all the computers in the world, and the digital sphere — expand...
theobelisk.net
New Buzzard single and b/side premiere up now thanks to @jjkoczan.bsky.social Hear here: #metalsky theobelisk.net/obelisk/2026...
BUZZARD Premieres New Single "The Bombings Will Continue Until There's Peace"
Massachusetts doom-folk/folk-doom solo outfit Buzzard will release the oldschool-7″-style two-songer The Bombings Will Continue Until There’s Peace b/w Cinderella’s Midnight Surprise this Friday. Cons...
theobelisk.net
@jjkoczan.bsky.social at The Obelisk has the low-down on @novemberfiretheband's new single "Abigail", out May 8th! The Obelisk will be hosting the single's premiere May 7th. Stay tuned for psychedelic sludge and sci-fi madness theobelisk.net/obelisk/2026...
NOVEMBER FIRE to Release New Single "Abigail" May 8
So, I didn’t know it at the time, but in between slating this news story for the November Fire single “Abigail” being released May 8 ahead of the Massachusetts sludge weirdos’ new album, Doom Blues, i...
theobelisk.net
First proper album review for Shapes Unravel over at The Obelisk! JJ at the Obelisk is the only writer who has written a review for every one of our albums. Thanks @jjkoczan.bsky.social ! theobelisk.net/obelisk/2026...
ALBUM REVIEW: Abronia, 'Shapes Unravel'
Resonance and texture are not new elements in the work of Oregonian heavy psychedelic Americana explorers Abronia. Indeed, one could argue their principal stylistic declarations were made nine years a...
theobelisk.net
@jjkoczan.bsky.social at The Obelisk has the scoop on the whole shebang of Deathbird Earth material heading to planet earth over the next couple months on SRA Records @bruce-howze.bsky.social theobelisk.net/obelisk/2026...
DEATHBIRD EARTH: 'Objective Consciousness' Out April 3 & New Collaborations Announced
I was fortunate enough to catch wind of Philly duo Deathbird Earth‘s Mission demo (review here) last year, and was glad I did for the weirdoblast anti-genre take on offer. The band’s debut album, Obje...
theobelisk.net
Bronco Forte (All Hail the Yeti, Batillus members) share 1st single from upcoming album Lightning Scars via @jjkoczan.bsky.social usthemgroup.blogspot.com/2026/01/bron...
Bronco Forte share 1st single from upcoming album (All Hail the Yeti, Batillus members)
Music publicity services.
usthemgroup.blogspot.com
It's a doom folk kind of year, and no finer support than @jjkoczan.bsky.social at The Obelisk is here to tell you so. @buzzarddoomfolk.bsky.social's "Everything Is Not Going To Be Alright" is Short Release of the Year, and "Satiricus Doomicus Americus" is #8 AOTY! theobelisk.net/obelisk/2025...
Liam Neeson is Curzon Dax in a show about Federation diplomacy and political intrigue during the TOS era, and he drinks and carouses and is also brilliant. We see Klingons of the day and Romulans and others, meet a young Ensign Sisko at the end of season 1, and find the gold heart beneath it all.
Rolls the River's debut single featured on @jjkoczan.bsky.social's The Obelisk Quarterly Review! "...a sub-five-minute cosmic reachout, obviously schooled in where it’s coming from — that is to say, one doesn’t krautrock by accident; it is a form to adopt and refine" theobelisk.net/obelisk/2025...
FALL 2025 QUARTERLY REVIEW - Day Four
It’s all over now, I’ve got momentum on my side. This is day four of the Quarterly Review. The first three days have been nothing but a pleasure on my end, putting them together, and with just today a...
theobelisk.net
@jjkoczan.bsky.social at The Obelisk has the skinny on Rolls The River debut track "Love of Driving", out this Friday! Krautrock? Check. Psych? Check. Name that river? 🕵️ theobelisk.net/obelisk/2025...
ROLLS THE RIVER to Release Debut Single "Love of Driving" Nov. 7
One might recognize Dan Kirwan from noisy New Jersey heavy rockers Pyre Fyre, and I’m pretty sure Victor Marinelli was in ’90s-era alt-rockers Half Hour to Go, but Rolls the River would seem to have l...
theobelisk.net
EXCLUSIVE PREMIERE! ABANAMAT's new album is streaming now, only on The Obelisk thanks to @jjkoczan.bsky.social "Abominat" is out this Friday on Interstellar Smoke Records theobelisk.net/obelisk/2025...
