Mini Eurotour with UR

We are going to hit the road together with our dearest friends in UR in late January to play three shows in three countries. Tell your friends!

23.01.15 Juha West, Stuttgart with Bait, Boden
24.01.15 Venster99, Wien with Iron Hell
25.01.15 Pivni Bar Azyl, Liberec

New review in the Ox-Fanzine

A new review for our full length "Asylum" by Ox-Fanzine! Thanks! 

Sieben Lieder, zwei mit deutschem Text, die restlichen fünf sind auf Englisch. Wahrhaben will man es vielleicht nicht, aber unser Ohr geht wohl mit der englischen Sprache etwas unkritischer um, bei ihr verzeiht man einfach mehr.
Schön ist es zwar, wenn Bands in ihrer Muttersprache singen, aber die Gefahr, hölzern zu klingen, wird damit größer, eher wird schlechtes Englisch akzeptiert. ABEST tappen genau in diese Falle, denn Zeilen wie „Risse in mir – Diffus: ein Schmerz zieht sich durchs Mark“ klingen derart unbeholfen, dass sie das Hörvergnügen extrem mindern würden, könnte man sie denn verstehen.
In der englischen Fassung sind sie zwar auch nicht wesentlich filigraner, klingen aber einfach besser. Also gut, dass Stephan und Joscha ihre Wut in unverständlichem Gebrüll artikulieren und damit den kantigen Knochenbau ihres gebrochenen Hardcore-Post-Metals nicht ruinieren.

Dieser weiß nämlich über weite Strecken zu gefallen. Viel Atmosphäre, kraftvolle, ingrimmige Stücke von komplexer Struktur, die den Hörer in den stärksten Momenten neben den eigenen Verstand stellen.

8 /10 

by Peter Wingertsches / Ox-Fanzine

http://www.ox-fanzine.de/web/rev/92206/reviews.207.html

Haglaz Fest & Zero Unique Fest

We are playing two shows this weekend, come around if you live nearby!

Friday Haglaz Fest @ AZ, Mülheim: https://www.facebook.com/events/759833277382325/

Saturday Zero Unique @ UJZ Korn, Hannover: https://www.facebook.com/events/1469309226647753/ ***

*** We are not listed on the flyer, but we are playnig since our friends in Dezafra Ridge sadly dropped off. Thanks to Steffi for inviting us!

October Shows

We are going to play these two shows in October:

17.10. Haglaz Fest @ AZ Mülheim with Planks, Unru and more
https://www.facebook.com/events/759833277382325/?fref=ts

25.10. Juzi, Göttingen with Ophis and Crimson Swan
https://www.facebook.com/events/382097338611085/?fref=ts

Be sure to mark them in your calendars! 

Leftover merch for sale

We have some leftover merch from our summer tour for sale in our bigcartel store. Check it out here:

http://abestmusic.bigcartel.com/

Pictures: Live in Regensburg (August 2014)

Pictures by Michael Suess http://suessmichael.de/

Tour starts this Wednesday

Our summer tour starts this Wednesday! Make sure to come around! If you can help us out with a last-minute show please write to joe@statelesssociety.com. Thanks!

06. Aug GER Dresden Chemiefabrik w/ Church Of Misery & Earthship
07. Aug GER Leipzig SxMxLDx w/ Employed To Serve & Svalbard
08. Aug GER Regensburg L.E.D.E.R.E.R. w/ Light It Up & June Paik
09. Aug PL Warschau Przychodnia Squat w/ Kaldera
10. Aug GER Hamburg Gängeviertel w/ Revenge
11. Aug mail joe@statelesssociety.com
12. Aug GER Gießen Muk w/ Amber
13. Aug mail joe@statelesssociety.com
14. Aug GER Bielefeld Potemkin w/ Barren Hope
15. Aug GER Göttingen Theaterkeller w/ Contwig
16. Aug GER Solingen Waldmeister w/ Nightslug & Cut

Upcoming: Leipzig, Regensburg, Solingen

 07.08.14. Leipzig w/ Employed To Serve & Svalbard
https://www.facebook.com/events/251379861737228/

 08.08.14. Regensburg w/ Light It Up
https://www.facebook.com/events/585483874903558

 

16.08.14. Solingen w/ NIGHTSLUG & Cut
https://www.facebook.com/events/1503266766553270/

Still two open dates

Hey friends, we still need your help with our tour. We could fill a few of the dates (thank's to all the promoters who helped us out!), but two are still open:

Mail to joe@statelesssociety.com for further information. Thanks!

