Asteroid

[Kiwi_Zep_Fan87]

Well, I am always on the look out for new music. I after finally learning what "stoner rock" was all about, pretty much stumbled upon this pretty incredible indie band from Örebro, Sweden.

They bare a rather high similarity to bands like "Graveyard" and "Radio Moscow" and being a fan of those bands, I decided to give these guys a shot. They go by the name "Asteroid". I, last week, took the plunge and purchased both their "Self Titled" debut album (released in 2007) and their second album, II (released in 2010).

IMHO, II is one of the most haunting albums, I have had the pleasure of listening to in a while (it's my favourite release for the year, 2010), and you'll pretty much see why when you check out some of the songs in this very thread!

Here is a rather interesting write up about them and their second album, simply known as II, which was released on the 22nd of January, 2010 (courtesy of last.fm) :

The history of Asteroid is a psychedelic space saga, timeless and endless, with no upside or downside, but with a beautiful ending. The band, formed during the winter of 2003, has undertaken a long musical journey and developed a sound well fit to the trio constellation. After being formed as a regular stoner band, it didnt take long before new grounds were conquered. Since then, influences have been collected from blues and British 70s classic rock, but also from Swedish traditional folk music. Asteroid is now back with their second album, called simply II. It is a more evolved but also relaxed and groovy follow up to their highly acclaimed debut album S/T. This time they locked themselves up in a studio deep in the forest, trying to capture the raw and naked sound and feeling in their music. You will hear a tighter, heavier, but also darker Asteroid. You will still recognize the characteristic energy in the sound and feel the joy delivered by the musicians. This record is like transporting yourself back to the psychedelic woods of Sweden, but unlike other 70s influences bands this is also fresh and unique on its own.

Now, here are some songs from Asteroid's second album "II" which any rock fan should check out :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHmqOS2Jm58

[Kiwi_Zep_Fan87]

More songs from the album "II" :

[Kiwi_Zep_Fan87]

One more track from their album "II"

And here are some of my absolute favourite tracks from their self-titled debut album :

There is a bit of a spelling error in the first vid. The song is called "The Great Unknown".

[Kiwi_Zep_Fan87]

More songs from their S/T debut album :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfeqgSgK2ok&feature=player_embedded

Well, if you like what you hear, you can check out their official myspace page to sample more of their music :

http://www.myspace.com/asteroidband

[Kiwi_Zep_Fan87]

Oh and they also did a combined project with another band called "Blowback". The album is called "Asteroid and Blowback" and it was released in 2007. These are my favourite tracks from the album :

Another song to look out for is "Supernova" which I couldn't find on youtube but can be found on Asteroid's official myspace page. I posted the link earlier.

[Emily008]

Hi Kiwi_Zep! You've got great taste there! Asteroid is the only band which I actually "get" from my son's rather strange music tastes! He is into bands like Green Day, Red Hot Chillie Peppers, Kings of Leon and Muse. I just don't know what to do with him sometimes! I am a 40 year old mom who loves 70's stuff and who loves to explore indie bands too! I think I'll check out Graveyard and Radio Moscow too. The reason why I like Asteroid is the fact that they remind me of Black Sabbath!

Believe it or not, I forgot about Asteroid until I saw your thread! Thanks for starting one! It's rather unfortunate that these guys are quite underrated! Anyway, I think I'll purchase II on Monday or something...hopefully, the record shop near my house still stocks Asteroid! Wait till I tell my son! He's getting side-tracked by bands like Kings of Leon and forgets the genuinely good stuff!

Anyway, thanks again Kiwi_Zep! I sampled some of the tracks from II and I love it! I am feeling rather excited about what's soon to be my latest buy!