REVIEW & FULL ALBUM STREAM: Abanamat, 'Abominat'
Heavy psych/prog rockers Abanamat release their second album, Abominat, on Oct. 17 through Interstellar Smoke Records. It is the Berlin four-piece’s follow-up to a well-received 2023 self-titled debut...
theobelisk.net
@jjkoczan.bsky.social at The Obelisk has the dirt on the new ABANAMAT album, out October 17 on Interstellar Smoke Records! "...a progressive twist on heavy exploration...sinewy Earthless twisting" theobelisk.net/obelisk/2025...
ABANAMAT Announce 'Abominat' Out Oct. 17
There was some Bandcampy underground buzz around Abanamat‘s 2023 self-titled debut (review here), and where traditionally that would give momentum to a band’s next release — two years isn’t that long,...
theobelisk.net
@jjkoczan.bsky.social shares the details on the upcoming release of Wolvennest... Read the full article here: theobelisk.net/obelisk/2025... @consouling.bsky.social #musicpr #publicrelations #DisciplinePR
Wolvennest to Release Procession 2LP Oct. 17; "Décharné" Streaming | The Obelisk
The new single from Wolvennest, who are no strangers either to subtlety or texture, sonically-speaking, doesn’t hit you all at once and doesn’t give away its linear build, but it’s kind of like flood ...
theobelisk.net
There's a cool blog feature on Ampwall, so I just posted a bunch of words about the song "Doom Folk Fury," which is streaming at the Obelisk now. So come follow Buzzard on Ampwall (link here) and follow the Obelisk (link in comments) @jjkoczan.bsky.social @ampwall.com ampwall.com/a/buzzarddoo...
Buzzard's Ruminations | Buzzard (Doom Folk Metal)
News, thoughts, and updates | Buzzard (Doom Folk Metal)
ampwall.com
Thanks to @jjkoczan.bsky.social at The Obelisk for sharing the scoop on the new @november-fire.bsky.social two-songer! "... swirling darksludge... Imagine you’re at a gig and somebody hands you this tape. Right on." Nuff said. "2025" drops September 19th theobelisk.net/obelisk/2025...
NOVEMBER FIRE to Release New Single '2025' Sept. 19
When I lived in New England, the fires in November were from people burning leaves in metal drums in their back yards. It smelled nice and felt like something people where we were in Massachusetts had...
theobelisk.net
Excited to share new music soon, but in the meantime here are some words of mine courtesy of the Obelisk Questionnaire and @jjkoczan.bsky.social theobelisk.net/obelisk/2025...
THE OBELISK QUESTIONNAIRE: Christopher Thomas Elliott of Buzzard
The Obelisk Questionnaire is a series of open questions intended to give the answerer an opportunity to explore these ideas and stories from their life as deeply as they choose. Answers can be short o...
theobelisk.net
"Doomsday Profit is less a vision of a better future than a glimpse of the cold realities under the microplastic’ed sheen of today." Hugest thanks to @jjkoczan.bsky.social for a detailed & thoughtful album review, as well as a premiere of the video for "Sin Eater"! theobelisk.net/obelisk/2025...
VIDEO PREMIERE: Doomsday Profit, "Sin Eater"
North Carolinian sludge metallers Doomsday Profit will release their second, self-titled album on Sept. 19. That’s just under a month away, but as they premiere the video for “Sin Eater” below, they n...
theobelisk.net
Thanks @jjkoczan.bsky.social for the thoughts on "Mount Din," a new song with lyric video, available on the Sixth Configuration from Santa Sangre. Eventually the song will be on streaming or vinyl bonus track or something. #metalsky #doommetal #lyricvideo #doommetalsky theobelisk.net/obelisk/2025...
VIDEO: Buzzard, "Fever Breaks"
“Mount Din” is the second new track from Massachusetts solo outfit Buzzard in as many months, and like “Fever Breaks” (posted here), it’s a heavied-up take on some of the ideas that songwriter/sole-de...
theobelisk.net
When public media disappears, so do the stories that bring us together. With federal funding eliminated, millions may lose their last trusted source of news and connection. If that matters to you, now’s the time to act. Donate: n.pr/458sOhq
In a different timeline, I have preorders in on all of these.
