[PO] HOLY FAWN – Death Spells

[Gumbo72203]

3 minutes ago, Derek™ said:

Don’t believe that’s the case.  I just think they genuinely have their priorities misaligned, with the presumption that more people care about the integrity of their paper sleeves than the condition their LPs arrive in.

I suppose I can't fault them to some extent.... wasn't that a huge issue with ITTCT records from Science of Silence?  Specifically "Red Forest".  Maybe someone else can clue me in about that but I seem to recall some big stink over that record and the fact that they shipped them in the printed inners with no padding and so they all got ripped to shreds. 

Personally, I could give a shit about printed inners.  All I want is a gatefold, poly-lined sleeves, and a well-pressed quiet record. 

[januarytwenty]

6 minutes ago, jrodan said:

i heard from a very reliable source (don't ask because i can't say) that the records were messed up before being sent, and when they realized that, they decided to send them the way they did so they could blame the issues on that. pretty fucked up.

Jeez. 

[Gumbo72203]

9 minutes ago, jrodan said:

i heard from a very reliable source (don't ask because i can't say) that the records were messed up before being sent, and when they realized that, they decided to send them the way they did so they could blame the issues on that. pretty fucked up.

That's super fucked up. 

Many labels courted Holy Fawn, including A Thousand Arms and Dunk!  I like to think there was more to the deal than simply a similarity in name for Holy Roar....

 

This shit would NEVER have happened with A1KA, Elusive, or Dunk!. 

[Mars]

13 hours ago, Gumbo72203 said:

Personally, I could give a shit about printed inners.  All I want is a gatefold, poly-lined sleeves, and a well-pressed quiet record. 

 

[poweredbytrust]

19 hours ago, jrodan said:

i heard from a very reliable source (don't ask because i can't say) that the records were messed up before being sent, and when they realized that, they decided to send them the way they did so they could blame the issues on that. pretty fucked up.

just chiming in here to say that - without questioning the integrity of your source - this would be really stupid from an economic point of view. If the label notices a series of defects from the plant it will most likely insist on getting replacements before any financial risk is taken. The approach you describe shifts ALL of the financial risk onto Holy Roar without any necessity whatsoever - it just doesn't seem plausible that they would do that.  The only consequence of getting replacements would be that the release/shipment has to be pushed back a bit - while that is never cool for any party, what company would risk thousands of dollars just to avoid that?

[holyvacantsholyhell]

Also chiming in that while this blows, I’m sure I can get my hands on another copy and DW has handled this so eagerly and conveniently.

 

basically just props to DW as usual

[fish]

While i thought my copy was good at first glance (the clear vinyl made it harder for me to see the marks), i finally played it all the way through, realized it sounded awful and inspected it much much better and saw how many marks were actually on it. Including some big ones I must have been blind not to see initially. DW offered me a no questions asked refund after seeing a picture, and I opted for a store credit (Amazing customer service btw). I see this is still available from some UK shops but I just don't trust that any other copy i get will be better which really sucks.

 

 

[natenomm]

At this point I'm hoping Triple Crown does a pressing of their own. 

[lexicondevil]

Saw the show tonight. The first band, Isles, were really good post rock. I'm hoping they release their record on vinyl, but gonna buy a DL for now. Holy Fawn just kicked ass and I talked with them and they were super cool guys. I was bummed that they didn't play "Yawning", but a solid show. Slow Crush came on and the sound was completely off. They sounded more like a first opener band and very amateurish compared to the other two. I discreetly let the singer know that you couldn't hear her vocals in the mix and she said, "That's how it is", which would have been okay, whatever, but then the guitarist asked her what I said to her and then he said, "Fuck him!". That was strange and makes me not really want to support them anymore. Maybe they were bummed that most of the people had left when they played. Either way, Holy Fawn was completely worth the show. They only had the cloudy clear vinyl, but also a couple shirts. The singer said that they wanted to have a label more local, which is why they are with the new label, but they still love Holy Roar. They do plan on playing the east coast. Except for the crap performance by Slow Crush, it was a damn fine show.

Edited April 5, 2019 by lexicondevil

[poweredbytrust]

@lexicondevil

Bummer that your experience with Slow Crush wasn't cool! From my experience (shared the stage with them twice here in Europe) they are some of the most cheerful and friendly people you could ask for on a show! When we played their hometown in Belgium Isa's (the singer's) mom even cooked food for everyone. But I guess everyone has a bad day (or bad stage sound, for that matter) once in a while.