[Kiwi_Zep_Fan87]

^ Hi Emily! I am so glad you love Asteroid too! LOL! I truly wish my mom was like you though! She knows absolutely nothing about this stuff. Your son is lucky to have someone like you to give him a bit of "musical education" My mom is more of an ABBA, The Carpenters, The Seekers, kind of lady, you know? And my dad sort of has the "stuck in the 70's syndrome" Oh well! Luckily, there are sites like last.fm. I got into Asteroid just last week and I was blown away by what I heard. I pretty much have this habit of checking out bands by first comparing their music style to some of the stuff I like in terms of similarity and then I go to itunes NZ and I preview all of their songs and if I like what I hear, I'll definitely buy it (either in the immediate future or wait a while depending on how broke I am )! Asteroid's music does have a "Sabbath" sort of feel to it! It is pretty much (to my ears) a "Graveyard" meets "Sabbath" sort of musical style! That's what's so cool!

[Kiwi_Zep_Fan87]

Oh my goodness! I completely forgot to include the most beautiful track from the album "II"

If a person is not moved by this track, then they definitely need to do some soul searching!

[Emily008]

^ Hi Emily! I am so glad you love Asteroid too! LOL! I truly wish my mom was like you though! She knows absolutely nothing about this stuff. Your son is lucky to have someone like you to give him a bit of "musical education" My mom is more of an ABBA, The Carpenters, The Seekers, kind of lady, you know? And my dad sort of has the "stuck in the 70's syndrome" Oh well! Luckily, there are sites like last.fm. I got into Asteroid just last week and I was blown away by what I heard. I pretty much have this habit of checking out bands by first comparing their music style to some of the stuff I like in terms of similarity and then I go to itunes NZ and I preview all of their songs and if I like what I hear, I'll definitely buy it (either in the immediate future or wait a while depending on how broke I am )! Asteroid's music does have a "Sabbath" sort of feel to it! It is pretty much (to my ears) a "Graveyard" meets "Sabbath" sort of musical style! That's what's so cool!

Kiwi_zep, you can always ask me for a bit of musical advice if you need it but you seem to be doing good so far! And well, I just found out that the record store near my home does stock "Asteroid". The guy in the store said he'll keep one CD aside for me! But one thing which stunned me is the fact that he said they had 3 copies of Asteroid's album II and it hasn't been sold in 5 months!!! Jeez! Weird that these guys are so underrated! But I am not too sure whether they are popular in Sweden! Hmmm... anyway, can't wait to lend my ears to something spectacular!!!

BTW, Kiwi_zep, You seem to be a pretty sweet kid! I added you to my friends list if that's ok...

[Kiwi_Zep_Fan87]

Kiwi_zep, you can always ask me for a bit of musical advice if you need it but you seem to be doing good so far! And well, I just found out that the record store near my home does stock "Asteroid". The guy in the store said he'll keep one CD aside for me! But one thing which stunned me is the fact that he said they had 3 copies of Asteroid's album II and it hasn't been sold in 5 months!!! Jeez! Weird that these guys are so underrated! But I am not too sure whether they are popular in Sweden! Hmmm... anyway, can't wait to lend my ears to something spectacular!!!

BTW, Kiwi_zep, You seem to be a pretty sweet kid! I added you to my friends list if that's ok...

Emily, you are really making me blush now! Thank you so much for the compliment and friend request!

And congratulations on finding Asteroid's second album II! It is one fantastic album indeed! The songs to look out for are "Disappear", "Garden", "Edge", "Towers", "Lady" and "Time". Just fuckin' brilliant!!! You and your son will be fighting over it quite soon!

Emily, I am the sort of girl who chooses to purchase music which makes her "feel" something! Believe me, when I listened to Asteroid's second album for the first time, I felt so many different emotions that I just can't explain it! That album took my breath away! I also felt myself being transported to the forests of Sweden and I felt a feeling of peace, love, joy and seclusion! Jeez! It was extraordinary!

[tom kid]

You get into any Post-rock Kiwi?

[Emily008]

Emily, you are really making me blush now! Thank you so much for the compliment and friend request!

And congratulations on finding Asteroid's second album II! It is one fantastic album indeed! The songs to look out for are "Disappear", "Garden", "Edge", "Towers", "Lady" and "Time". Just fuckin' brilliant!!! You and your son will be fighting over it quite soon!

