They play scintillating sludge mashed with heavy hardcore and come Kylesa-approved. Jagged Vision, you’re doing it right.
As vocalist Ole Wik puts it, “things have gone from zero to a hundred, really quickly.” That’s because a few short months ago, the Jagged Vision frontman and his bandmates – drummer Joakin SvelÂ, bassist Kato AustrÂtt and guitarists Harald Lid and Daniel Vier – were languishing in obscurity. Oh, sure, there was the occasional unearthing of their off-kilter brand of upbeat stoner rock/sludge core in and around the venues of western Norway, and you might even have seen someone strolling the streets of Stavanger decked out in one of their shirts, but it’s not like they were on the lips of many more folks beyond that. Until, as Wik explains, Daniel met Kylesa’s Phillip Cope.
“Daniel was a roadie for Kvelertak on their first international tour which was with Converge and Kylesa. From there, he got to know Phil.” Dan and Phil got along and Jagged Vision were looking for a producer to record their debut full-length, so a plan was hatched for the band to trek from Stavanger to Columbia, South Carolina and record at the Jam Room, the studio where the Kylesa man works when he’s not on tour. It was after spending two weeks in Columbia that Phil approached the quintet with the idea of signing to Retro Futurist, the boutique label he was assembling with fellow Kylesa-ians Laura Pleasants and Carl McGinley.
“At the time, we didn’t even know he was planning to start a label!” exclaims Wik. The result is Harvest Earth, the release of which was preceded by a month-long European tour featuring Jagged Earth and fellow Retro Futurist act, Sierra, supporting Kylesa. Not bad for a band who started playing ìsimplistic hardcore punkî and only got into ìstoner, doom and Black Sabbath when [they] got older. “That scene is really small here,” adds Daniel. “The band Purified In Blood are awesome and have been around forever, but it’s mainly just a group of long-haired dudes hanging around listening to loud music, so we’ve always looked to the UK and US for inspiration.”
The combination of the members’ hardcore roots and recent obsession with all things bearded, bare-chested and bong-watered gives Harvest Earth a unique edge as socially conscious shouting meets clipped ‘n ‘crunchy power chord progressions and boogie blues.
“Coming from a hardcore punk background, our lyrics will always have meaning. Harvest Earth is about how humanity exploits everything and us being five clueless dudes who feel we don’t fit in,” Wik laughs. “Going from hardcore to what we do now, we approached our music with a different mindset. The outcome is different and I can’t really put a finger on a band that sounds like us. I’m not even sure if what we do would be considered stoner or doom!”
Harvest Earth is out now on Retro Futurist