I also can't imagine he really said "fuck him!" - are you sure about that? Remember that they will most likely speak Belgian among each other, and while I'm not familiar with that language I can think of some instances where one could simply mishear something, especially in the dense/loud environment that is a music venue.

Glad you still had a good evening!

Edited April 5, 2019 by poweredbytrust

[gazzo]

Same, 

 

i’ml lucky enough to call them my friends and i’ve never met more compassionate and honest people like Isa, Jelle, Jan and Steven

 

maybe you caught them at a bad time, or I don’t know what, or indeed you misheard some of our language (it’s quite difficult sometimes). 

 

Glad you still had fun , and don’t let this put you off, these are genuine good folks

[Gumbo72203]

5 hours ago, lexicondevil said:

Saw the show tonight. The first band, Isles, were really good post rock. I'm hoping they release their record on vinyl, but gonna buy a DL for now. Holy Fawn just kicked ass and I talked with them and they were super cool guys. I was bummed that they didn't play "Yawning", but a solid show. Slow Crush came on and the sound was completely off. They sounded more like a first opener band and very amateurish compared to the other two. I discreetly let the singer know that you couldn't hear her vocals in the mix and she said, "That's how it is", which would have been okay, whatever, but then the guitarist asked her what I said to her and then he said, "Fuck him!". That was strange and makes me not really want to support them anymore. Maybe they were bummed that most of the people had left when they played. Either way, Holy Fawn was completely worth the show. They only had the cloudy clear vinyl, but also a couple shirts. The singer said that they wanted to have a label more local, which is why they are with the new label, but they still love Holy Roar. They do plan on playing the east coast. Except for the crap performance by Slow Crush, it was a damn fine show.

The Holy Roar signing still doesn't make any sense to me.  That label must have offered them a ton of money, or they must be old friends, but they shot themselves in the foot with shitty shipping practices.  Would have been nice to have a clean-playing first press copy of the record, but I'll take a Triple Crown repress any fucking day. 

Also that would bum me out if they didn't do Yawning, that and Arrows are the best damn songs!  hahaha.  Great news about East Coast dates though! 

Isles has been blowing up in my Facebook groups; I need to check them out more.  If you like Isles, you'd also probably really enjoy Pillars, Ranges, and Coastlands. 

[gazzo]

I've been buying Holy Roar stuff for 10 years now and I have never had any problems,  weird to see this happening.

[lexicondevil]

Yeah, maybe Slow Crush were having an off night, but there was definitely a snarky vibe and they were talking in English. I was also right in front and there were only about 20 people still there. The whole thing just put me off. They really didn't sound good and I thought I would help a bit by letting her know you couldn't hear her. I know their vocals aren't really meant to be in your face, but I've been in bands and you can't hear the true mix from the stage. After that I went in the back so I could finish my drink and leave and the sound was the same back there. My friends were also not impressed at all. Both Isles and Holy Fawn destroyed them by 1000%. I went mostly to see Holy Fawn, so it's all good. Looking forward to seeing them again live.

[TheGhostOfRandySavage]

Going to see them tomorrow, interested to see what the mix sounds like for Slow Crush. Super excited for Holy Fawn!

[IsaPisa]

8 minutes ago, lexicondevil said:

Yeah, maybe Slow Crush were having an off night, but there was definitely a snarky vibe and they were talking in English. I was also right in front and there were only about 20 people still there. The whole thing just put me off. They really didn't sound good and I thought I would help a bit by letting her know you couldn't hear her. I know their vocals aren't really meant to be in your face, but I've been in bands and you can't hear the true mix from the stage. After that I went in the back so I could finish my drink and leave and the sound was the same back there. My friends were also not impressed at all. Both Isles and Holy Fawn destroyed them by 1000%. I went mostly to see Holy Fawn, so it's all good. Looking forward to seeing them again live.

Hi there,

this is Isa - Slow Crush's singer. Firstly, I want to apologize for yesterday's show.

Lack of sleep had taken it's toll last night and we let it get the better of us. For that, we are truly sorry. 

We were the only band who didn't have the liberty to sound check, which is crucial for us. Due to this, the balance on stage was far from ideal but we tried our best to battle through.

On top of that, Jelle's bridge turned chainsaw on us, gradually ripping his strings throughout each song making them unravel and impossible to keep in tune. 

Vocal volume is always a challenge, especially without a sound check but that is also part and parcel with our music - vocals as an additional instrument layer rather than sitting way on top of everything.

