The Doom Doc is a captivating, visceral look into the world of doom, a super slow subgenre of heavy metal. Sheffield filmmaker, Connor Matheson follows the story of Holy Spider, a group of doom gig promoters in Sheffield, and speaks to Black Sabbath's Bill Ward, Crowbar's Kirk Windstein, Conan, Primitive Man and Slabdragger, as well as up-and-coming UK bands such as Kurokuma and Under. The film also features plenty of immersive footage from live shows in bars and basements, and explores issues such as drug use, mental health and gentrification through the lens of heavy music.
Made on a budget of £2000, this is the first documentary ever on UK doom, sludge and stoner, a scene that traces its roots all the way back to Black Sabbath's debut in 1970 but is currently thriving like never before.
We recently announced the premiere of The Doom Doc: 8pm on Sunday 9th July at the Showroom Cinema, Sheffield (certificate 18). There will be a Q&A session afterwards featuring Connor Matheson (director/producer), Joe Allen (Holy Spider/Kurokuma) and Rob Graham (Drenge, ex-Wet Nuns).
Release
date: May 24th 2017. Label: Fuzzmatazz Records. Format: CD/DD/Vinyl
Revelers
– Tracklisting
1.Leveled Reveler
07:49
2.Pusher 03:04
3.Messina 07:15
4.Walkin' on Air
03:50
5.Fuzz Muncher 04:42
6.Rolling Hitch
10:03
Band
Members:
Eggat - Vocals
Dirk - Guitar &
Vocals
Konni - Organ
Dän - Bass
Säsh - Drums &
Vocals
Review
I believe this is
Operators third album. I'm fairly new to their robust Stoner Rock
sound and their new album Revelers - acts a great introduction for
beginners such as myself. Operators have quite a boisterous and
playful angry side with their music that they fuse with psychedelic
blues riffs.
Opening track - Leveled
Reveler - opens with a two minute instrumental piece that shows what
Operators are made of. Fast-paced blues driven psych stoner rock
before the vocals finally appear.Some very cool organs appear and it
allows Operators to play a very different kind of Stoner Rock sound.
Trippy funk based psychedelics appear towards the song.
The vocals
from Eggat feel influenced by Anthony Kiedes of RHCP fame. It's a
strong opening track and one that makes you feel at ease with the
crazy music being played around you. These guys are highly thought of
within the Stoner Rock world and from this song it's not hard to see
why.
Second track - Pusher -
is a thrashier punk kind of sound. A slight change in musical
direction with sixties psychedelic sounding organs merged with the
more modern thrash/punk stoner sound. I don't know why but I can hear
elements of classic heavy metal sounds but given a psychedelic blues
rock makeover when the heavier moments appear. Maybe I'm crazy, just
the feeling I experience when listening to this album.
Third track - Messina -
is a calmer affair with slowly played moments of psychedelic blues
based rock. The organs add a gloomier atmosphere with subtle vocals
from lead singer Eggat. The song does feel emotionally distant at
times but that's probably down to the slow-paced riffs that appear on
the first half of the track. The second half of the song is a very
different story as Operators go slightly demonic with the heavier and
doomier riffs that appear. The song does move into more prog rock
territory especially with the vocals and lyrics of the song.
The final three songs -
Walkin' On Air, Fuzz Muncher and Rolling Hitch all carry on the
experimental vibe of the opening tracks. Crazy Stoner Rock sounds
merged with a blues/hard rock vibe with great lyrics to match
especially on Walkin' On Air.
The final track -
Rolling Hitch - lasts for around ten minutes and it did start to test
my patience at times. It's not a bad song, it's a great song overall.
It's that the band changes the mood far too many times and it can be
quite exhausting to keep up with. Though I do admire their talent and
drive for writing a song such as Rolling Hitch. Overall, Revelers is
a hugely enjoyable album with many exciting moments that will keep
the most jaded Stoner Rock fan entertained from start to finish.
Is this an album I will
be listening to all the time? Possibly not but I will return to the
crazy world of Operators from time to time. Mainly to be entertained
and be thrilled by some of their wacky and strange ideas held on the
album.
Release
date: June 09th 2017. Label: Undergroove Records. Format: CD/DD
Barrabus
– S/T – Tracklisting
My Nightmare As A
Reality TV Contestant
The Trials Of Joseph
Merrick
Master Of Disguise
Porn!
