The Flight Of Sleipnir - Algiz/Berkanan

This a very interesting release from a project created by Clayton Cushman(Acheronian Dirge,Ex-Throcult) and David Csicsely.Based on the Poetic Eddas and Norse mythology this album is a very experimental Psychedelic Doom affair that is a bit hard to get into at first but after a few listens you will dig the sounds they came up with.The album is basically split into 2 parts,the first being Algiz which is a 19 minute epic that brings together a slice of Pink Floydish style Doom Metal crossover.The second half "Berkanan" is 3 songs that continue in a similar vein but is made up of 3 shorter tracks.

The sound is bleak for the most part which adds to the Psychedelic Doom atmosphere.The playing is excellent and while the production may not be 100% it is good enough to compliment what they are trying to get across.Trying to describe the songs is quite difficult because i think everyone that hears it will get something different out of it.If you like to hear something unique in the world of Doom,you will want to hear this.It is going to be released on CD limited to 100 copies and they are looking to put this on vinyl also.Check it out.8/10

Heaven And Hell - The Devil You Know

This was a highly anticipated album for me. After one listen my overall impression was mixed. After a few more listens I have to say that the album is starting to grow on me. The album has an interesting flow of slow and medium paced songs. But, they are all heavy. The album is a masterpiece of sound recording and mixing. You can hear every musician clearly, and one does not outshine the other. Dio sounds fantastic, better than he has in a number of years. Geezers bass is the heaviest it has ever been. Iommi has more solo's on this album tyhan ever before and they are amazing. Appice is good but seems to be going through the motions on some tracks. This album has a couple of songs that sound like they came straight from DIO's solo catalogue, but, oh well, they are still pretty good. This album is on par with Dehumanizer. Therefore in my opinion it is better than Mob Rules but not quite as good as Heaven and Hell.

"Atom & Evil" - 5:15 This is the opening song. First time I heard it I thought it was a bit slow to open the album. After a few more listens I got used to the pace and really like this slow dreary sounding song.

"Fear"- 4:48 Love the riff on this song. But the chorus leaves something to be desired. Lyrically it reminds me of some of the songs from Headless Cross.

"Bible Black"- 6:29 We have all heard this one because it was pre-released. Very good song.

"Double the Pain"- 5:25 Opens with a distorted bass line reminiscent of some spots on the Mob Rules album. Song has a good riff, good pace, so-so lyrics.Overall this one of the weaker tracks.

"Rock & Roll Angel"- 6:25 This sounds like a DIO song and the album goes a bit downhill at this point.

"The Turn of the Screw"- 5:02 Another DIO sounding song and another average track.

"Eating the Cannibals"- 3:37 - Even though this is a fast paced track compared to the rest of the album,this song is the worst track on the album in my opinion.

"Follow the Tears"- 6:12 Very slow and very, very heavy. A bit like the pace of the first song.They returned to form on this one.

"Neverwhere"- 4:35 Faster paced song. Reminds me of "Falling off the Edge of the World"

"Breaking into Heaven"- 7:03 Mixed pace song. Good work on this one from Iommi. Reminiscent of the way Iommi likes his albums to finish... ie... slow and heavy. See... Eternal Idol, Forbidden, Heaven and Hell..

Overall some people will dig the hell out of this while other may feel disappointed.I myself feel a little let down by the album.I think i might have expected too much but having said all that this album is still better than 90% of the crap out there and is certainly better than recent albums by Priest,Maiden etc etc.Rating - a high 7/10.

Interview With Jotun From Kin Of Ettins

From humble beginnings in 2004 Kin Of Ettins have built themselves up to being one of USA's premier Doom acts.Blending Doom Metal with elements of Folk they have developed a powerful sound that has become a force to be reckoned with.Using slow to more mid-tempo grooves they have enough hooks to their songs to please most if not all Doomheads. They have a album "Tears For Lost Ages" which is one hell of a killer release and they also have a new drummer KC to complete what is already a excellent band.Here is a interview i did with Jotun,guitarist and vocalist for the band.

