German cinematic drone post metal experimentalists [B O L T] are joining us for the premiere of their stunning new video for the opening track “[32]” from their upcoming album “(05)” on dunk!records. The song is a lesson in tension-building and catharsis, featuring no vocals, melody or chorus, as the band focuses on creating a dark and meditative soundscape using two bass guitars, a drum kit, and effects pedals such as reverb, distortion, and echo. The visuals takes us on an emotional journey
The band, originally a two-man project, has been active for over a decade and has released four studio albums, collaborated with other musicians and artists, and produced an intense art film. They continue to explore and experiment with their sound, seeking inspiration from a variety of sources.
Their new album is due for release on April 21 and can be pre-ordered on Blue & Green Fade colored 2LP.
The band’s lineup now consists of Thomas and Andreas on bass and Dennis on drums, whose rhythmic playing acts as an anchor amidst the band’s raging sound waves.
Speaking about the new single, Thomas describes how the song progresses through the use of overtones and a Mogwai-inspired riff, culminating in a menacing final section. He finds the development of the song to be both impressive and crass. The buildup of the song incorporates elements of [ B O L T ]’s previous material, which focused on a single riff, but also introduces new and fresh elements to their sound.
“To me the notes on the beginning and the main riff represent hope.” – adds Dennis. “The start of something new, something big. Something, that is about to change and stir things up. Which makes it a perfect opener of our ever so changing album which throughout the songs moves through various stages and feelings. [ 3 2 ] would not have been my first choice as a single but it works perfectly well and introduces you to the album as it’s also our opener of ( 0 5 ).”
Speaking about the video, he commented: “The video is inspired by those exact emotions. Hope but also responsibility and consequence. My friend and our director Lars Walther talked to me while we were at work together that he also does music videos for bands. And I asked if he was interested to give the new [ B O L T ] record a listen and see if he is being inspired to do something for us – which is exactly what happened. We didn’t want a mere performance video or mood shots with drones over beautiful landscapes.”
“While this would also represent our music perfectly we wanted to explore the possibilities of a music video even further and in Lars we found the perfect partner for this. He’s a film maker and actor himself and worked on the script with his long time partner Dominik Stegmann. He did the casting and acquired professional actresses and actors Antje Hamer, Nadja Godzina and Benedikt Hahn along with a few more who were willing to partake in this endeavour. While the producing of the album and production of the vinyl record and our handmade limited edition did take up a lot of our monetary resources we didn’t have a high budget left for the video. With that being said it’s absolutely unbelievable what Lars and his band of friends accomplished here.”
The short film is a complete production and features a nearly 10-minute long song that provides a wide range of opportunities for storytelling. Be sure to watch the whole thing above and check out the band’s special playlist below.
The playlist “Influenced/Loved/Recommended” by [ B O L T ] highlights the contribution of non-male artists in the music industry. Here’s the band’s commentary to this interesting, eclectic proposition.
Thomas’ recommendations:
Allison Lorenzen
I discovered Allison Lorenzen only recently, through the cover of Bush’s Glycerine with Midwife. Since then, the album has been playing up and down and especially Vale is incredibly touching and beautiful.
Blankenberge
No idea why this band are not world stars. The shoegaze and the perfect vocal melodies are just great and create a dense and intoxicating atmosphere.
Hania Rani
Do words really need to be said about Hania Rani? Both live and on record this is quite great and multi-layered art.
Midwife
When it comes to female shoegaze, dark pop or – as the artist herself calls it – Heaven Metal, Midwife is simply the optimum. I find it fascinating how so much mood can be achieved with so little. Midwife simply writes great songs.
Sarah Davachi
Drone, ambient, and minimalist sound art isn’t exactly known for having many female artists. There are exceptions, of course, fortunately. For me Sarah Davachi is musically and sound aesthetically just overwhelming.
Andreas’ recommendations:
Slowdive
Slowdive is one of my, if not the all-time favorite band of mine. Rachel Goswells singing paired with moody and atmospheric music mainly written by Neil Halstead and the lush playstyles of Simon Scott, Nick Chaplin and Christian Savill is shoegazy perfection for me.
Nadja
Back when I first got into drone music it was inevitable to stumble upon Leah and Aidan and their uncanny approach to writing and performing music. If I remember correctly my second drone-show ever was a Nadja concert and they blew me away. Absolutely massive walls of sound, totally overwhelming at first but then opening your mind to hearing (and feeling) slight but brilliant changes is an experience hard to describe. One of the beauties of the niche genre we as [ B O L T ] are a part of is, that since then we shared countless stages with Leah and Aidan, went to see each other’s shows and spent a lot of time just hanging out.
Low
They have been a part of my life since their release of the album “Trust” in 2002. Back then the singing of Mimi and Alan and their reduced style of music absolutely impressed me. After a few years of not closely following them, the release of “Ones and Sixes” catapulted them back in my focus. The album, for me, is one of the best ever released. The death of Mimi in 2022 really shocked me and it deeply saddens me that I’ll never see her unique drumming and singing style live ever again.
The Angelic Process
Sometimes you come across a band that just pushes the right buttons. The Angelic Process did just that for me. The deeply emotional and noisy music created by Monica Dragynfly and Kris Angylus are for me one of the most important artists in the drone metal genre.
True Widow
Another example of great moody duet singing. True Widow for me, with their slow and dark heaviness, are the perfect winter band. A snowy forest landscape is the best place to listen to them loud on good headphones.
Dennis’ recommendations:
Anneke van Giersbergen
In the end of the 90s I discovered Dutch Gothic Rock outfit The Gathering and Anneke Van Giersbergen’s voice struck me right away. Her power, her emotion and that smile she always wears while singing mesmerized me to no end. She’s my favourite singer of all times and seeing her live is one of the most heartwarming experiences you can receive from a singer on stage. I cannot think of anybody else who embodies and radiates her love for music that much while playing.
Daughter
I only found out about Daughter while playing the video game Life Is Strange: Before The Storm to which Daughter wrote half of the soundtrack and curated the other half with artists they deemed suitable for the occasion. Youth in particular is a song that never ceases to touch me with its lyrics. Elena Tonra’s voice is a fragile flower with the power to evaporate or create doubts, fear, hope and happiness. It’s impossible to describe really. Please give them a go if you haven’t yet.
Ashley Barrett
Listening to her voice in the compositions by Darren Korb for Supergiant Games’ masterpieces of video game history is key to the lyrical identity of the studios’ soundtracks. Her range is impressive and it just adds up perfectly to the atmosphere of the games – especially to the absolute gem that is Transistor.
Sura Sol
Rachel is remarkable. She uses her voice as an instrument rather than just to transport melodies and words. The collaboration we achieved with her on our song [ 4 0 ] / Petit Fleur Des Champs is a unique experience to us as artists as we simply let her interpret the entire song on her own and left her 100% creative freedom. We couldn’t have hoped for anything more exciting than what she delivered!
VikKe
I knew her from her Gothic rock project Victoria Anselmo and her intense singing voice struck me the first minute I discovered her music. Vic creates personalities for each song; moods and audible environments transported just by her vocal expression and only accompanied by the music. To me she resembles the creativity of Björk with the vocal range of Tori Amos.