Emily, I am the sort of girl who chooses to purchase music which makes her "feel" something! Believe me, when I listened to Asteroid's second album for the first time, I felt so many different emotions that I just can't explain it! That album took my breath away! I also felt myself being transported to the forests of Sweden and I felt a feeling of peace, love, joy and seclusion! Jeez! It was extraordinary!

Why thank you Kiwi_zep! I got the album today!!!!!! I am so happy! And I have been listening to it non-stop and I am not able to get any house work done! This album is indeed beautiful! Gosh! Good stuff that's for sure! I am so glad you started this thread! These guys truly deserve a special mention that's for sure! I can't wait to suprise my son! It will be a fine addition to his music collection!

And you're very welcome! Always love to make new friends here!

[Kiwi_Zep_Fan87]

You get into any Post-rock Kiwi?

Hi tom! Well, I have heard of that genre but I don't know much about it though! Is it any good?

[Kiwi_Zep_Fan87]

Why thank you Kiwi_zep! I got the album today!!!!!! I am so happy! And I have been listening to it non-stop and I am not able to get any house work done! This album is indeed beautiful! Gosh! Good stuff that's for sure! I am so glad you started this thread! These guys truly deserve a special mention that's for sure! I can't wait to suprise my son! It will be a fine addition to his music collection!

And you're very welcome! Always love to make new friends here!

Well, I seriously should have put a little disclaimer here about Asteroid's album II, which would have been something like this : WARNING : The album II is extremely addictive and you will end up listening to it non-stop if you are not careful!

I started this thread to pretty much expose the members on this very forum to the magic of Asteroid! Glad you are "feelin' it" too Emily!

And when I discover underrated bands like these, I pretty much sit in my room with an extremely smug smile on my face and think to myself, damn! I've struck gold!

[tom kid]

Hi tom! Well, I have heard of that genre but I don't know much about it though! Is it any good?

Yeah, very good. If you ever get the chance to see 'Jakob' live you should check them out. They are an NZ band, not sure when they're playing next though. I've been lucky enough to see them twice at the Kings Arms. Here's a few tracks of there's and some other bands:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yo9XtsjM7eM&feature=related

[tom kid]

And since I can only post a certain amount of links per post here's a couple more:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGwyB3J03rU

[Emily008]

Getting back to topic (I do not mean to be rude but this is after all, a thread about "Asteroid" you know?! and it's a bit annoying if we deviate from the topic! ), I found these pretty cool reviews of II from stonnerrock.com.

Here's the 1st review courtesy of StonerRock.com (it's pretty spot on in my book!)

Asteroid - II

Review by JJ Koczan (StonerRock.com)

Fuzzorama Records

Release date: January 22, 2010

What I'm quickly discovering about his band I'm going to call the "Asteroid process." It happened with the Swedish band's self-titled Fuzzorama debut, and the same seems to be holding true for the numerical follow-up, II, as well. It happens like this: you listen to an Asteroid album, and while you're in it, the music relaxes you to a barely conscious state. You hear the laid back fuzz tones and feel as though you might melt in them. Maybe you do. And when it's over, you say to yourself, "Golly, that was pretty good," and you go about your day.

Little do you know, though, that there are riffs and lines that are going to stick with you. That more and more you're going to find yourself humming different parts of different songs until you feel you have to listen to the album again. And again. And again. Next thing you know, you're out to lunch with your wife and all you can do is sing the refrain of "Disappear" over and over again, or think about that one riff in "Fire" that seems to sum up all of II in a matter of seconds. Resistance, as they say, is futile.

Asteroid's infectious s t y l e is in full force on their sophomore album, but their growth is also readily apparent. Listening to a song like "Karma," it feels as though some of the rigidity of the first record, which maybe kept a song like "The Big Trip Beyond" strictly adhered to a verse/chorus methodology, has spread out. "Karma" opens with a softly building jam, and opens up to some of the warmest tones this side of Colour Haze with a riff that soothes as much as it rocks. II seems less focused on structure on the surface, but it isn't, the manner of execution has simply evolved. The guitars of Robin Hirse have taken the musical fore in a big way, leading most of the jams and often competing for dominance in the mix along Hirse's own vocals and those of bassist Johannes Nilsson.