Kleptomania
Behind Closed Doors
Preop
In League With Vader
This Is The End
Band
Members:
Paul
Catten (Vox / Electronics / Theremin)
Mark
Seddon (Vox / Guitars / Noise)
Matt
Keen (Vox / Bass )
Adam
Evans (Vox / Drums)
Review
I can't lie to you. I'm
a HUGE fan of pretty much anything Paul Catten is involved in. I all
but stalked Murder One back in the day, and The Sontaran Experiment
is another favourite of mine. That said I missed out on Barrabus the
first time round for whatever reason so I was more than a little
pleased when this turned up for me to review.
There were some little
teaser videos doing the rounds about a month ago featuring no more
than 30 seconds of music (which turns out to be roughly half of my
favourite song on the record) which nicely whetted my appetite for
more...
Opening track "My
Nightmare As A Reality TV Contestant" starts of with a nice
percussive riff with vocals that sound like they're going through a
megaphone, before the song fully bursts into life just past the
minute mark. It effortlessly lurches from one frenetic section to the
next before it's closing and repeated vocal refrain "This show
will be the death of me..."
Next up we get the 1.19
"The Trails Of Joseph Merrick" the song from the teaser
video. I'll be honest when I first saw the video I was hooked. Again
it switches through styles and aggression levels as it violently
propels itself towards its conclusion. Special mention for the
fucking feral vocals at the 0.29 second mark. Every time I hear it I
immediately want to lose my shit to it.
In a genre (though I'm
not sure this is technically a "sludge" record) were there
are few very distinctive vocalists surely Paul Catten has to be
amongst the greats. Morrow and Mike IX essentially...
The rest of the record
thematically follows suit. Songs come and go never outstaying their
welcome, moving through tempo, style and ferocity as the mood takes
them. All in all this great self titled record is a fantastic
release, chock full of excellent musicianship, a great production and
a refreshing approach to songwriting as there are no generic
formula's followed here.
A must have record.
Words
by Simon Ross Williams
Thanks
to Simon at I Like Press for the promo. Barrabus – S/T will be available to buy on
CD/DD via Undergroove Records from June 9th
2017.
Release
date: May 20th 2017. Label: Self Released. Format: DD
HEAVYGAZER – Tracklisting
Exploits Of Man Praise a Name Temple Smoke Clarity and Inclusions (Sparks) Into Mountains Return Strange Sorcery
Members:
Brian E. Smith Blake McWhorter Mark Baker
Review:
Wax Ruins is a band
from Texas, USA that specializes in a different kind of Doom Metal
sound. The band takes influence from bands diverse such as Ride,
Tool, Torche and Yob. Their debut album - HEAVYGAZER - is a complex
and progressive sounding album that pushes the boundaries between
Indie Rock style anthems with a heavy Sludge/Doom Metal outlook.
Distorted and full of psychedelic experimental riffs that allow the
band to create something you don't hear every day.
Opening track -
Exploits Of Man - is an almost twelve minute epic that opens with
indie/shoegaze rock theatrics before heavy moments of Sludge/Stoner
riffs appear with trippy vocals leading the way. The band adds a YOB
style gloomy atmosphere to their music. The song never becomes bogged
down by the different ideas and sounds that Wax Ruins have at their
disposal. Moments of drone rock appear and it allows the music to
flow more naturally.
Second track - Praise A
Name - opens with a long drawn out psychedelic drone sound merged
with sludgy/stoner based guitars. The song slowly builds up an
exciting rhythm before a Torche style atmosphere appears. The
drumming is calm and precise before the song moves into firmer
Sludge/Stoner Rock territory. This song is perhaps the more
Sludge/Stoner rock sounding song on the album. Wax Ruins may play it
too safe on this track but it's still an excellent track that
showcases their song-writing talents to great effect.
The next two tracks -
'Temple Smoke' and 'Clarity and Inclusions' - both see Wax Ruins
tease the audience again with the change of direction in their sound
as the album moves from different genres again. You're treated to
moments of psychedelic rock, sludge, doom and stoner riffs with the
band showing a great talent for sonic experimentation. The vocals and
lyrics have a bleak outlook to them and may prove off-putting for
some listeners.
HEAVYGAZER isn't an
album for everyone. It's a challenging album to listen to but if you
put the time in then you will richly be rewarded with a complex
sounding album.
The fifth track -
(Sparks) Into Mountains - is without question the standout track on
the album. Sixteen minutes of pure doom/sludge/psych/prog rock
experimentation where the band throws everything at you. It's quite
an uplifting track despite the bleak moments that appear on the song.
