UK mega-doomers Conan filmed the above clip for “Hawk as Weapon” from their forthcoming album at the Buffalo Bar in Cardiff. As you’ll find out less than a minute into the song, it’s unbelievably fucking heavy. That’s what Conan does. Whatever they decide to call their next record, which will be their Burning World Records debut and follow-up to 2010′s epic Horseback Battle Hammer (review here), I expect nothing less than total devastation.

If “Hawk as Weapon” isn’t enough Conan for you, I’d recommend hitting up their Bandcamp site where you can hear and download the whole show. Or, if you don’t feel like clicking the link, here’s the Buffalo Bar gig in its 47-minute entirety:

If you’ve managed to make it through that much low-end marauding with your bowels still intact, kudos. You’ve done better than I think most do at Conan shows. They are, simply put, one of the heaviest bands I’ve ever heard.

Next week: A stream of the whole new King Giant record and hopefully an album giveaway to accompany. Also my interview with Selim Lemouchi of The Devil’s Blood and reviews of Caveman Voicebox, Earth, Bushfire and others, plus some Buried Treasure and the latest news on the Desertfests in London and Berlin, so plenty to look forward to. I hope you have a great and safe weekend. I’m plum tuckered from this week, but I’ll still be dicking around on the forum, so feel free to say hi if you get a minute.

Pending that, I’ll be back here Monday with more zany fun.

Any update from Conan counts as news you can use… if you want to listen to something so heavy it opens a crack in the earth’s crust that swallows humanity whole. I was already stoked beyond compare to see the mega-bashers at Roadburn next year, but now it seems I’ve got a new record to look forward to as well. Add it to the 2012 list! More news and more destruction to come.

For now, though, here’s the latest:

Conan – the über-heavy doom titans – are sharpening their axes and preparing to head back to the studio. The formidable trio will enter Foel Studio, Mid-Wales next week to begin tracking for their second album, with producer Chris Fielding once again at the helm. The tracks will be released in spring 2012 via Burning World Records.

Conan vocalist Jon Davis had the following to say: “We’ve been writing these songs for a while now, and we are really happy with how they are sounding. We’re all looking forward to heading back to Foel, and working with Chris again — we are definitely in safe hands there. 2012 is shaping up nicely for us, and we can’t wait to get stuck in.”

The riff-heavy, monolithic beast that is Conan recently announced their debut mainland European show; playing the Voivod-curated event at Roadburn 2012 on Friday 13th April. Jon adds:  “We are honoured to have been asked to play Roadburn, of course. It is a high point in the festival calendar, and the lineup for 2012 is amazing — we’re so happy to be part of it.” Their mainland voyage will continue for a further week after Roadburn.

Details of these additional shows will be available in the coming weeks.

Now I’m just getting nervous. These Roadburn announcements keep coming in, and I keep waiting for a piano to fall on my head. The ultra-low, ultra-dense riffing of Conan added to a bill that already includes Voivod (x2), YOB (x2), The Obsessed, Sleep, Om, Ulver, Ancestors and Church of Misery? When’s the other shoe going to drop?

If anyone needs me, I’ll be cowering in a fireproof lock-box until next April. Here’s the latest news:

UK‘s Conan will be part of Voivod‘s special Au-delà du Réel event (Friday, April 13th) at Roadburn 2012.

Conan approach from the North West of England on a devastating, droning, charging warbeast of heaviness, to lay waste to Roadburn 2012 in a barrage of galloping crust and aching tone. Their performance at Roadburn will be their first ever show outside of the UK and Ireland. Worshipping at the Altar Of The Riff, they summon the Gods of fuzz, distortion and blazing valves to join them in their sonic ritual. In response to the special invitation extended to them from Voivod, Conan will be destroying the innards of all those who enter Stage01 (formerly known as Bat Cave) on Friday, April 13th, 2012.

Priestess and Danava have also been confirmed for Voivod‘s Au-delà du Réel. However, Priestess will play the 013 venue in Tilburg, Holland on Thursday, April 12th instead of Friday, April 13th to accommodate their spring 2012 tour schedule with Red Fang.

UK‘s power-trio Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell will play on Saturday, April 14th, while Atlantis has been added to the lineup for the traditional Afterburner event on Sunday, April 15th.