"Edge" was an advance track on the band's MySpace and the Fuzzorama site, and for good reason, as it not only reaffirms the high grade fuzz rock of the first album, but like Truckfighters' "Monte Gargano," blends catchy, tight songwriting with musical exploration and an upbeat, memorable pop feel. There are a few seconds of silence between "Edge" and "River," the moody instrumentalism of which seems to indicate a switch in direction for the second half of II, lyrically tying in the theme of water with "Towers" still to come and spreading their sound even further out into echoing spaces yet unexplored by the trio, drummer Elvis Campbell's tom and cymbals only adding to the otherworldly vibes. As "River" moves immediately into the bongo-infused "Lady," the straightforward and heavier riff s t y l e takes over and the band reminds what it was about the first album that worked so well without sacrificing any of the advances yet made this time around or apologizing for any changes they may have undergone.

"Lady" gives way to a '70s prog vocal/guitar interplay and guitar solo that joins with the opening of "Towers." So far, that's three tracks that more or less blend together as one piece of music, and the flow between them is remarkable. "Towers" begins softly with Nilsson and Hirse engaging in the harmonies that are quickly becoming a staple of the band's approach, asking us what more are we than "A dot on a line or a drop in the sea." By the time the song is over, I'm ready to embrace insignificance wholesale. No problem.

"Towers" and "Fire" do not meld together via the same congress as "River," "Lady" and "Towers," but "Fire" is a strong enough rocker that it doesn't matter. The song is one of II's several immediate highlights, and like opener "Garden," could just as easily have been the advance track like "Edge" was. Some of the band's lighthearted nature comes through in crowd vocals (I'll not say "gang" to stay away from the hardcore terminology) and a solo heavy on the wah. This is Asteroid's bread and butter, and it seems on repeat listens that no matter the directions they may choose to go on any given album, a track like "Fire" is the nest to which they'll return.

II finishes out in suitable fashion with "Time," its longest track at 6:12. Here the band further take the late Colour Haze-s t y l e noodling approach again, but at a quicker pace, so that you know in listening how the song is going to pick up sooner or later. Right around 2:25, it does, and similar to "Karma," the transition is no less satisfying for being thusly telegraphed. Ultimately, "Time" demonstrates that not only have Asteroid grown in the sense of adding jams to their music - there was plenty of that last time around - but their ability to add said spontaneous-seeming moments to their song structures is in a developmental stage whereby the transition from one to the next feels utterly fluid and natural. I shutter to use the word "organic," but man, if this was sitting next to a bunch of those fake-looking, wax-covered apples in the produce department, there's no question which I'd go for.

If Asteroid set forth the band's name as one of the brightest newcomers in 21st Century fuzz, then II confirms the potential. Like its predecessor, it is an album whose appeal will only grow with time, and I already have difficulty imagining it won't be on my best of 2010 list.

In other words, yes, it's quite good, and yes, it's highly recommended.

[Emily008]

Here's the second review from StonerRock.com :

Asteroid - II

Review by John Pegoraro (StonerRock.com)

Fuzzorama Records

Release date: February 2010

Of the current crop of stoner rock torchbearers, I hold Asteroid in the highest of regards. Sure, in the era AD ("After Dozer"), Truckfighters came first and spiritual brethren/one-time split-mates Blowback hit a little harder, but Asteroid's combination of fuzzy fuzz rock and hippy-dippy sensibilities has been more in tune with my wavelength. The band knows how to kick out the riffs, but they do so without any sort of furrowed brow posturing and forced angst.

With sophomore album II, the band follows the logical course of taking what made debut Asteroid so good (fuzzy fuzz rock, hippy dippy sensibilities) and building on that. In other words, faced with the ever-difficult challenge of working in an overpopulated genre, Asteroid's walking confidently forward to their own distinct beat (even if they rub shoulders with contemporaries).