An Italien Review

Thanks to Metalitalia.com for the nice words. It's sounds funny to read it up in the Google Translator, but it least it seems they like what we do. So thank you, guys!

La formula è cosa nota, e lì nulla di nuovo. Ma tra questo e il farne qualcosa di interessante ce ne passa e come. E questo è proprio ciò che hanno fatto i tedeschi Abest, giovanissima compagine neocrust che con questo “Asylum” giunge al debut album sulla lunga distanza. Non ci si sbaglia nel sentire lo sludge-crust imbruttito e tenobroso dei tedeschi: siamo proprio nei dintorni di band post-crust come Planks, Light Bearer, Fall of Efrafa da un lato, band melodic crust come Madame Germen, primi Morne, Link, Tragedy e Unkind dall’altro e con il solito calderone “post” alla Rosetta e Downfall of Gaia in mezzo. Parliamo insomma di un hardcore/sludge denso, titanico e pregno di melodie sinistre e decadenti, in cui si alternano una rabbia primordiale e incontenibile (adolescenziale?) e uno splendido gusto per melodie e atmosfere, in cui placidi i riflessivi momenti di ambiguo minimalismo si alternano a svettanti bordate di sludge metal belluino e accompagnato come sempre nel caso da urla strozzate e rancide di puro stampo hardcore. Nulla di nuovo sotto il sole, direte voi, ed in un certo senso questo è vero, ma i ragazzi hanno fatto un ottimo lavoro nel comporre stavolta pezzi per lo più brevi e concisi che veicolano intensità e personalità con estrema naturalezza e facilità e che di rado si perdono nelle solite menate minimaliste e ripetitive tanto care all’universo “post” per essere atmosferici e raffinati a tutti i costi. I Nostri hanno preferito invece un approccio alla melodia e al minimalismo che ha più il sapore di brevi pause e interludi necessari a catalizzare violenza e a raccogliere le forze per sprigionare il prossimo assalto hardcore che il desiderio di essere raffinati avventurandosi in territori post-rock. Atmosfere tese, inquietanti e plumbee sono insomma il filo conduttore comune che lega insieme ogni isolato momento del disco, sia quelli di maggior rabbia che quelli di più pacata riflessività, e che tengono insieme il tutto; e proprio come nel caso dei Tragedy, anche gli Abest (che sembrano essere grandi fan a tutti gli effetti della famosa band di Portland) sono abilissimi nel creare atmosfere agguerrite e belligeranti dal forte sentore apocalittico con relativa e apparente facilità. Un lavoro pregevole, insomma, per una band che si affaccia sulle scene per la prima volta ma che mostra di avere già ottime idee in testa e una montagna di cose – si spera – da dire in futuro.

- http://metalitalia.com/album/abest-asylum/

Summer Tour 2014 - Help needed!

Hey friends, we need your help to fill the last dates of our Summer Tour in August. Sadly our friends in Earthship can't come with us, but we will do the ride on our own. If you can help us out with a show, please mail to

joe@statelesssociety.com

We would really appreciate any help! Thank you all for the support and hopefully see you soon!

Visions Review

"Asylum" recently got a review in the Visions Magazin. Thank you! Order your copy here: http://abestmusic.bigcartel.com/ or here: http://abest.bandcamp.com/

Pictures: Live in Braunschweig (December 2013)

Pictures by SW × CONCERT PHOTOGRAPHY: https://www.facebook.com/swxcp

Some dates left to fill

Our tour with Earthship in August is nearly complete! There are only a handful of dates to fill. Please get in touch with joe@statelesssociety.com if you want to set up a show and get some information. We would really appreciate any help! Thanks!

