Sometimes you need to be reminded of that feeling you get when you see a band absolutely kill it live. I don’t get to shows as often as I’d like to(really never), so when I can come across a video that displays a band’s prowess live in the studio, I savor it. Today, it’s Norway’s rock and roll saviors Kanaan playing their heavy dirge of a track “The Groke” from the El Paraiso Records debut Windborne, released in 2018.
For those of you not familiar with Kanaan, well I’ll fill you in. Kanaan is a three-piece prog/improv/free rock band that hit the finer points of 70s rock and roll. Fuzzed-out guitar that bludgeons like Iommi, while the rhythm section swings like Ron Carter and Tony Williams having a hand at doom metal. It’s like Sabbath going thru an existential crisis while taking holiday on the shores of Mjøsa. Their debut Windborne is nothing short of brilliant. It’s a mixture of melancholy melodies entangled in bits of doom and fusion. It’s three young-ish dudes that play as if they’ve been doing it 30 years.
What you are about to watch now is Kanaan in session live at the Øra Studio in Trondheim. The place looks like the kind of studio where there might be some incense burning, a couple bottles of wine emptied sitting in a corner, and maybe even the faint whiff of, well, something that the incense is trying to cover. It looks like a fabulous place for bands to cut loose and give into the vibes. The session was recorded just a couple weeks after the band’s debut album was released. The guys absolutely kill it. Swinging, dirge-y, and full of slow motion groove with just enough fuzzed-out riffage to appease the metalist of metalheads. Check out the video below, and bask in Kanaan’s prodigious glow.
Info about the space:
The beautiful Øra Studio in Trondheim was a natural choice for a live video recording, and the studio has been one of the most sought after recording studios in the city for over a decade. The recordings were engineered and mixed by Karl Klaseie, a sought after studio engineer and mastering technician.
Kanaan are Ask Vatn Strøm(guitars), Ingvald André Vassbø(drums), and Eskild Myrvoll(bass). Grab their debut record Windborne on vinyl, CD, or download here. Kanaan are currently on a European tour. Check out dates here.
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