“Crushing” is one of Sons Of Otis front-man Ken Baluke’s favourite adjectives. And, appropriately it applies to OX, which finds him going it alone, for his ambient drone project. In the tradition of acts like Sunn or their inspiration Earth, Ox is a feedback and effects drenched slo-mo mind-fuck. Picture looking waaaaay up at Ken, the size of Paul Bunyon, wielding an entirely different breed of axe, strung with hydro wires. His eyelids drooping and benumbed by pills, he plugs into the TARDIS…and waits, as the space effects wash over you, then, when they finally come, the riffs go right through you. No drums, no bass, no vocals, just some trippy effects and glacially slow riffs. This is ten inches of vinyl that packs a powerfully anesthetising wallop. Do not operate any heavy equipment under its influence. (Matt McMillan, Exclaim! magazine, 2003)
REVIEWS:
OX Movements (Kult Of Nihilow) 10" vinyl
Another amazing release from Finland's Kult Of Nihilow label (who brought us the Dot [.] 10" elsewhere on this list), this time from Ox, otherwise known as Ken from Canada's Sons Of Otis. Movements finds Ken, the axeman responsible for some of the heaviest stoner doom we've ever heard, taking his guitar playing to the farthest reaches of metal, ending up in some seriously grim and glacial territory, alongside minimal doom brethren Earth and Sunn 0))), In fact, if one didn't know better, on first listen, one could certainly be forgiven for thinking this was indeed a record by one of those slow motion doom legends. But that would be selling Ox a little short. Imagine Earth at their most ambient, then smooth off all the rough edges, until distorted guitars become slowly shifting tectonic plates, a glacial drone, dense with lumbering, rumbling tones. Doomy and dark, beautiful and serene.
Seriously limited to only 320 copies, of which we have 12, and we will NOT be able to get more. Beautifully packaged in thick black sleeve printed with metalllic silver ink. (Aquarius records)
OX- Movements
This is a limited edition vinyl release on Finland’s Kult Of Nihilow Records, responsible for releasing some of the heaviest sludge on the planet (Dot (.) and Fleshpress to name a few). Aptly titled “Movements”, this is 3 gargantuan tracks of pure, unadulterated ambient drone on thick wax from Sons Of Otis’ guitar guru Ken Baluke.
Armed only with a modest collection of pedals and a few ‘suped up amps, Ken’s guitar is the focus on this recording, easily creating a mountain of sound that could rival any 3 piece. Remember Ken is no slouch when it comes to guitar brilliance. He’s actually been dabbling in this style for quite some time. Most people will recognize some of the sounds from Otis’ past works, but they will also be floored by this new, living breathing gargoyle that is “Movements”
The closest thing to this recording would be Temple Ball’s “The Mole”, one of the most ambitious feedback drone recordings I’ve ever heard. The soundscapes created here are unprecedented, save for fellow feedback pioneers Sunn 0))) and Earth, and more recently, (Porn) The Men Of on “Experiments in Feedback”, or even Mike Patton’s “Adult Themes for Voice” for that matter. Ken, along with these other artists have realized that sometimes the only way to maximize your artistic vision is to do it with minimal distractions – or in this case, go it alone.
Each track is an oscillating beast, ripe with imploding doom guitar riffs, accentuated by Ken’s cold, fearsome tone and the fact that this could easily be the movie score for one of the scariest movies you have ever seen.
1. Movement 1 2. Movement 2 3. Movement 3
kult of nihilow p.o.box 142 15141 Lahti Finland (Nick Muc- Stonerrockchick.com)
OX - "MOVEMENTS"
[10" - Kult of Nihilow Records ]
OX is Ken from Sons of Otis long-awaited solo "ambient space drone" side-project. The record is an elegantly presented 10" disc limited to 300 copies.
In a nutshell, OX does what it says on the tin: it's ambient, a bit spacey in places and really droney. I firstly listened to this and wondered why the experience only lasted about 17 minutes instead of the advertised 23. No matter, several listens later and I was writing my review...
...a few days later, after some musing on the lack of time correlation, it transpired I'd just written a review based on listening to the record at 45rpm instead of 33rpm.
So, armed with disc and a correctly set turntable, I re-listened to it a few times and decided that my original review would do since it seems to make no real difference what speed you listen to OX at.
Summing up:
If you like Earth, Sunn and other drone-athons, you'll probably like this
If you don't like the above bands, you'll hate this
If you're on downers, it might make some sense
If you're not, you'll probably wish you were
Can I recommend it? It's honestly hard to say given that it's 23 minutes of about 6 chord changes. It's not really about the music, more the vibe. If you dig the vibe this sort of stuff can lead to, you'll dig the record. Otherwise, it'll sound like Ken tuning up under the influence of serious tranquilisers. (alligator descartes- Roadburn)
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