Congratulations to British heavyweights Conan on the announcement that came through yesterday that the band has signed to Burning World Records, which is home to, among other things, Roadburn‘s label imprint. A suitable home, for sure, and since Conan get down with some of the heaviest tones on the planet, it should make for a formidable partnership going into their next album.

Here’s the press release:

Caveman battle doom lords Conan and European purveyors of fine riffs Burning World Records – mothership of Roadburn Records and home of musical heavyweights Gnaw Their Tongues, Lustmord and A Storm of Light — have joined forces for the release of Conan’s first full-length album.

This leaden slab of doom is due to be recorded towards the end of the year at the renowned Foel Studio, with producer Chris Fielding. The album is scheduled for early 2012. The release will follow on from the success of 2010’s devastating Horseback Battle Hammer (Throne Records / Aurora Borealis Records) and the current release, a grim black hole of tone in the form of a split with Northern Ireland’s Slomatics (Head of Crom Records). Conan slay all with a compelling mix of devastating drones and warhorse-gallop crust to drive home their brutal intention and wrestle victory from the jaws of chaos.

Europe’s heaviest battle-sloths may have found their finest ally in Burning World Records…

There’s something misleading about the title of the split release Conan vs. Slomatics. I don’t doubt that there could be some element of friendly competition between the Liverpool and Belfast outfits, as there often is for bands on splits, tours, etc., but it’s not so much that the two trios are doing battle with each other, as the name suggests, instead teaming up to rip a hole in the fabric of the universe starting with your eardrums. I guess that would have been too long to use as the title of the release, so Conan vs. Slomatics it is. The disc comes by way of Head of Crom records and boasts three cuts from each act, though Conan use one of theirs for an interlude/introduction, to clock in at just under 37 of the heaviest minutes you’re likely to encounter this year. I mean it. This shit is monstrous.

Conan’s Horseback Battle Hammer was without a doubt the hardest-hitting debut I heard in 2010, and they maintain that grueling, unrelenting tonality on their tracks here. “Retaliator” festers in low end and still manages to sound clear, fuzzed out and righteous. Guitarist/vocalist Jon Davis and bassist/vocalist/synth-ist David Perry pull massive, inhuman weight from their instruments, and the sound of the band hinges on it. As “Retaliator” transitions into the minute-long spoken word/ring-out piece “Obsidian Sword,” that atmosphere is maintained, but it’s really just a transitional piece to set the stage for “Older Than Earth,” where the Robert E. Howard-obsessed band really unleashes the plod. Perry and drummer Paul O’Neill start the song for about the first of its total 11 minutes, and Davis joins in soon with feedback and a devastating pace that’s topped with simultaneous growls/shouts and clean vocals. More so here than on Horseback Battle Hammer, Conan show there’s more to their attack than just that tone, though, and “Older Than Earth” plays off some higher-frequency parts that aren’t as likely to vibrate your skull. As with “Obsidian Sword,” there’s no sacrifice in atmospheric weight, and so they make it work, but it should be interesting to hear how they play the varying feels off each other on their next album. If their Conan vs. Slomatics tracks are a preview of what’s to come in that regard, here’s looking forward.

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You might recall in our interview last September that Conan guitarist Jon Davis alluded to recording in December for an upcoming split with Slomatics to be released on Head of Crom Records. Well, it looks like that split has finally come to fruition (with badass artwork, no less), and will be released May 9. Fans of downtuned ultra-rumble, take note.

Says the PR wire:

Head of Crom Records is proud to announce that the Conan vs. Slomatics split album will be released on May 9. The album is currently being mastered by James Plotkin (Khanate, Isis, Earth), and will be released on a limited edition sky blue 12”.

Conan are a drop-F tuned doom behemoth hailing from Liverpool, whose debut release Horseback Battle Hammer (2010 Throne/Aurora Borealis) received rave reviews, and is now all but sold out. They have teamed up with Northern Irish riff-worshippers Slomatics to create a dual-pronged sludge attack in the form of this sensationally heavy split album.

The fantastic artwork is courtesy of Tony Roberts, who has also done designs for the likes of High on Fire, Electric Wizard and Unearthly Trance.

A CD version of the release will also be available via Aurora Borealis.

Conan will be supporting Buzzov*en at The Well, Leeds on April 4.