II starts with "Garden," a limber ditty with a rolling, sea-worthy rhythm that explodes at the end with a Witchcraft-like heavy jam. From there comes the first major highlight, "Disappear." One of Asteroid's aces is its dual vocalists. Guitarist Robin Hirse and bassist Johannes Nilsson work beautifully together in this number. As with opener "Garden," it's a dexterous, forward-moving song that sounds like it's as much fun to play as it is to listen to.

That musical interplay is another of the band's strengths, and it's apparent throughout II, whether on the rolling "Karma," the moody "River" (a darker cousin to Colour Haze's spiritual voodoo), or the urgent, driving "Towers." By the time closing number (and personal favorite) "Time" kicks in, don't be surprised if II has your undivided attention. With II, Asteroid deftly proves that stoner rock is alive and well in the year 2010 AD. Recommended.

[Kiwi_Zep_Fan87]

^Thanks for posting those reviews Emily! Those are pretty spot on if you ask me! Those blokes at stonnerrock.com seem to be quite the experts!

And tom, I love those tunes you posted especially the one by "God Is An Astronaut" (loved the sort of cosmic vibe to that one!) and "Explosions In The Sky"! I find "Your Hand In Mine" to be a beautiful tune! Thanks tom! I've got myself some new good music to listen to! If there is one thing I do love, it is instrumental rock! Very nice!

[Kiwi_Zep_Fan87]

Right, getting back to business, here is a pretty cool interview with Asteroid vocalist / bassist Johannes Nilsson (courtesy of The Obelisk) :

As was the case with their self-titled debut, Asteroid‘s second album, II (Fuzzorama), reveals its personality more and more with time and repeat listens. Many bands strive for this for their whole career — to make a record that gets richer the more you hear it — but to the Swedish trio of vocalist/bassist Johannes Nilsson, vocalist/guitarist/organist Robin Hirse and drummer Elvis Campbell, it at least seems to come naturally.

In fact, if there’s a word to encapsulate II, it would probably be “natural.” The band has loosened the structural reins somewhat compared to the first record, and in so doing has allowed a series of heady jams to take place within the songs that doesn’t just make the album different from what came before it, but introduces a creative freedom that wasn’t necessarily evident last time around. Very quickly over the course of a duo of solid outings, Asteroid is one of Sweden‘s brightest and fuzziest hopes.

Nilsson took some time out for an email exchange about the band’s shift in approach, the recording process that went into making II and where they think they might go from here. If this album is anything to judge by, that could be pretty much anywhere.

Was there anything different in the band or something you wanted to try that was a change from the self-titled? The self-titled felt really structured and this one seems more open that way.

Yeah, I think that’s a correct analysis of the two albums. I personally would define Asteroid as two different bands now and then. I mean, changing a member of a band, at least it was like that for us, is an absolute change. We have always built our sound around all three musicians and the essence of our new lineup is more than just “a new drummer.” We have a whole new essence and that affects the songs as well as the sound. But even more concrete, you pointed spot on the difference between Martin [Ström] and Elvis [Campbell], Martin being extremely structured and Elvis more improvisational. You never know what will happen behind your back.

Did you all play in the same room, or was getting a live feel just something you focused on in the mixing?

Besides what cleared out above, the recording session itself was a really inspirational experience. This time around we had the whole process in and, as you noticed, we gave loads of effort in capturing that live nerve. Or, rather, we did as little as possible in the mix. We always play together in the studio, even if we sometimes only record the drums, for instance.

What was the recording process like?

Usually we hate studio sessions, because it’s an “unnatural” situation for a band. Most bands are live bands, and the audience is an important component of the experience, it’s a dualistic relation and you can’t have that in the studio. But this time we all loved it. We took refuge in the middle of nowhere deep in the Swedish forest, with blizzards going on outside the windows. Whenever we needed breaks from the noise, we went outside and literally listened to the trees shrieking. Might sounds like a bunch of hippie stuff, but I think it has something to do with the Swedish persona. We don’t have deserts and don’t play desert rock; we have forests and snow as inspiration.