1.I must say thanks for allowing this interview to happen.Its been a long time coming.Kin Of Ettins had interesting beginnings because it all started with a one man project idea.Want to fill us in on those early days ?

The one-man idea came because at the time I wasn't sure anyone else would want to play traditional doom, and I'd been fans of other single-person bands like Falkenbach & Sisters of Mercy. I wrote the first few songs during that period, but nothing saw the light of day until Donar joined and we recorded the 'Wake' demo.

2.Going from the one man band thing to a full band.How long did that all take and was it hard to find all the right people to bring this to a reality ?

After fumbling around for a year or so on my own, it became clear that real band chemistry would be necessary to get it off the ground. Donar and I had been in a band before and had long talked of working together again, so I brought him a rough recording of 3 songs and he joined almost immediately. Buddaen and I had been in one of the earliest Texas doom bands, Midian. Budd and I had also talked of making music again and the 3 of us had tried to form something prior to Kin of Ettins but the circumstances weren't right at the time. Buddaen still had other very important priorities to sort out when the KoE offer came so it took him a little longer to commit. The drum throne has been more of a revolving door situation, but we're glad to have KC on board. I think we all wish we'd gotten him sooner.

3.Keeping on the subject of the early days,what were the early gigs like ?

The first gig was as a trio with our very first drummer. I handled all the guitar duties that night which was nerve-wracking. Luckily we were opening for a little-known touring band on a Tuesday, so there were only a dozen people or so. Our next show wasn't until 10 months later at the first Dallas Doom Daze with the mark II line-up which survived until Naefi's departure earlier this year.

4.Since the early shows you have progressed to playing on some killer bills including a recent one with Solitude Aeturnus.How was that show ?

Oh man, that show was a blast! One of our best shows yet. Solitude got up there and blew us away, of course! But it gained us some fans for sure. I've got to give a shout out to John Perez for inviting us. We had a lot of fun.

5.Dallas is of course home of the Doom Daze Festival,are you looking forward to that show ?

Very much so. As the organizer, I'll be exhausted by the time it's over though. It's had better promotion this year than last year, so I hope it'll have a great turn-out.

6.Do you have a preference for the larger or smaller shows ?

Dallas/Ft Worth doesn't really get big shows for doom. 50 people is a huge crowd here. That being said, we prefer a larger turn-out for sure.

7.Lets talk influences,how much do they really take a part in the sound and songwriting ?

They are very much a part of what we create, but we've never wanted to emulate any one band or sound too generic. Doom is the style we play and thus the starting point of our influences from Black Sabbath to Solitude Aeturnus, Saint Vitus and so forth, but there are many more styles and genres that play in. We all love other styles of metal like death, thrash, stoner and black metal and we each listen to music outside the metal realm like rock, blues, folk, rockabilly, punk & post-punk, classical, etc. All of these can creep into the creative process although some more than others, obviously.

8.What is your opinion on the current state of Doom Metal.It seems to be that there is more bands than ever before but the quality has fallen a little.What do you think ?

Unfortunately that becomes the case any time a genre approaches its saturation point. Too many people hear it and assume the technique without concentrating on songwriting. Truly good songwriters are very rare though.

9.I was on a forum the other day and people were calling Electric Wizard "generic and mainstream"! Is it possible to be mainstream in a music genre that is so underground anyway ?

I don't know. It's a question of relativity, I suppose. I must say that Electric Wizard broke new ground when they arrived, so whoever called them "mainstream" doesn't know what they're talking about.

10.We have been trying to make Doom Metal a category on Myspace.Do you think it will ever get the acceptance it deserves ?

Maybe. It'll take some time though. So many metal fans still aren't even aware of the existence of doom, while many who do harbor vast misconceptions about it.

11.Back to the band,you have a old school sound and yet you have a almost black metal quality to the production on the album.Is that the blend you were going for ?

I don't know that we were thinking that specifically, but '80s black metal is a personal influence of mine so I guess it shines through.