To get things straight, all Jelle said after you informed me about the vocals being too quiet was "çava, Isa?" which translates to "you ok, Isa?" to which I confirmed that I was. That was all that was said. Nothing more, nothing less.

Again, we're really sorry to you and everyone at the show in Oakland last night to have caught us on that downer and promise to make it up to you next time.

Isa 

[lexicondevil]

4 hours ago, Gumbo72203 said:

Also that would bum me out if they didn't do Yawning, that and Arrows are the best damn songs!  hahaha.  Great news about East Coast dates though! 
 

I was asking the bassist why they didn't play "Yawning" and he said they still need to practice it more and that it almost didn't make it on the album. The singer wrote it, but didn't really like it and the rest of the band fought to get it on the record. I love the New Order bass line.

[mrewest]

STILL.  NO.  VINYL.  Stupid ass USPS must have lost my friggin package.

 

Anyways, it’s funny how many people love “Yawning”.  It’s literally my least favorite on this album haha.

 

@lexicondevil That really sucks you had a shitty interaction there.  Hopefully it was more of a joking “fuck him haha” type deal.  Also, did you know their music ahead of time?  I’d say the vocals are definitely pretty buried on their albums.

[ethereal]

Just now, mrewest said:

Anyways, it’s funny how many people love “Yawning”.  It’s literally my least favorite on this album haha.

yeah, I don't get it either.  breaks the flow of the album imo

[mrewest]

5 minutes ago, ethereal said:

yeah, I don't get it either.  breaks the flow of the album imo

Totally agree.  Sounds very out of place.

[daniele]

Did anyone write to Holy Roar about the vinyl issue?

[Gumbo72203]

23 minutes ago, daniele said:

Did anyone write to Holy Roar about the vinyl issue?

I did.  I sent them pics and video last night, after hearing back.  Will report when I hear more.  I had a couple correspondences with them thus far. 

I asked for a refund from Deathwish, and they only gave me $3 because I used a gift card.  Apparently they don't refund you shipping costs, because my order was $28 ($25 gift card I bought from them for $20 with that sale) plus 4.88 for shipping or whatever.  The refund email said the 25 went back on the card, and the 3 went back to Paypal because that's how I paid for the difference.  I asked for the gift card number since that email is longgggg gone hahaha but now have not heard back.  Keith is usually really good with responding; hopefully he'll get back to me by the end of the day or Monday morning. 

[fish]

I'm sure they'll get it to you. I was shocked at how good their customer service was when I emailed the a picture of mine. Had a reply within minutes and a store credit shortly after. I do hope they aren't eating all of the costs on all of these refunds and that HR is somehow ending up resposible.

[lexicondevil]

6 hours ago, IsaPisa said:

Hi there,

this is Isa - Slow Crush's singer. Firstly, I want to apologize for yesterday's show.

Lack of sleep had taken it's toll last night and we let it get the better of us. For that, we are truly sorry. 

We were the only band who didn't have the liberty to sound check, which is crucial for us. Due to this, the balance on stage was far from ideal but we tried our best to battle through.

On top of that, Jelle's bridge turned chainsaw on us, gradually ripping his strings throughout each song making them unravel and impossible to keep in tune. 

Vocal volume is always a challenge, especially without a sound check but that is also part and parcel with our music - vocals as an additional instrument layer rather than sitting way on top of everything.

To get things straight, all Jelle said after you informed me about the vocals being too quiet was "çava, Isa?" which translates to "you ok, Isa?" to which I confirmed that I was. That was all that was said. Nothing more, nothing less.

Again, we're really sorry to you and everyone at the show in Oakland last night to have caught us on that downer and promise to make it up to you next time.

Isa 

Hey Isa,

Thanks for chiming in. That sucks that you didn't get a sound check. That explains why everything just sounded off. Sucks when stuff like that happens. Thank you for clearing it all up. My wife and I were sitting there listening and really wanted to help. We almost walked back to the sound guy to let him know to up the vocals a tad and turn down the bass, which seemed to take over everything. We were coming from a place of concern and it just seemed like we annoyed you guys. Sorry about that. I hope the rest of your tour plays out great!

[lexicondevil]

4 hours ago, mrewest said:

 

 

@lexicondevil That really sucks you had a shitty interaction there.  Hopefully it was more of a joking “fuck him haha” type deal.  Also, did you know their music ahead of time?  I’d say the vocals are definitely pretty buried on their albums.

It's all good. Yes, I've listened to their album many times and the vocals are generally a layer, like Isa said, but they were really barely there at all. That's what happens when you don't get a sound check.