Nacelle Unveils Waves 3 and 4 of Planned STAR TREK Action Figures, Including the Complete Original Series Crew and More!
The Nacelle Company has announced their next two waves of STAR TREK action figures — including the full Original Series crew, Captain Proton, Ben Sisko, "Sub Rosa" Crusher, and more!
blog.trekcore.com
The thing about Ozzy dying is that it's a tragedy and he had such an amazing life and his work impacted so many people and Donald Trump is in the Epstein files.
Mourning the loss of metal's greatest frontman. theobelisk.net/obelisk/2025...
R.I.P. Ozzy Osbourne, 1948-2025
The Godfather of Heavy Metal, Ozzy Osbourne, has passed away at the age of 76. His family confirmed his death in a statement on the BBC: “It is with more sadness than mere words can convey that we hav...
theobelisk.net
@jjkoczan.bsky.social at The Obelisk has the scoop on the new Tar Pit album and its devilish doom set to arrive Aug 1st on Transylvanian Recordings! The first single & music video "Coven Vespers" lands this Thursday. Invoke the rites and ready the sacrifices theobelisk.net/obelisk/2025...
TAR PIT to Release 'Scrying the Angel Gate' Aug. 1
The three-and-a-half-minute “Coven Vespers” is the first single to come from Tar Pit‘s new album, Scrying the Angel Gate, and I thought it was going to be streaming yesterday but can’t find it. Noneth...
theobelisk.net
Thanks @jjkoczan.bsky.social for the reflections and insights regarding Buzzard generally and specifically "Fever Breaks," which is available exclusively here for purchase to benefit Palestinians: songsofresistance.bandcamp.com/album/songs-... #metalsky #protestsongs theobelisk.net/obelisk/2025...
VIDEO: Buzzard, "Fever Breaks"
With lines like “From the cells of Louisiana to El Salvador/Gilded techno robber barons screw the working poor,” and, “You angry fools in Magastan get the future you deserve,” the question becomes whe...
theobelisk.net
RELEASE DAY! Psalm's new EP "In Darkness... Have Mercy" is out now and streaming everywhere. Dig it and be doomed: theobelisk.net/obelisk/2025...
PSALM Premiere 'In Darkness... Have Mercy' EP in Full; Out Tomorrow
Upstart doom rockers Psalm present their second EP, In Darkness… Have Mercy, tomorrow, July 15. Based in Las Vegas (and maybe also California?), the three-piece of bassist/vocalist Jon “Fro” Torres, g...
theobelisk.net
I did a Quarterly Review this week, which is this silly thing where I take 50 releases and break it down to writing about 10 per day, Monday to Friday, so it all gets covered. If you check any of it out, I hope you find something you like. Thanks. theobelisk.net/obelisk/tag/...
Summer 2025 Quarterly Review Archives - The Obelisk
theobelisk.net
Bifter's "First Impressions of Hell" featured on @jjkoczan.bsky.social's The Obelisk's Summer Quarterly Review! "...a torrential, ferocious offering that hits you on multiple levels before you even realize what’s happened" theobelisk.net/obelisk/2025...
SUMMER 2025 QUARTERLY REVIEW: Day 3
Day three marks the halfway point of this Quarterly Review, unless I decide to sneak in an extra day next Monday. We’ll see on that, but things are moving pretty well so far, so I might just be conten...
theobelisk.net
in this house of mourning featured on The Obelisk, where @jjkoczan.bsky.social will be hosting an exclusive premiere of the album's first single "Scent" this Friday! The new album "Enlèvement" drops Aug 8, a punishing vision of extreme metal, death doom, and more theobelisk.net/obelisk/2025...
IN THIS HOUSE OF MOURNING to Release 'Enlevement' Aug. 8
Wrought in desolation and extremity of purpose, In This House of Mourning‘s Enlèvement will be released on Aug. 8. The band — who stylize their name all-lowercase, because when the music is so dark do...
theobelisk.net
We've been coming to the same party for 25 years and in most ways is that depressing. Not in this way though. theobelisk.net/obelisk/2025...
SOLACE Mark 25 Years of 'Further' w/ New Remaster
Aug. 22 is the release date here, but we’re talking about a record that came out 25 years ago, so I’m not sure how precise we need to be. Further (discussed here), counterintuitive to its title, was t...
theobelisk.net