12.Even though the band is "Pure Doom" you also have some killer hooks.Do you think some bands take the Doom too far and come off sounding boring ?

I think that would be an accurate statement, but it doesn't reflect on doom that much. Any genre can be taken too far in its own context and thus become redundant.

13.What is your opinion on Drone ?

I have much respect for it. It's a brave extreme, and infinitely more difficult to play than most people realize. With that out of the way, I must say it's a bit much for me and doesn't personally appeal to me.

14.The current album,when and where was that recorded ?

That was done late last year in a small jam space in Garland, Tx. which is a suburb just east of Dallas. It was produced by our good friend Louie Shoop.

15.How has been the reaction to the album,have you been getting many reviews ?

The fans have enjoyed it, but no review copies have gone out yet because of a flaw in the replication resulting in some audio glitched in the first batch. We're going to a more reliable company later this week to start a repress which will fix the problem.

16.What is your opinion on the blatant stealing of music that happens on the internet these days and do you think a underground has any chance of making money from selling CD's these days ?

It's a double-edged sword. File-sharing does hinder the sale of hard-copies which forces artists to rethink how they market themselves. The upside is that major labels, being slow on the uptake, are proving themselves too stupid and backward-thinking to cope with it. The majors all went into the red last year. The internet takes away their power to govern the public's tastes, and they're going extinct for lack of adaptability.

17.Have you got a main influence when it comes to vocals and lyrics ?

Not a main one, no. It's a mix. Vocally I cite Ronnie James Dio, Bruce Dickinson, Rob Halford, Robert Lowe, Peteer Steele, Carl McCoy, Scott Reagers & Jim Morrison. Lyrically I'd have to say Count Lyle, Carl McCoy, Steve Harris & Geezer Butler. There are many more on both fronts, but those fellows are a good starting point.

18.If a new Doom band came up to you looking for advice on getting started in the Doom scene,what advice would you give ?

Write good songs & tighten your live performance. Then ask me to put you on some shows!

19.What is the band's plans for the rest of the year ?

We want to keep writing songs for the next record, play more shows around town and take a road trip or two.

20.Thanks and any last words for the Doomsters out there ?

Thank you Ed, for the interview and all you do for the scene. You're a true doom warrior who deserves much respect.Doomsters, keep dooming. Be strong. Support your underground and local scene & stoner bands. Doom 'till death!jotun.