Here are the open we need to fill:

07. Aug - Czech Republic
11. Aug - Germany
12. Aug - Germany
13. Aug - Belgium/Netherlands
14. Aug - Belgium/Netherlands

Haglaz Fest

We are playing the Haglaz Fest in Mülheim/Ruhr in October alongside with our freinds in Planks and Unru. Check it out:

https://www.facebook.com/events/759833277382325/

Another Review

Here's a sweet review from the german Fuze Magazine. Also our first print-review! Thanks!

More Reviews of Asylum

Thanks to Demonic Nights from Austria and Tzertzelos from Greece for the cool reviews! 

"Der alles für sich einnehmende und Hoffnung erdrückende Sound zieht sich durch dieses Debüt. “Grau” bemüht sich um den Einsatz auflockernder Mittel. Sägende, entstellte Gitarren richten Schaden an, die Schreie verhallen im Klangwall – umgeben von nachdenklichen Isis-Gitarren, von lichten Momenten, von Ansätzen versöhnlicher Momente, die schließlich in “Monolog” auf die Spitze getrieben werden. Die Sechssaiter singen, ein gewisses Gefühl der Erhabenheit setzt ein, die Hände werden gen Himmel gestreckt, bevor dieser unvermittelt über dem Hörer einstürzt.

Viel hässlicher, unförmiger und doch kompromisslos gut zusammengestellt könnte “Asylum” nicht sein. Warum Abest diesen Rückzugsort dringend benötigen, zeigen sich mehr als 40 Minuten lang. Unwirtlich ist die Welt da draußen, erdrückend, erstickend, alles andere als lebenswert. Eine dicke Post-Hardcore-Dreckkruste liegt über den sieben Songs, nur selten bricht sie auf, um feinsinnige Melodien durchzulassen. Man sehnt sie hierbei und kann es doch kaum erwarten, abermals von den dicken Gitarrenwänden oder der brachial agiernden Rhythmusabteilung zermalmt zu werden – eine Empfehlung für die Zukunft." 8 / 10

- http://www.demonic-nights.at/2014/05/abest-asylum/



"Asylum” contains seven songs. It starts with ”Nebel”, which i think is one of the best songs of this album. ”Oubliette” is a great post metal song. ”Grau” which means grey is a really nice song. I really liked those black metal riffs in my opinion. ”Asylum” is great as well. Loved the black metal parts. Nice basslines also. ”Vessel” comes next and i’m starting to wander if ”Post metal plus hardcore” is sufficient enough to describe the band’s sound. I think the answer is no. There’s so much more in this album. And the listener is discovering it while listening to this album. It’s amazing how good ”Shiver” is. ”Asylum” ends ideally with ”Monolog”, a song that reminded me a bit of Amenra.

Overall this is a great release. The band must know that they have done a terrific job. Really liked the vocals and the album’s production. Nice front cover art also. I think this is one of the best albums this month in my opinion. Fans of Downfall of Gaia, Fall of Efrafa, Alpinist should check this album out."

- http://tzertzelos1.wordpress.com/2014/05/17/abest-asylum/

First Asylum Reviews

The first reviews of "Asylum" are now online! Thanks to Justin at Metalbandcamp.com and Habi from In-Your-Face.de for the kind words.

"Abest's post-hardcore and sludge mix appeals to that part of me. As on their demo, Abest works with just a few sounds on their full length, Asylum. You get bass, drums, chiming clean guitars mixed with distorted riffing, and those meaty, hardcore bellows. The tone of those don't vary much, but don't mistake limited ingredients for a limited sound. The band might leave out the samples, synths, orchestrations, and other ornamentations, but they still conjure up plenty of variety and emotional power. The title track (probably my favorite) shows the full range of what they can do. The jangling dissonance of the opening moves into a slow-paced stomp, then eventually gives way to a quiet, mournful passage before ramping back up to a grinding riff you'll feel in your teeth. The textures range from delicate to soul-crushing. 

The band may be sticking to the basics of what made their demo so enjoyable, but there's also growth. The full-length gives us a more pronounced bass presence that rounds out the sound nicely, and in subtle ways, the music is spookier and more dissonant than the demo tracks. Songs break apart and reform in ways that are unpredictable but utterly satisfying. I have no doubt this will be on my year-end list."