There is a definite YOB influence on this song with the band managing
to create their own sound.
The final two tracks -
Return and Strange Sorcery - offer two final rounds of trippy
psychedelic stoner/doom based moments with elements of Post-Rock
making more of an appearance. Though after hearing this album
multiple times over the last few days I'm beginning to hear the
Post-Rock vibe a lot more. A sign at how talented these guys are in
creating weird and wonderful sounding heavy music. The production on
HEAVYGAZER is incredible as the album is loud and intense from the
start.
The album artwork is
striking and matches the mood perfectly that the album conveys. If
you're in the mood for a different sounding Doom/Stoner Metal album
then HEAVYGAZER is the album for you. It's perhaps the best debut
album I've heard this year and that's saying something. HEAVYGAZER is
a brilliantly complex and uplifting album.
Release
date: May 26th 2017. Label: Self Released. Format: CD/DD
Astral:
Death/Birth – Tracklisting
1.Astral Death 07:46
2.Astral Birth 12:16
Members:
Big Dog (guitar)
Joe E. Deliverance (drums &
vox)
Deaf Hank (bass & lead vox)
Review
Firstly I have to
apologize to Dö for not reviewing their excellent debut album –
Tuho – which was released last year. Sometimes I miss albums when
they're originally released and that was one of those times. I'm not
making the same mistake with Dö superb new EP – Astral:
Death/Birth. A twenty minute two song EP which is packed with
delicious dark stoner/sludge/doom riffs.
With these guys being
from Finland, you can expect heavy riffs from the start. Opening
track – Astral Death – is an ugly sounding track at times with
Deaf Hank's vocals providing a nightmarish feel. Dö's sound has a
slight punk based vibe and the sound can be very raw at times but it
allows the band to merge different sounds for quite an unsettling
feel. Deaf Hank's vocals veer from clean based growls to almost
death/harsh vocals.
Second track – Astral
Birth – is a more upbeat track with the band returning to their
earlier spaced out sounds. A different contrast to the opening track
and this is perhaps the standout track on the EP. Dö play slow-paced
riffs with moments of ambient noises interacting with the Doom/Stoner
riffs being played in the background. Dö feel they were influenced
by BONG at times as this track has an Ambient Doom feel to it. Though
the band return to the EP's heavier sludge/doom metal roots as the
once upbeat vibe is obliterated to kingdom come with pissed off
vocals and riffs.
Truth be told I wanted
the band to keep on playing their more psychedelic stoner based sound
as it was a cool contrast to the opening track. The EP leaves you
slightly depressed and wanting more at the same time. Astral:
Death/Birth is another winning release from Dö and long-time fans of
the band will find much to enjoy here.
Release
date: May 01st 2017. Label: Self Released. Format: CD/DD
Smoke
Mountain – S/T – Tracklisting
1.Demon 04:36
2.Violent Night
05:22
3.Smoke Mountain
06:24
Members:
Brian Pitt - Drums
Lee Pitt - Guitar
Sarah Pitt - Vocals
Review
Florida Doom/Stoner
Rockers – Smoke Mountain – arrive with a highly confident debut
EP. The EP flows naturally with Doom orientated Stoner riffs with
Sarah's vocals added a more earthly feel. Sure you've heard this
style of Doom/Stoner Metal a hundred times before but that doesn't
stop it being a highly energetic slice of Doom/Stoner Metal.
Opening track – Demon
– has a cool Blues Rock/Fuzz based feel even if on the slightly
demonic side. Sarah proves she's not meant to be messed around with
judging by the spiky and tongue in cheek lyrics fused into the song.
You can hear shades of classic Black Sabbath guitar riffs lurking in
the background and it's good to hear Smoke Mountain opting for a more
classic Doom Metal sound.
Second track –
Violent Night – carries on the demented and violent Doom Metal
sound with delicious strands of violent fuzz making their appearance
known. Smoke Mountain excel in creating nightmarish classic sounds.
Sarah once again excels singing dark tales of despair and madness
with a hypnotic addictive edge. The instrumental work is good for the
most part with Brian and Lee making their presence known with heavy
riffs from the start.
Third track – Smoke
Mountain – is the standout song on the album where the band showing
their most ruthless and creative streak. The song has a more
distorted and lo-fi sound but it works in the bands favour as they
slowly build up the tension by creating a classic doom and gloom
atmosphere. Sarah's vocals are spooky and demented yet again with the
harsh lyrics that will leave you looking over your shoulder.