http://www.myspace.com/kinofettins

Interview With Eston Of Humanity Falls

Something different from me this time around and that is a interview with a Grind/Death outfit called "Humanity Falls".I used to be a huge Grind fan in the early days of bands like Napalm Death and hearing this band has got me back in the mood for some heavy doses of Grind.To put it simply this band shreds but with experimental approach which you don't hear that much in the Grind/Death genre.Some of the riffs are bizarre to say the least which gives the band a unique sound in the world of Grindcore.Hope you enjoy the interview and get out and support the band. 1.Tell us about how the band came together ? Well, me and Migs have been working on music together for about 2 years in another band called Kresil. That band is currently split up, but that's how we know each other. Dorian also played bass in that band, also...so in essence the band is three fourths of Kresil. Ammo tried out for Kresil on vocals before I joined, but they went with someone else instead, then I joined. Ammo came to a few of our shows when we were still around and then way back in September we kept in touch after running into each other at a Carcass show. After that show, that's kinda how it happened. Ammo and Migs had a few rehearsals at his house and I used to come by for a few of them and then I decided to join up because the music was really impressive. 2.The band is very much in the "grindcore" mold,have you always wanted to play that style ? Yes. I love the grindcore sub-genre of metal. Napalm Death, Last Days of Humanity are some of my favorite bands. One of my favorite death/grind bands I ever heard was Brodequin and I was hooked. My first band, Merciless Mutilation plays grind now and I recorded a demo with them a year ago. I also play in another grind band Animals Killing People, and we grind it out also so yeah, grind is something of a first love for me. Can't get enough of it! 3.What influences the music more,older bands or the newer ones ? Well, we all have certain influences but I would say for the compositions its a mix of both. Me, personally, the older bands definitely leave a lasting impression on me. 4.Even though the tunes are pretty intense you are also kind of experimental in your approach to songwriting.Is this a fair statement ? Of course! That's the main objective to Humanity Falls. We like to experiment with the death metal sound and also add other outside things to compliment that. Experimenting is essential to pushing the boundaries of music and I think we're gonna stick to that philosophy. 5.What inspires the lyrics ? The inspiration for the lyrics is society and religion. Everything I see and feel on a daily basis. Other bands have a set lyrical theme, whether it's gore or religion or whatever but we don't really have a set topic. It's just how I feel at any given time, with a philosophical twist to it. 6.You have a full length album coming soon,can you give us a update on that ? Sure! Our first record is going to be titled "Prelude to the Awakening" but we are flirting with titles right now. We're planning on composing 4 or 5 additional songs in the upcoming months and as soon as those are completed, we're going to hit up the studio. We have about 2 songs in the works now, and things are coming great so far! Nothing in set in stone as of yet...so stay on the lookout. 7.How has your live shows been,do you get a good response from the audience ? Let's see...we've played about 4 or 5 shows so far. The responses from those who come out has been....not much of a response at all!!!!! Hahaha...we love it, though. It's strange, once people get more familiar with the band and our sound, people will understand more but for now the responses have been quiet during our shows. 8.What is your local scene like ? Me and Ammo are from New York, so the scene there is pretty inconsistent. I don't know much of the scene in New Jersey, but hopefully we can spread it out there soon enough. 9.Are you happy living in North Jersey or would you move the band somewhere else if you could ? I live in Long Island, so I do most of the commuting...so yeah, I would like to move the band to the city. But we'll see...I think we're fine with what we're currently doing. I hate living that far away from everything, though. 10.With the vocals,what frontman/singer do you admire the most ? My favorite vocalist without a doubt is Corpsegrinder Fisher of Cannibal Corpse, only second to Immolation's Ross Dolan. I admire Corpsegrinder to the point where I have emulated my high vocals after him...so if it wasn't for him and his work in Monstrosity and Cannibal Corpse, I wouldn't be doing vocals. 11.You have quite a few shows lined up,how many shows would you like to see the band play each month ? Monthly, i would love for us to play out as soon as possible. The more shows, the more people who come out the better...and with that comes recognition. I love playing shows, so hopefully we get to play more soon and with bands that we all look up to. 12.How do you think the band will progress musically,can you see the band playing this brutal stuff forever ? The band is already progressing with the new music we are writing. I think we will still continue with our grinding sound and our death metal origin, but I think with the more music we write, the more experimental we will become whether or what others may believe. We've all been listening to the new Ulcerate like it's going out of style, so that will probably bleed more influence into our new songs. 13.Finally give us a run down of how people can get hold of your tunes and merchandise in general.... We have new shirts coming very soon, and if you want to get hold of a physical copy of our demo and if you have any other questions, you can check us out at myspace.com/humanityfallsband

Interview With Slasher Dave From Acid Witch

"Acid Witch" released one of the albums of the year in 2008 full of classic tales of Horror and Doom.The music is a mixture of Doom,N.W.O.B.H.M and Horror soundtrack music,the perfect thing for Halloween time which is when the CD was first released.The album is hugely popular in the underground,everyone i have spoken to loves the album.It is unfortunate that is so widely available for free download,otherwise the album would have got some real healthy sales.To sum up,this is essential listening to anyone who loves old school doom and N.W.O.B.H.M or anyone wants to hear something unique in the world of Doom rock.This interview with Slasher Dave we touch on the making of the album and also the band "Horrific" who have released a album that is another classic in the making.This dude is on a roll,enjoy these tales of Witchtanic Doom.

1.I will get started by saying thanks for doing this interview.How have things been going,sounds like you have been pretty busy ?