The above quote, adapted from Robert E. Howard‘s The Phoenix on the Sword, more or less sums up the mission of UK doomers Conan. Throw something in there about playing slow and loud and piling riffs like cinderblocks on the ribcages of their listeners, and you’d be right in there.

Conan‘s first full-length, Horseback Battle Hammer (vinyl through Throne Records, CD on Aurora Borealis), remains one of the heaviest records I’ve heard all year. It is thunderous — not the way you think of music as thunderous, but literally like thunder — and in just four songs, the trio of Jon Davis (guitar), John (bass/vocals) and Paul (drums) manages to roar onto the international stage, crushing those in their path with massive, amplified undulations.

As Davis‘ guitar is such a huge part of what makes Horseback Battle Hammer so incredibly heavy, I just had to ask how he managed to get that tone. Not only does he lay out his full gear setup, but in our interview, he also discusses how the band got together, their plans for shows and recording through the end of the year, and just how he sees Conan growing in the future.

You’ll find the Q&A after the jump. Doom on.

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Released via Aurora Borealis in a limited edition of 1,000 copies, Conan’s thematic Horseback Battle Hammer is every bit as heavy as the title suggests. This kind of lumbering über-doom I like to call brown metal, because it rumbles so low you could shit your pants from the vibrations. Seriously, listening to the UK band’s EP – you might recall their Battle in the Swamp demo was on their MySpace not so long ago – is like having your head squashed by a boulder-wielding giant, and I’m not usually one for cheesy hyperbolic imagery, so you know Horseback Battle Hammer is heavy.

Conan, comprised of guitarist/vocalist Jon Davis, bassist/vocalist John McNulty and drummer Paul O’Neill, present four tracks on Horseback Battle Hammer, centering their work largely around the writings of Robert E. Howard. They’re true to their namesake, to say the least. Opener “Krull” is slow and devastating, reaching over nine minutes before offering any kind of major tempo shift or payoff. It’s a great opener for Horseback Battle Hammer, because it sets up a half-speed Melvins vibe that Conan build on with the speedier and more active “Satsumo.” You could say there’s a Torche influence, but what the two bands really have in common is a mega-thickness of guitar tone, and where Torche uses it as a go-to for heavy parts, Conan bases more or less the band’s whole sound around it. Davis’ guitar is monstrous, both when affecting the doomed pace of  “Krull” or the more middling speed of “Satsumo,” which at 5:32 is also the shortest song on Horseback Battle Hammer by nearly a full two minutes.

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Vocalist/guitarist Jon Davis checked in via email with an update on the recently-On the Radarized Conan. Looks like things are picking up for the band. Dig it:

Now we have a settled lineup and have some money to afford a decent recording. We are recording a 4 track EP called Horseback Battle Hammer at this studio – http://www.foelstudio.co.uk and are having artwork by http://www.blackmindseye.org.

We will be releasing this new record through a label hopefully…

Good news all around, and given the art on the Black Mind’s Eye page, it should be something killer to look at as well as hear. Keep tuned for further developments from these guys. I have the feeling we’ll be hearing more from them soon.

They’re not exactly the first doom band on the block to reference the work of Robert E. Howard — see The Gates of Slumber, Crom, etc. — but the UK duo Conan might be the most unabashed yet. Each of the four songs on their 2007 Battle in the Swamp EP is derived from the legends of the Cimmerian, from the title track to “Satsumo,” “Temple of Mu” and “Krull,” though I’ll admit to not being able to verify some of the references due to the apparent obscurity. Nothing like working on a theme.

“Krull” is especially doomed out, so if you take it on yourself to hit up their MySpace, that’s a good place to start. Who doesn’t love a feedback ending to an 11-minute song? The only track from Battle in the Swamp not available there for streaming is “Temple of Mu,” so you can at least get a pretty good idea of what they were up to two years ago.

As for what they’re up to now, I don’t really know. The only blog update on there says they were going to record more material and get something else together, but in the two years since, that doesn’t seem to have materialized. Jon Davis (vocals/guitar) and Richie Grundy (drums) would hardly be the first doom act not to pan out on their plans, but hopefully they’re not done altogether, because the tracks from Battle in the Swamp kick ass, and if there’s one thing the world can always use, it’s more kickass doom.

In the meantime, here’s the blown-out video from their first show ever of “Krull,” filmed in Liverpool. I hope you’ll agree these dudes are well worth keeping on the radar.