Smoke Mountain's debut
EP is a thrilling encounter of modern Doom/Stoner Metal that pays
tribute to the classic bands that came before them. I hope Smoke
Mountain have a more longer EP or full length album in the works as I
definitely want to hear more.
Wicked Lester Records is run by Graham Bywater from Possessor. So far they have released the awesome EP by Mesmer and are currently working on future releases which will be announced very soon.
Mesmer EP
Keep an eye on Wicked Lester Records as they will be releasing more great albums in the near future. Links
Release
date: May 2nd 2017. Label: Self Released. Format: DD
Kong
Saves – Tracklisting
1.Dimitri 07:42
2.Death, And Other
Privilege 04:49
3.McMaggot 06:01
4.Thoughts Of Future
Past (feat. Sam 'Slam' Wall) 09:25
Members:
Dai - Guitar/Vocals
Dibble - Bass/Vocals
Kane - Guitar/Vocals
Luke - Drums/Vocals
Review
Kong
Lives is a Stoner/Doom/Post-Metal band from Newport, UK. According to
their band line-up, each member provides vocals on their new EP –
Kong Saves. It's a heavy affair with the band showing a distinct
taste of filth-ridden grooves and riffs. I don't know who is the
actual lead vocalist but whoever it is they do a great job on the
opening track – Dimitri.
Dimitri
blends post-metal/hardcore sounds with a murky Doom/Stoner Metal
vibe. The whole mood is filtered with heavy psychedelic noises as
Kong Lives play to their strengths. The production is handled
surprisingly well for their debut release. It has a DIY feel at times
but the whole album sounds good from start to finish. Kong Lives will
surprise a lot of people with their debut release. As the band
switches gears and start playing a more direct progressive rock
sound. Clean vocals appear for a brief moment before the band return
to the earlier hardcore based growls.
Second
track – Death, And Other Privilege – opts for a more Sludge Rock
sound with hints of NOLA style riffage. It's not as polished as the
opening track but it has a high amount of cool riffs. The vocals
remain with the early hardcore growls with moments of clean angry
pissed off vocals. The music is the main highlight here as Kong Lives
inject a fresh and manic sound at times.
Third
track – McMaggot – is the more Stoner Rock/Metal orientated song
on this EP and it's good to hear Kong Lives open the song with a
slow-paced riff. You are still treated to moments of heavy filthy
doom but the overall mood remains within the bleak Stoner Metal
world.
The
final track - Thoughts Of Future Past – is perhaps the strongest
track on the EP as the band take influence from Ufomammut at times.
Heavy spaced out sounds merged with the killer vocals from Sam 'Slam'
Wall from Judas Cradle. Psychedelic Doom noises interact with
post-metallic vibes that leave you wanting more.
Kong
Saves is a stunning debut EP from a band who have huge potential.
They're not the finished article yet but these guys are definitely
worth keeping an eye on. I'm intrigued to see what these guys can do
when let loose in a professional recording studio and perhaps when
they've released a full length album. Time will tell......
Release
date: June 09th 2017. Label: Ripple Music. Format:
CD/DD/Vinyl
The
Sunken Djinn – Tracklisting
The Sunken Djinn
Calling From The
Core
The Coldest Night
Blood Vortex
Architect Of Despair
Rapturous
Maelstroem
Members:
Guitar & Vocals - Simon
Drums - Emil
Bass - Jonte
Review
You can never keep a
good band away and that is especially true for Swedish Doomsters -
Vokonis - who are about to release their new second full length album
on Ripple Music. The Sunken Djinn. Coming almost fifteen months after
their celebrated debut album - Olde One Ascending. The Sunken Djinn
is a better-rounded and doomier affair with the previous albums
Stoner sounds giving way to a more psychedelic and sludgier groove.
You can still hear that addictive Vokonis groove first heard on their
debut album. The album has a more intense heavy metal feel with
Vokonis taking influence from classic eighties sounding heavy metal
artists at times.
Opening track - The
Sunken Djinn - has recently been released as seven inch single which
sold out in double quick time. Vokonis have a slight nautical feel to
their music on this song with the music being merged with a deep
nautical influence. The lyrics and vocals are superbly put together
and they have a cool understated feel to them. Though it's the riffs
and Simon's near pitch perfect vocals add a real sense of importance
and urgency to the overall flow of the album.
