The third batch of audio streams from Roadburn 2011 might be the best one yet. I don’t think I’ve stopped raving about how good Ramesses (above) and Sungrazer were since I got back from the fest, and with the chance to hear some bands I missed over there — my head hangs in New Jerseyan shame for not catching The Atomic Bitchwax — it’s good to at least hear what I didn’t see. You know the drill by now — here are the links:

The Atomic Bitchwax
http://3voor12.vpro.nl/speler/ondemand/44747228#ondemand.44747228

Carlton Melton
http://3voor12.vpro.nl/speler/ondemand/44747232#ondemand.44747232

Pharaoh Overlord
http://3voor12.vpro.nl/speler/ondemand/44747236#ondemand.44747236

Ramesses
http://3voor12.vpro.nl/speler/ondemand/44747240#ondemand.44747240

Sungrazer
http://3voor12.vpro.nl/speler/ondemand/44747252#ondemand.44747252

Yakuza
http://3voor12.vpro.nl/speler/ondemand/44747256#ondemand.44747256

Zoroaster
http://3voor12.vpro.nl/speler/ondemand/44747263#ondemand.44747263

Scorn
http://3voor12.vpro.nl/speler/ondemand/44747248#ondemand.44747248

As always, these streams were captured live at Roadburn at the 013 Popcentrum in Tilburg, Netherlands, by Marcel van de Vondervoort and his Spacejam Recording team. Special thanks to Walter and Roadburn for letting me host the links on this site.

When Yakuza vocalist/saxophonist Bruce Lamont talks about a great change and “something beyond ourselves” imminently about to occur, I don’t think he means apocalypse in the traditional sense, like he pictures some kind of catastrophic societal collapse nightmare scenario à la Cormac McCarthy‘s The Road, because, as he notes in our interview, it’s happened before. If you don’t think World War I was the end of the world, go back and read up.

Yakuza‘s fifth album (first for Profound Lore), Of Seismic Consequence, deals with these issues and has a sense of dread throughout, fully conscious of the impending but aware of the inevitability too. It’s a striking record for a number of reasons, its themes among them, but musically progressive as ever, Yakuza continue to be one of America‘s most unique and driven bands. Even a casual listen to Of Seismic Consequence from someone familiar with its predecessor, Transmutations (Prosthetic Records, 2007), will reveal a host of areas where the band has moved forward, Lamont‘s increased use of melodic singing being the most obvious.

But Yakuza has never just been about Lamont, however much his sundry guest appearances elsewhere, side-projects and solo work might make him the most recognizable figure in the band. Guitarist/vocalist Matt McClelland, bassist/vocalist Ivan Cruz and drummer/keyboardist James Staffel each play a central role in making Yakuza what they are in 2010. Sanford Parker‘s production work on Of Seismic Consequence didn’t hurt either.

After the jump, Lamont discusses his visions of the changes the world is about to undergo, how Yakuza came to work with Profound Lore, and just how great it is to scare the crap out of yuppies, which, no matter how you feel about the music, is something I think we can all agree on. Enjoy the Q&A.

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Yakuza are a critic’s band. Certainly for as long as I’ve been reviewing albums, I’ve been saying of the Chicago outfit, “They’re doing really important things, it’s only a matter of time before the public catches on.” Century Media probably felt the same way when they signed the band in the early part of the last decade, and Prosthetic too when they put out 2006’s Samsara and 2007’s Transmutations. And you know what? We were all right. Yakuza have been making innovative and individualized metal for over a decade now, and it just seems like nobody’s paying attention.

For their latest outing, Of Seismic Consequence, they’ve found a new label home on Profound Lore, and suddenly it doesn’t matter anymore. If you don’t know, well, you don’t know. It’s not the band’s problem, it’s not the label’s problem. Yakuza has the freedom to do what they want to do and that’s just the way it is. The narrative I’ve seen in Of Seismic Consequence is this is Yakuza’s “fuck it” album. They’re saying “fuck it,” and doing what they want. If you want to come along for that, great. If not, your loss.

And Of Seismic Consequence is a considerable journey, with a feel more like a linear trip than a rounded album of songs. Conventionality has never been top priority for Yakuza, and their progressive bent toward the experimental and tech-jazzy continues here. “Stones and Bones” is as angular as the band has ever been, and 11-minute centerpiece cut “Farewell to the Flesh” is an exercise in ambient minimalism, vocalist Bruce Lamont adding his trademark saxophone to a subdued melodic singing that seems to quiet both the album and the universe surrounding it. Lamont has always been the focal point of Yakuza, but without guitarist Matt McClelland, bassist Ivan Cruz and drummer James Staffel, the heavy/soft shift of a song like “Be that as it May” would fall completely flat. There’s a band dynamic on Of Seismic Consequence, is what I’m trying to say, no matter whose name you see in the interviews.

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