It’s windy and chilly night here in New York City and yes there is even a hefty amount of rain teeming down on us as I compose this narrative and what better a setting to share the recently broadcast news about the band Electric Wizard who will be setting their sights on the USA and bringing Doom to all those interested in the tour. Check out the poster and press release below and then we can chat about it a little bit more just you and me.
The Press Release: Here’s huge news that will delight doom fans all over the U.S. English doom haulers Electric Wizard, who are one of the biggest, if not the biggest doom band in the world, will embark on a U.S. tour in 2015. It is the first time that the band will touch down on U.S. soil to tour in 12 years. Yes, it’s been a long time since Electric Wizard have toured here, but they are decidedly worth the wait. Support will come from Satan’s Satyrs, featuring Wizard bassist Clayton Burgess. The band will tour in support of Time to Die, their 2014-released opus, which came out via Spinefarm Records and was universally praised as one of the band’s best. The tour launches March 31 in Philadelphia and runs through April 19 in Los Angeles. Continue reading Electric Wizard Plots To Unleash Doom Upon US Territories In 2015→
Artist: Solitude Aeturnus Title: “Hour Of Despair” Label: Metal Mind Productions Release Date: 3/10/2009 Genre: Doom Metal Rating: 4/5
If you ask my opinion on this release I would say that it was about time that it was put out and should have truthfully been packaged with the DVD that bears the same name. Now that I have gotten that out of my system may I present for your audio receptors the amazing live concert recording of Doom Metal masters Solitude Aeturnus “Hour Of Despair”. I’m not sure why the audio version and the video version were not released at the same time even if the company chose to present them to the Metal legions in separate editions and all that matters is that it is finally here. I say it like this because the video concert was so damned good and finds the band on top of their game presenting a great number of tunes from across the span of their career. The riffs are crunching and the vocal melodies haunting while the drumming trudges like a slow moving train into the fog filled night. It’s all about mood with this band of Texans and while they had formed in 1987, they clearly hold the sword high for the genre that Black Sabbath kicked into gear decades before. Fronted by the enigmatic Rob Lowe, the band is a must seek out group for any fans of Trouble, Pentagram and Candlemass based on their deep subject matter and overpowering sound. The show was recorded in Poland, the home base of Metal Mind Productions, and presents to the listener the twelve tracks that made up the main segment on the DVD that bears the same name. Essentially this is a live Greatest Hits piece based on how it touches upon a number of the Solitude Aeturnus releases and gives you what the band feels is their very best. I have to say that they sound better than ever when you consider how this recording came to be some twenty years after the band first began. Continue reading “Hour Of Despair” by Solitude Aeturnus→
Artist: Moth Eater Title: “The Thunder God Of Monster Island” Label: Giddy Up! Records Release Date: 7/13/2010 Genre: Doom Metal Rating: 4/5
New York Doom Metal fans rejoice for our own Moth Eater have finally gotten out of the studio and delivered unto us an EP entitled “The Thunder God of Monster Island”. The dramatic name is perfect for the group and calls to mind two Pop Culture references that denote power and intensity and when added together for a common goal, the listener gets a solid frame of reference on the smiting that’s delivered courtesy of the band. An interesting thing about Moth Eater as a band is how their pasts find them coming at this project from a number of different musical angles with singer John Alaia being a Dethcore/Hardcore vocalist, guitarist John Conley a Metalcore/Grindcore axe slinger and rhythm section Buckshot and Dave Ardolina at one time being the backbone of Sleaze Rock’s Dirty Rig. Oddly enough, the foursome is able to make the experiment work out, and rather well. Here are some thoughts about the four tunes that the EP presents to us. Continue reading “The Thunder God Of Monster Island” by Moth Eater→
Artist: Trouble Title: “The Videos” Label: Independant Release Date: Genre: Doom Metal Rating: 3/5
If you were ever a fan of the legendary Doom Metal band Trouble then you will certainly enjoy some of the things that the band is releasing under their own power. This is a good thing for while we were able to enjoy remastered editions of “The Skull” and “Psalm 9” from their back catalog on their previous label Escapi Music, these particular items would have never seen the light of day had the band not opted to release them on their own. The band had a handful of videos which I recall being more underground than on the likes of MTV of the day when the network actually played such things and now thanks to being able to deliver such products on ones own dollar we have them all in one place to easily enjoy. Looking at them so many years after they were first recorded makes me smile a little because while great songs these were only ok in terms of the video that they did. There are many scenes with band members walking or standing around or on the stage but let’s face it, this was the kind of film that a Metal band did for the most part. There was no budget for bands of this type to be on jet skis or boats like we found the guys in Duran Duran doing in their own clips. I will say that the films are quite clear and the sound was on target and this made me feel that they would appeal to those who have had them on video tapes for a couple of decades. Listening to the tracks as these films played out made me go back in time to when the Doom Metal genre was starting to pick up steam amidst all the Hair Metal that was going on. Bands like Trouble were offering up a nice heavy take on things and crushing the listener with riffs as opposed to teasing their hair and singing about getting drunk. It was a welcome difference for those who were longing for something heavy to take place again. Trouble was definitely a band that was bringing a lot to the listener during these years. Continue reading “The Videos” by Trouble→