The opening track sets
the scene for the remainder of the album to follow with songs such as
Calling From The Core, The Coldest Night, Blood Vortex and Architect
Of Despair. The songs run between the four minute to six minute mark
and this allows Vokonis to explore and experiment more with their
more progressive sounds. Especially with the albums psychedelic
sounds as it adds a more world weary feel to the album.
The production is
handled superbly well and that is what you expect from a Ripple
Records release. When have those guys ever released a bad sounding
record. I can't think of any. The Sunken Djinn is a doom metal album
in every sense of the term and this is an album that will no doubt
send Vokonis onto greater things. Vokonis take influence from their
musical heroes and you can hear familiar sounds but Vokonis still
manage to create their own sound.
The band becomes
permanent doom dwellers with the music nightmarish in scope. Sue the
last song - Maelstrom - embraces a less enjoyable dronish aspect but
that doesn't stop Vokonis becoming one of the best upcoming bands
within the Doom Metal world. High praise. Maybe, but Vokonis have
delivered the goods with this album. Fans of Black Sabbath, High On
Fire and Mastodon will find much to admire and riff-worship here.
Vokonis have delivered
not only of the year's best Doom Metal album but perhaps one of the
best albums of the year.
Words
by Steve Howe
Thanks
to Richard at Sheltered Life PR and Vokonis for the promo. The Sunken
Djinn will be available to buy via Ripple Music from June 09th 2017 on CD/DD/Vinyl.
Release
date: May 12th 2017. Label: Battleground Records. Format: CD/DD/Vinyl
Hives
In Decline – Tracklisting
1.Hives In Decline
06:55
2.Fuck On Asphalt
05:57
3.Sleeping Dogs
04:41
4.Dry Land 02:01
5.Till Body Quits
04:44
6.Mud 04:57
7.Dread Spectacle
05:36
Members:
Elliot Secrist-Guitars, samples,
vocals
Charles Bogus-Drums
Kory Quist-Bass, vocals
Review
The Ditch And The Delta
are a band I hadn't heard of before. They've been compared to a wave
of different legendary artists within the Sludge Metal field. Though
I feel on their new album - Hives In Decline - the band creates their
own unique sound. Parts Noise Rock, Sludge, Doom and Post-Metallic
sounds. Hives In Decline is built upon math-rock like progression and
that allows the band to create heavy melodic sludgier moments with
fantastic punk/metal vocals.
Opening track - Hives
In Decline - is a confident and self-assured slice of pure
punk/noise-rock driven sound. The song has moments of psychedelic
sludge/doom based grooves that remind me of Kowloon Walled City in
parts that are merged with the post-theatrical sounds of Neurosis.
The album has a gloomy and despairing outlook on life and it all
starts with this great song.
Second track – Fuck
On Asphalt - sees the band opt for a more Sludge Rock driven sound.
It's a more grown-up sound compared to the opening track and the
thumping bass lines add an unsettling feel with The Ditch And The
Delta delivering a more post-punk sound especially with the vocals.
The album may sound and feel under-produced at first, though with a
few more listens of the album, you soon start to become more aware of
the murky atmosphere the band have created on the album. The
different genres and sounds held within the album have hidden meaning
that you may miss the first time you listen to the album.
The album then returns
to a more traditional Sludge Metal sound with songs such as: Sleeping
Dogs, Dry Land and Till Body Quits - carrying on the expert
sludge/doom delivery of the opening two tracks. Hives In Decline
ranks as an uncompromising blend or pure rock/metal aggression and
this band has a lot to say.
It's a shame the album
only lasts for thirty five minutes or so. As the album suddenly ends.
I wanted a couple of more songs from The Ditch And The Delta. Maybe
I'm being slightly greedy there. The Ditch And The Delta aren't
afraid to experiment with their sound and matching their noise/sludge
hybrid sound with moments of Americana which you can hear on the
excellent song - Dry Land.
This album is already
starting to win plaudits within the Doom/Sludge Metal world and it's
not hard to see why. The Ditch And The Delta have delivered a
hard-hitting and uncompromising album that packs an almighty punch.
Excellent and Highly
Recommended.
Words
by Steve Howe
Thanks
to Earsplit PR for the promo. Hives In Decline is available to buy
now via Battleground Records on CD/DD/Vinyl.
When, a few days ago, I
proposed to Steve this article/report, I regretted it immediately,
thinking that maybe it was not the case and could be too
self-referential. Then, I thought about it better, cold in mind, and
I was told, probably, it is only the point of view of one who, at 40,
is taking some small satisfactions away, such as playing in a band,
making records, going around concerts, touring.