The whole session took us about one month, but we only used the weekends because of jobs and stuff.

Were you ever tempted to do a sequel to “Dr. Smoke?”

Aren’t all songs sequels to each other? All songs are processes; a mixture of the present and moods and other thing around you. If all those combine as when we wrote “Dr. Smoke,” then yes, you’ll have a sequel.

The vocals sound very confident on II, particularly in the harmonies. Having put the first album behind you, did you feel more at ease singing the parts of these songs? Also, with more extended instrumental breaks, do you think that led to trying some new things singing-wise?

First, thank you. As I stated earlier, the whole process in the studio were really inspirational. Don’t know if it’s the forest or snow or if it’s rather the songs themselves. For my account the songs on this album fits me perfectly voice-wise. Also the lyrics “demand” you to sing them in certain ways. They mean a whole lot to me.

Being a trio, we always have to fill the void with something, and we have always used our vocals for that. Of course breaks leave even more room to fill so I guess you could say that.

Are you pleased with the album overall? Is there anything you would change if you could? How do the songs on the album compare with the live versions?

Yeah, we are very pleased with it indeed. Even though we are modest persons, we won’t hide that we really like the outcome. In fact, even if it sounds a bit cocky, we love it, wouldn’t change anything. And working with Oskar Campbell in ‘The Planet of the Black Keys’ really did us justice. The album versions are as close to live versions as it gets, the only difference is that it’s not. Of course we have some add ons, but we don’t play things we can’t do live.

Do you see yourselves developing the Asteroid sound as more than fuzz instrumentally? How focused are you on trying new things and adding different elements to your songs?

We have never been tied up with any genre, in our opinion, and we have always mixed elements from various kind of music, from blues to Swedish folk music. We have never been afraid what fans would think, if the songs are in one certain genre or anything. Only those bands that concern themselves with these thoughts will grow stiff in a genre. Otherwise you will let the musical process evolve and let the sound evolve with it. So I think that Asteroid will continue as a musical journey.

Coming off making this record, do you feel you have space to grow as a band? Any experiments you might want to try going forward?

We are way beyond this album already, writing songs as well as trying new stuff. And we are motivated to evolve some elements we’ve tried on the record even more. If you have experienced us live earlier you will probably see some new elements. I think we are forced by the trio constellation to do and try new things all the time.

What are the plans for live shows? I see you’re looking to book May into June for a tour and are already doing a couple festivals. Anything else in the works?

Yeah, we will tour mainland Europe this May-June, and some festivals in Sweden this summer. Also planning for a UK tour this autumn. As you know we’ve never been to the US yet, but will try to make it possible soon. It’s our next step, live-wise.

Besides this, we are currently working on a new video.

Any other plans or closing words you want to add?

We have plans that hopefully will combine the music with plastics in a near future, if you know what I mean. Would also like to take the opportunity thank you for the great review of the album and we hope to be able to come to the States some time soon. Take care.

[Rock N' Rollin' Man]

Knew about them before but didn't really check them out until this thread, thanks Kiwi they've got a cool vibe going in their sound. Interesting to note that Johannes Nilsson is the brother of Joakim Nilsson vocalist and guitarist for Graveyard.

[Kiwi_Zep_Fan87]

Knew about them before but didn't really check them out until this thread, thanks Kiwi they've got a cool vibe going in their sound. Interesting to note that Johannes Nilsson is the brother of Joakim Nilsson vocalist and guitarist for Graveyard.

Hey!!! Glad to see you back in action on here! I was really starting to miss your posts! Cool that you like Asteroid too! I really think that their music has this sort of "cosmic" vibe to it! It's rather "out of this world"

And wow! Johannes and Joakim are related?! Wow! That's so cool! Gosh! I didn't know that till now!! Both brothers sure know how to rock!! That's for sure!