- http://metalbandcamp.com/2014/05/abest-asylum.html


"Dort wo andere Bands das Leiden künstlich und hin und wieder auch kunstvoll verlängern, bleiben ABEST bodenständig und direkt. Atmosphäre kann man auch ohne Tasten, Bits und Bytes kreieren. Die Songs sind nicht immer rund - es holpert schon mal so richtig - das ein oder andere Teilstück hat man auch schon mal gehört, aber den schmalen Grat zwischen Perfektionismus und Langeweile lassen ABEST NEUROSIS und ihre Klone wandern. Die Dunkelheit um ABEST schlägt um sich und hinterlässt Spuren, geistige als auch körperliche." 8 / 10

- http://www.in-your-face.de/release/abest-asylum

Asylum Stream

Yo can now stream our entire debut album "Asylum" on our bandcamp page:

Video for "Nebel"

Noisey is premiering our first ever music video. You can watch it over here:

http://noisey.vice.com/de/music-video-premieres/exklusive-videopremiere-abest-nebel

The video for "Nebel" was filmed and produced by our singer Joscha, who also has his own blog. Check it out: http://joschabauer.tumblr.com/

Asylum is now available directly from us!

You can now order „Asylum“ on 12“ vinyl directly from us! We only have a limited amount of white wax in stock, so be quick! Digital download code included!

http://abestmusic.bigcartel.com/

TCM Record Store Day Flexi Disc

We are part of a flexi disc This Charming Man Records released for the Record Store Day a few weeks ago. You can download our song "Shiver" and tracks from cool bands like Fjort or Die Nerven for free! Check it out!

https://www.dropbox.com/s/chmxicwddrtf8lf/flexi.zip

Soon..

Pre-Order online!

You can now pre-order our debut full length "Asylum" directly from This Charming Man Records! There are 100 limited copies on clear wax available for pre-order. The regular pressing is 400 on white.  Take a look here:

http://www.thischarmingmanrecords.com/index.php/thischarmingmanwebshop/

Flyer for the Stateless Society Fest

The flyer for the Stateless Society Fest in Berlin is now online. We are stoked to play with a ton of cool bands there! Be sure to come around!

New Review

The guys at Metal Bandcamp wrote a nice review about your Demo, which we released two years ago. Thanks!

"Last month, I stumbled across Cvlt Nation's premiere of "Shiver" (which is now also available for streaming on Abest's Bandcamp), which is a song from the upcoming full-length by the German band Abest. The thundering bass line intro and sludgy guitars hooked me almost immediately. The album, Asylum, doesn't come out until May, but I wanted more. Luckily, I found Abest's 2012 demo on Bandcamp.

Abest plays a mix of airy post-metal and sludgy riffs, topped off with low, hardcore bellows. The first few minutes of the opener, "Solando," nicely captures everything I love about what I've heard from this band so far. The intro is a simple, chiming guitar pattern over bass and minimalistic drumming. If that intro is the nerves before battle as the sun rises over the hills, then the main riff kicking in is the sight and sound of tanks coming over those hills. The music is straightforward without being simple. Which isn't to say that they can't kick up a furious ruckus when they want to. A large part of "Into Grey," for example, is an almost barely-there menace, but around the two-minute mark, the band erupts into a storm of sound before drifting back into tense atmosphere.

Everything works for me here--the low roars, the crunchy guitars, the subtle bass and drumming. Abest takes what some might find to be a relatively limited sonic palette and use it to create brilliantly crafted songs. If the preview of "Shiver" is any indication, they've stepped up their game on the full length, which has put their new work on my highly anticipated list. The demo will have to hold us over for now, though."


- http://metalbandcamp.com/2014/03/abest-demo-mmxii.html


Don't forget that you can still download the demo for free on our bandcamp page!
http://abest.bandcamp.com/

New song online!

You can listen to "Grau" from "Asylum" via the This Charming Man-Records Soundcloud:
https://soundcloud.com/thischarmingmanrecords/abest-grau/

Here are some details about the record: "Asylum" will be released on 12" vinyl (100 pieces on clear vinyl, 425 on white vinyl). It will contain 7 songs and will come with some silver foil details on the outer sleeve. Pre-order will be up soon!  There will also be a full album stream in late April.  