From my point of view,
I can only appreciate the effort that hundreds, if not thousands, of
people in the world make every day to allow as many as a hundred
bands (including Dustrider, of course) to emerge from the limbo where
they are confined. Of course, I am aware of the dynamics that often
hide behind this, but this is not the place to talk about.
Big or small they are,
festivals are, without doubt, one of the most important moments of
aggregation, where people are assembled by a single major common
denominator, music. Desertfest, Hellfest, Roadburn, Wacken are just
some of the biggest European festivals where any band in the world
would like to participate and where, most likely, they will never
take part. But it does not matter. Each country has an innumerable
number of small realities where one can express its creativity.
Names such as
Argonauta Fest, Heavy Psych Sounds Fest, Pietrasonica, Sweet Leaf
Festival, SoloMacello Fest, Burning Ruins, are just some of the most
important festivals in Italy that can move the underground world we
all need. On Saturday, May 12th I was, in the double role of
spectator and musician, at the Argonautafest. What to say. There was
an experience I would call it necessary.
Necessary because it
allowed us to play with so many great bands with which we might never
have played. Necessary because it allowed us to give a face and a
voice to all those people who, until then, were just pixels on the
screen. Necessary because allowed to touch with a hand a reality made
of hopes, passion, blows, professionalism and friendship.
Foto di Giovanni Salinardi
The management of the
event, from the audience point of view, was simply perfect. The
comfortable venue (Officine Sonore, Vercelli) have been the perfect
location to hold the event, with a perfect acoustics, being a
non-dispersive place that can accommodate the right number of people.
On this occasion, Argonauta has given way to some of its roster bands
to present themselves in the best way, thanks to 40 minutes of live
set that brought on 8 bands featuring completely different sounds,
from stoner to heavy psych, through sludge and post metal.
Having to play around
midnight, I've had the opportunity to enjoy the first bands that,
despite the ‘tea time’, have been spent as if they were playing
as head-liners at the main stage of the HELLFEST.
NO GOOD ADVICE was
called to a hard test, having to open in the afternoon with a still
small audience who, in any case, participated with transport to their
show. Heroic. The NAAT, coming upstage later on, literally bent the
air with a fresh and original sludge/psych as it had just felt. THE
BUCKLE were, for me, a real surprise. A duo (guitar and drum) with
its roots in a sound that closely remind QOTSA and EODM. The sound
went slowly to darker and heavier territories, passing through the
post-metal of OTUS and the percussive and violent sludge of NUDIST,
until the post elaborations of VAREGO.
One of the most
beautiful aspects (at least for me) of these festivals is the
opportunity to listen to groups that I might have had difficulty
listening, simply because I did not know them. It was the case of the
head-liners EYES FRONT NORTH, a Parisian sludge metal/post-hardcore
quartet that literally amazed me for their music made of so much
psychedelia. We played in the middle and from the point of view of
the band, the organization was perfect. No difficulties, quality
back-lines, line-check that sounded more like a sound check for how
beautiful the sound came out, thanks also to the great sound
engineer.
About our performance I do not pronounce, of course. We had
a lot of fun and I saw the audience as well. Audiences and bands have
shared hours of pure fun, thanks to the high quality of musicians
that hit the stage. The overall feeling of the whole day was more
than pleasant, in an atmosphere that, for both the audience and the
bands, went beyond the mere participation. It was a true family
celebration.
Let me make a special
applause to the Argonauta Records. It is not for flattery. It's not
because our label. It's not because Gero is a friend. It is not for
any of these reasons. It is for the people, whoever they are,
Argonauta or not, that blow continuously, day after day, to pull out
something good from that rot that has become the Italian music scene.
Making music becomes more and more difficult, day after day, due to
an unwelcome general disinterest combined with a lack of space that
inevitably leads to a general sense of overcrowding.
Of course, nothing is
perfect, but there are people out there who invest their lives for
something they really like to do, which fortunately allows them to
live, but that keeps alive those creativity that we often need.
Fortunately, small
realities save us. Long life the underground.
The story of Elephant
Tree (UK) started in around 2013, when four young gentlemen from
London made up their minds to create a stoner doom band. Jack Townley
took the responsibility for guitars and vocals, Sam Hart took
percussion, Riley MacIntyre discovered his talent in singing and
playing sitar, and Peter Holland took the role of bass player and
vocalist (as he was already doing the same in another band: Trippy
Wicked & the Cosmic Children of the Knight).