Things have been going great man! Yeah, been busy with my new band HORRIFIC, "Your Worst Nightmare" just came out, I'm pretty excited about that. And Im always writing shit for Acid Witch, that keeps me pretty busy.

2.When did the idea for Acid Witch first come up ?I'm not quite sure when I had the idea, Ive always loved Halloween and the fall season ever since I was a kid. I guess I just wanted to do a trippy band that captures the essence of the season, and also shows my love for the 1970s Halloween sounds lps and 80s scary sounds cassettes. Acid Witch was just an instrumental project of mine, I sampled a bunch of laughing witches from an old 80s cassette tape I love, and wrote some trippy doom/70s rock rock to it. I guess that's how it got started, so the idea for it didn't really happen until after a song or two was written...

3.How long did the album take to put together from the time of writing the first track to the completion of the album ?

It took about 3-4 months I think. We were on a pretty tight dead-line to get it out by Halloween.

4.The sound the band has riff wise is closer to bands like Pagan Altar,Witchfinder General etc.How much of a influence are those bands ?

A LOT. haha! Thats exactly what we are going for! I wouldn't consider us the super slow kinda doom a lot of people would expect us to be, we go for a more hard rock/NWOBHM sound. The only thing that really puts us in the death/doom genre is the vocals, and maybe a couple riffs. I really don't think there is a genre that really describes us. We take a lot more influence from those bands than any death metal bands.

5.One of the stand out things on the album are the lead breaks.They really leap out of the speakers. Was there a lot of time spent on getting them right ?Fuck no! haha. I just played them LOUD and kept the volume insanely loud to. Usually when bands record solos, they are recorded very loud, then turned way down in the mixing process, FUCK THAT! The solos should be loud as fuck, just like they were in the early days of metal.

6.The artwork is spectacular not only on the album but also on the t-shirts.Who comes up with all the designs ?

Well, Shagrat totally came up with the album cover himself. We had a great idea that he was originally gonna paint, but that got fucked up somehow. He sent me a sketch of the cover that was used, and it totally blew me away! He painted it up and I think it came out A LOT better than our original idea would of. As far as shirts go, Ive come up with one of them, Putrids design. Nevs design was actually a little face in the concept sketches for our logo, I didn't want it in the logo but I liked it so much he inked it for me to make a shirt. Jeff Zornow actually dropped acid to draw the orange Halloween shirt, his weird fucked up head came up with that whole thing, haha! And the "Skull Crusher" was just fan art by RAFAŁ KRUSZYK I liked so much I asked if we could do a shirt of it.

7.Razorback Records is a great label to be on.How did that deal come about ?

Billy heard a track with Lasse doin vocals and said "LETS DO A CD MAN!". hahahaha! That's how it came about basically!

8.The album is very popular amongst people i know,has the band had many reviews and how have they been in general ?I hate 90% of the reviews for "Witchtanic". These metal magazines/webzines/websites just DO NOT get the band AT ALL. Its no surprise, they praise bands like SLIPKNOT (WHICH IS POP, NOT METAL) and call us cheesy, which I am VERY proud of, they just use the word "cheesy" like its some horrible thing to be. Yet they listen to Slayer and Venom (which are great bands), but are SUPER cheesy! If singing about a made up FICTIONAL character created to scare people into behaving a certain way such as SATAN inst cheesy than I dont know what is! Oh wait, I DO! Singing about witches that drug people is WAYYYYYY cheesier. Ive also seen us compared to Hooded Menace and them compared to us. Yes we do share the same vocalist but WTF?! That just shows you the mentality of these writers, they've got the brain of a 10 year old! AND they DON'T know ANYTHING about metal! Is it that hard to hear the insane amount of difference between us? Hooded is a crushing DEATH/DOOM band, Acid Witch is more of a psychedelic 70s/early 80s rock band with death metal vocals. Whats not to get? You got it! The fans know whats up, they are ALL that really matters and we make the music for them. So... Even tho we DO get "scored" very well in our reviews, they still suck in my opinion. Sorry for the rant, haha.