Pictures: Live in Münster (March 2014)

Pictures by diegoldenehord.de

European Tour in August

We will be doing a european tour from August 8th to August 16th!
Stateless Society is taking care of the booking, so write to joe@statelesssociety.com if you want to set up a show. We would really appreciate it! So see you in August, Europe! 

Ps.: Check out the other cool tours Stateless Society is doing: https://www.facebook.com/statelessconcerts?fref=ts

Münster with Mountain Witch in March & Stateless Society Festival in August

We are going to support Mountain Witch from Hamburg on March 15th in Münster.

https://www.facebook.com/events/462658333839162/

Also we will play the Stateless Society Festival in Berlin on August 2nd. The line-up is pretty cool so far: Evergreen Terrace, AYS, No Omega, Test Of Time, Bent Life, Light It Up, Sundowning and us!

https://www.facebook.com/events/167553046770995/

And last but not least we are planing a big tour for late summer at the moment. Be prepared!

First song onilne!

You can stream "Shiver", the first song from our debut full length "Asylum", over Cvlt Nation! "Asylum" will be out in May via This Charming Man Records. Thank you for listening!

"We at CVLT Nation are honoured to stream the song Shiver off Asylum now – a crawling, depressing and incredibly bleak piece of music that sets the bar very high for the whole album. Dwell in this thunderous, unsettling experience now and prepare for this world’s downfall."

http://www.cvltnation.com/shiver-abest-streaming-now/ 

Our full length is coming soon!

We are proud to announce that our upcoming full length will be released over This Charming Man Records, home of great bands like The Tidal Sleep, Orbit The Earth or Mountain Witch. It will be titled "Asylum" and we recorded it back in August 2013 at the Hidden Planet Studio in Berlin with Jan Oberg, who also did recordings for bands like Deathrite or Earthship. News about the release date, the artwork and the first song will be announced in February!

"Die Musik von Abest aus Göttingen/Bielefeld/Kassel hört sich an, als seien die vier Jungs in ihren zarten Alter schon an dieser düsteren und bösen Welt zerbrochen und wenn nicht das, dann zumindest reichlich enttäuscht worden. Die Bezeichnung “düster” reicht fast nicht mehr um diesem musikalisch umgesetzten schwarzen Loch der guten Laune auch nur ansatzweise gerecht zu werden.

Ihr erstes Full Length “Asylum” gleicht mehr einer Abrissbirne, die langsam aber dafür stetig an die maroden Mauern dieser Zivilisation dängelt. Hier und da bröckelt es dann und das was da bröckelt ist nichts Schönes. Diese Art von Musik wird heutzutage wohl Post Metal genannt, denn es treffen in der Tat unterschiedlichste Spielarten von extremer Musik aufeinander: atmosphärische Delay-Parts, dissonante, Soundscape-artige Zahnschmerz-Parts, Doom-Parts, Spannungsbögen die unmittelbar in sich zusammenfallen und apokalyptische Vibes, die Neurosis auch nicht besser hätten machen können.

Kurzum: nichts für schwache Musiknerven, das sei gesagt. Nicht zuletzt, weil man eher an vier Holzfäller im Scott Kelly-Style denkt, die alles erdenklich böse auf dieser Welt wenn nicht selbst getan, dann doch bitte schön zumindest schon live gesehen haben und NICHT an die vier tatsächlich putzigen Abest-Bengel, die nicht Angst sondern eher Eltern-Spiessigkeits-Gefühle in einem erwecken! Nach dem Motto: dürfen die so was denn überhaupt schon alleine machen?

Erstaunlich, dass aus so einem schmächtigen jungen Mann so ein gesanglicher Höllenschlund emporragt – Chapo! Ein Stubentiger kann halt auch growlen, gell!

Für Fans von Alaskan, Red Apollo, Fall Of Efrafa, Omega Massif und frühen Isis ein Top Adresse – Also ich bin Fan!"

Pictures: Live in Berlin (January 2014)

Pictures by Aythami Saavedra / Stageload.de