Their version of doom
stoner is dark, deep and natural in wide sense. Slow flow of spleen
takes you off and plunge in aphotic world of strange trees and thick
riffs. Elephant Tree released their sophomore album April 2016, so
I’ve decided to ask them if new material is already in progress.
Sam replied to my request, and the result of our conversation is
right before you now.
Hello
Sam! How are you? What’s going on in the shadows of Elephant Tree?
Hi Aleks! I’m good
thanks, as are the rest of the guys. We’ve just been in the studio
again recently preparing some final touches to our track for the
Planet Of Doom film. Can’t wait to get it sent over and see the
finished thing!
Planet of Doom? I
heard something about few months ago… It’s some DIY fantastic
movie about doom music?
Yeah,
that’s right. The guy running it is David Paul Seymour, who some
people will immediately recognize as the creator of some of the best
album covers in the scene. It’s going to be this awesome collective
of artists and bands telling a story through music and artwork. You
can hit up more details over here http://www.theplanetofdoom.com/
.
Well, I didn’t
prepare and don’t know how you did figure out the band’s name. So
can you enlighten me – what did you put in the image of Elephant
Tree?
It’s actually a bit
of an anticlimactic story really. We were trying to figure out a good
band name that hadn’t already been used and didn’t sound too
cheesy, so we decided to try looking at book titles. I just googled
‘fucked up books’ and there it was on the list at number 53 or
something. The Elephant Tree by R. D. Ronald. We didn’t even look
what it was about before deciding to stick with it. I think I’m the
only one in the band who’s read it. It’s not too bad actually…
Your debut record
“Theia” was released in 2014, and even for the first record you
chosen James Plotkin to do mastering of your material. Was it a part
of your plan? How did you see Elephant Tree’s right sound back
then?
When
we first decided to record we had no money, had only played a few
gigs, and were working on the songs still. We decided that the sound
we wanted to go for was a raw ‘rough and ready’ kind of sound.
Basically to reflect that we were fairly new and also because we were
all broke! We ended up getting into Sam Thredder’s (Slabdragger)
studio. It’s this cool tiny set up he has in his attic that we
barely all fitted into at the same time. Sam’s great at working
with new bands and had us re-working and tweaking the tracks as we
went along. I think as a band we learnt a lot over that weekend about
how we wanted to progress and build for the next album. Sam suggested
we ask James to master the album and put us in contact. He just seems
to have the talent to make anything sound crushingly heavy.
Was it expensive to
record the first album?
Theia wasn’t
expensive at all really. Sam understands the struggle of new bands
trying to get recorded so sorted us out with a really good offer. To
be honest though, it wasn’t really about the money at that point,
more about getting someone who would understand the genre.
Elephant Tree -
Attack of the Altaica
I
guess that it was good for the band that you found Magnetic Eye
Records pretty soon and they released the album both as CD and vinyl.
Consider promotion side… does it change situation that you’re
based in UK and the label is from USA?
It does get difficult
sometimes. I think the hardest thing is us being able to show the
guys what we’re working on and work on ideas for promotions,
because of the time difference and not being able to be there in
person. The distance and time gap also means it takes a while to get
replies and organize things, but they do get sorted in the end.
The
sophomore album shows natural development of the band though core
components of the debut album are on their places. How would you
determine direction in which the band moved from “Theia” to
“Elephant Tree”?
We
had more time together as people. After a while you get to really
know your band mates and the things that make them tick while playing
live or recording. Also going on tour helps you develop. Just
spending time and listening to each other’s favorite tracks helps
understand what elements each of you want to bring into our own
music. I know my drumming skills developed a lot and Jack and Pete
both honed their tones and styles into something that just felt
comfortable and right.
Riley
was the one who made bigger suggestions of change. He really stepped
back from the writing and live performances to focus on his career
working at The Church Studios so the rest of us had to re-group and
come up with a set of new material that didn’t rely heavily on
Riley’s live involvement. Then we took it into the studio and he
either loved it or told us that it needed to change. It helps having
someone who isn’t married to the ideas you come up with when a riff
gets played for the very first time. It also helps if that person is
certified ‘exceptional talent’ as well…
Speaking about you
“had more time together” – do you mean drinking and smoking?
Some of your songs have thick psychedelic vibe; so do substances help
sometimes?