9.Already people are wondering about the next Acid Witch release.Any news on when that will happen ?No news on the full length yet, there WILL however be an unheard song and "worship the worm" on the 7" on DOOMENTIA! Which will be done VERY soon.

10.You are busy with other projects as well,tell us a bit about those ?Well, Horrific combines A LOT of different shit ranging from Motorhead/Venom and Demon to Grim Reaper and Dio, haha. Its just a crazy mix of punk, thrash, doom, and all sorts of metal and rock. I think A LOT of Acid Witch fans will really dig this band, this stuff is VERY hard to label to. And of corse my Horror soundtrack shit. Which is moving pretty slow nowadays.

11.You sound like you love Horror movies,what is your favorite genre of horror.Slasher flicks,cheesy horror films ?

Slasher movies are FOR SURE my favorite! But the whole Heavy Metal Horror genre is a CLOSE second! I fucking LOVE movies like Black Roses, Rock n roll nightmare, and Trick or treat! I'm not to big of fan of "Classic Horror". A lot of those super old movies don't have any gore, they were REALLY censored, once the 70s and 80s came along film makers could go nuts and do whatever they wanted, that's what i am into.

12. IF you weren't doing this kind of music,can you imagine yourself writing any other style of music ?

Nope. I would want to start just a hard rock band someday tho. With singing instead of growls, that would be awesome. I write music im into, my bands combine everything I like music wise/movie/comic/ and art wise. 13.Here is your chance to say whatever is on your mind right at the moment,go for it.........Thanks for the interview! Everybody check out HORRIFIC- www.myspace.com/horrificrocks
And be on the look out for some new Acid Witch shit. Take care.

Editors Note - You will see a lot of upper case letters on this but anyone who knows Slasher Dave will tell you he does a lot of shouting about things he loves !

The Atlas Moth ...

Now this some great stuff in the so called "new school doom vein" but while other bands just simply followed a trend this reeks of a classic in the making.Chaotic,sludged filled riffs and soaring leads fill the songs which take the listener in a direction that is almost like a Pink Floyd album if the Floyd ever played doom that is.Swirling psychedelic guitars and atmospheric noise and dueling guitar leads add a touch of uniqueness to the sound of The Atlas Moth.The production is flawless in the way that it allows every instrument and every sound texture to wash over the listener.Some people will compared them to The Sword or even Mastodon but don't let that put you off in any way because what this band dishes up in a short 18 minutes is nothing short of impressive.Vocals range from black metal screeching to harmonic chants but the band keeps away from cliché as much as a band like this could.There is no filler,just a solid 18 minutes of great heavy atmospheric doom rock.9/10

Mournful Congregation - The June Frost

Mournful Congregation are back with may be their best work so far.The June Frost is a exercise in sorrow and despair and with perfect production to carry it off,the album reeks of class.Opening the album, ‘Solemn Strikes the Funeral Chime’ is an almost perfect precursor to The June Frost’s musical aesthetic. It begins with the slightly muffled ringing of a church bell, around which the song builds itself, organs laying the ground work before the guitars and their respective feedback complete the sonic saturation. The album has a very large focus on far reaching lead guitar lines, which often play over slower yet intricate melodies provided by the rhythm guitar, sometimes feeding off of each and at other times going their own separate ways, though remaining in a state of coherence.

With a short yet beautiful guitar line leading the song,the opening track wastes no time in introducing this technique to us while its effervescence washes over the listener.For the most part, The June Frost is a very ethereal sounding album; its largely solemn feel is complemented by the band’s tendency to write meandering and dreamy melodies. The album’s lucid production is very apt, remaining clear but not overly so, thus allowing there to be a certain merger between the various parts of the music to create a saturating wall of sound. The vocals are simply another element of the album, and in no way direct it more than the instruments; more often than not they complement the particular song’s melody, and generally fade into the ambience. It’s actually to the album’s favour that the vocals take the backseat; tracks like ‘The June Frost’ are completely instrumental and absolutely amazing, and the inclusion of the low and sluggish growls would definitely detract from their effect.

The June Frost, much like The Monad of Creation is an album with a specific direction in mind, and this most evidently shows in its composition. It’s the result of a long process of deliberation, and one can tell how much effort has gone to its construction in the way it flows, with almost nothing impeding its motion. Along with this, it’s also the result of a long process of evolution; the band has been writing music for over fifteen years now and it sounds like they are their peak right now. Highly recommended.9/10

Interview With Chi From Spider Kitten

Spider Kitten are a hard band to describe,are they doom,stoner,grunge ? Actually i think they are all of these but i will let you make up your own mind.What they are though is a very unique sounding band with a very original approach compared to a lot of other doom acts around at the moment.A hard working band that loves playing live,they are seeking as many gigs as possible in the coming year.If you live in their part of world,get out and support the band.For everyone else,check out the tracks on their Myspace page.I am sure you will dig the heavy doom stoner rock vibes they dish out.Enjoy this interview i did with Chi...... 1. I will start off by saying Spider Kitten are a bit of a undiscovered gem of a band but you have been around a while.Give us a history lesson on the band ? Spider Kitten formed in 2001, I was in a grunge band called Mombomb and I wanted to do something that was a little more experimental. So I started playing around with feedback and tones.& I was really into Earth at the time, I had the Phase 3 album on all the time. Anyway I recruited a friend of mine, ptew, who is a programmer and we started making soundscapes.& We had this idea to repel, to literally clear every venue we played.& we played the most obnoxious noise to confused emo kids and this was fun for a few years. Then we decided we wanted to write some songs, mostly to see what Spider Kitten would sound like applied to a more conventional musical format. This we did, and after a few shows we found we need more members.There was this drone band I knew of called Rocket Girl, a two piece, they listed us in their influences, so I asked if they wanted to help out. The guitarist, Twan, joined straight away, but the bass player, Nid, was on tour with the No Fit State Circus, playing bass in the house band. He returned the day before our first gig as a quartet. One practice then a gig. We played as a quartet for a while, then Twan left to move to Bristol. Undaunted we wrote a new EP (Rats From A Sinking Ship, which will be released this year) and carried on as a trio. That’s where we are now, a little worse for wear, but otherwise intact. 2.How would you describe the sound of the band ? Our sound varies from record to record, we retain our basic elements, but there is a different feel to everything we do. You could throw around terms like: Doom, Sludge, Industrial, Grunge and you’d be close. At the moment I’d say we’re a Punk Rock band experimenting with instrumentation and tempo. 3.Listening to the tracks on your site i can hear some influences but what are you most influenced by ? Our mental health. All 3 of us suffer from some form of sociaphobia.We’ve created our band to help insulate us from the outside world. We all live together in a big house in the suburbs, with a studio instead of a living room. We rarely leave it’s confines except for playing shows and buying our “essentials”.Musically we all have different tastes but here’s a list of people we like:Melvins, Godflesh, Thrones, Earth, Electric Wizard, Aphex Twin, Venetian Snares, Pink Floyd, Morphine, Black Flag, St Vitus, Alice In Chains, CCR, Burzum, Royal Trux, Darkthrone, King Crimson, Evol Intent, Peter Gabriel, Tad, and loads of other stuff. 3. It says on your site you use a drum machine rather than a real drummer,what is the main reasons behind this ? To begin with we had no drums, I played guitar and ptew used a PC synth. Then as we began to write songs that required drums, it just seemed logical to carry on using the computer.We’re big fans of Thrones, Godflesh and Earth so there was precedent in using drum machines for heavy music. Also drummers are a nightmare, they’re often your best friend, but if any member of your band is going to be late or not show up, in my experience, it’s your drummer. We are actually working on something with a friend of ours who drums for Drop Dead Darlin’(wicked punk band) and we might even do some shows with him, but I think we’ll always come back to the drum machine, be it a TR-505 or ptew’s custom software drums. 