I mean just generally
hanging out. I don’t know where this whole ‘oh yeah we’re
really cool because we always hang out and smoke weed all the time’
image comes from. I think it’s more closely associated with the
states where it’s generally a bit more accepted. We just go get
trashed in Wetherspoons.
(NOTE –
Wetherspoons is a UK chain of Pubs and Bars around the UK)
Your material is
balanced combination of different sonic experiments: doom elements, a
bit of psychedelic and post influences. How did you invent this
blend?
It really came out of
each of us liking a wide variety of music. We all listen to a lot of
different genres, for instance, Jack listens to a lot of folk music
and Gary Newman, which means one day he might come in and say ‘It’d
be cool to do a weird thing with sung choral harmonies over a
distorted synth’. Then we work on making that work with whatever me
and Pete have brought in before taking it to Riley and asking him to
make it happen in the studio.
Was this formula
calculated? How did you get that this sort of vocals work well with
such music? And sitar, how did you decided to leave it amongst your
tools?
It’s not calculated
at all. We just try make things interesting. There are a lot of good
Doom/Stoner/whatever metal bands out there now, and they all do what
they do very well, but we just decided that we’d rather be a bit
different and make something we found interesting. The sitar came
about because Riley brought it with him to his first band practice
and we all felt bad about telling him to take it home again. It
looked quite heavy.
Another feature of
Elephant Tree is deep melancholic mood, some sort of spleen, what
kind of emotions do you tend to put in your songs?
We try to mix it up a
bit. It’s quite difficult sometimes to not come across as a
miserable bastard, as the genre tends to lend its self towards the
gloomy side of life. I guess that’s why they call it Doom and not
Rainbow metal…
You have a pair of
good poetic finding on the second album, what can you tell about
songs like “Aphotic Blues” and “Surma”?
As with most of our
songs, the musical content comes first and then we play around with a
theme that we think would fit the mood of the music. Playing around
with melody ideas for a while usually brings some lyrical ideas and
then we run with that. I don’t like to give too much away about the
themes of our songs really as it’s better if everyone has their own
interpretations, some interesting and some hilarious.
The
second Elephant Tree’s album was released almost one year ago, can
you already tell something about new material?
We are in the stage of
writing new tracks at the moment and aren’t far off having a few
finished musically already. Its never healthy to set a stern time
limit on things as we want to work on stuff until we feel we’ve
done the best we can with it, but we have set a goal of having a new
release recorded before the year is out.
How do you see
band's prospects consider further sonic development? Do you have an
ultimate goal?
There is no plan or
ultimate goal really, just to keep experimenting. We all have
different ideas but at the same time we aren’t afraid to tell
someone the noise they are making is shit.
Is it necessary to
experiment further? I’m meaning that the second album is just
really damn good one, I wonder that else could be added to such
stuff…
We
are looking at always changing what we do to keep it fresh for the
fans and us. Playing the same style of stuff over and over takes it’s
toll and when it no longer becomes fun then that’s it, the effort
drops and the music suffers. That’s not to say we’ll be going
drastically different, Jack can always release his K-Pop tracks as a
solo project.
You're from London,
and local rock scene is just huge. How did you find your own place
there? Is it easy to find venue for Elephant Tree's live practices?
Having Pete in the band
helps with this. He’s a bit of a celebrity on the scene, so he
knows loads of the other bands and people involved in putting on
shows. There’s also an amazing community vibe that goes on. Bands
message other bands and get each other shows and generally just help
each other out. There are very few ‘big egos’ which helps.
You
mean that Pete is famous dude because of Trippy Wicked & the
Cosmic Children of the Knight, right? How do they gain the
recognition? And why didn’t Pete share this secret with you still?
Pete is just known for
being Pete. Trippy are doing really well but he’s always at gigs
and just seems to know everyone. There really wasn’t any secret to
tell, he’s like magnet when it comes to attracting conversations in
bars.
How often do you
receive feedback from people? Is it enough intensive to motivate you
move further?
Honestly, not as much
as you would imagine. People will come up after shows and we get a
lot of reviews but not many people will tell you when they have an
issue with a song or there’s something they didn’t like. None of
it really changes our views on things anyway, for me personally it’s
a bonus that people dig what we do, I mainly do it because it’s
something I enjoy.
Okay,
Sam, then I hope that this interview will help us to spread the word
about Elephant Tree further and you find more careful listeners
through it. Let’s sum up – what’s band’s general sacred
message?