5.You are looking for live shows,how has that been going ? I’ll be honest, it’s hard. We’re too weird for the straight doom promoters and too heavy for the experimental promoters. We play a lot in South Wales and in nearby English cities and we’re heading up north for our first show in Manchester at a Metal Festival in May. 6.Tell us about your releases and how they differ from each other ? You can hear all of them at http://www.spiderkitten.bandcamp.com" highlights="" include:=""> Live At E10 (2003) - improvised classical drone Things I Can’t Kill (2005) weird mess of industrial, stoner and punk Dead Beat EP (2007) crust punk Ineffable (2007) grungy doom Future Echos (2008) crust stoner doom punk concept album Rats From A Sinking Ship (2009) unreleased as yet, it’s heavy and it’s got cello on it. 7.There seems to be a hell of a lot of Doom bands in the UK and Scotland these days or is it these bands are just now being recognized ? I think there have always been a lot. There’s definitely more now, some good some bad. In South Wales there are a curiously large number of bands that have doom roots, but do something different with it (and I don’t mean bad hardcore band decides to play slow). 8.What inspires the songs,lyrically ? All sorts of things. Depression, Drugs, Politics, Love, Hate, Fear.I’m not a particularly happy or calm person, and I think the lyrics reflect this. Future Echos is a concept album, so I’m writing in character, but there’s bits of me in there. I’d say a consistent theme between all the songs is fear or a desire to escape it. 9.On your bandcamp site you offer a lot of free downloads.Will you be giving away more music for free in the future ? We’re talking with some labels at the moment, and to be honest it’s making me want to give everything we do away for free forever. We try and give away as much as possible. I think what we’ll end up doing is allowing the music to be downloaded in high quality for free and encouraging people to copy and distribute it, but press short runs of each release on CD or vinyl and charge for those. I have no desire to make money, it’s far more important people hear our music. 10.What are the venues like where you have played and have you got a favorite venue that you play ?Mostly pretty cool. If the sound guy is nice and there’s monitoring, we’re happy. 11.Have you had much airplay on any radio stations and what about magazine articles ? We’ve been played on the BBC a few times, and we keep cropping up on internet radio stations in Russia and Greece. We’ve shyed away from too much of that kind of publicity until now. We weren’t really comfortable being scrutinized by journalists, but now we find we actually quite enjoy it, in a perverse way. 12.Do you see the band doing any big tours in the future ? Yes. First we’ll take Manhattan, then we’ll take Berlin. 13.From a UK point of view,how do you see the USA Doom scene ? Thriving. It’s because you have all those cheap vintage valve amps out there… 14.The Future Echo's Album - how long did you work on that ? Future Echos took around 9 days to write and record (that’s actually a very long time for us), a week to mix, and a day to master. We tend to write things as we’re going along, there’ll be an overall idea of what stuff should sound like, but nothing in stone, so if an idea jumps out at you, you can go with it. We’ve recorded albums over a weekend before now. 15.Finally how many shows would the band like to do this year and what is the long term ambitions for the band ? We’d like to be playing 250 - 300 shows a year, if we could book that many. Long term ambition is to still exist and make great music. There’ll be an album a year for at least the next 10 years. http:www.myspace.com/spiderkitten

Interview With Negative Reaction

Negative Reaction from New York are one of the best examples of had to play sludge the right way.From slower doom passages to faster hardcore aggressive bursts of power,Negative Reaction knows their shit.Read this interview with Sir Ken -E Bones(guitar) from the band and give them your support.



1.First i have say thanks for doing this interview.How has life been treating you lately ?
Shitty, but thanks for asking.

2.Tell us a brief history of the band ?
I started Negative Reaction in 1990. We were just a local Long Island hardcore band to start. We didn't really think anything more than that, we just wanted to have fun and play some music. Over time we just evolved into what everyone now calls sludge. We never took it seriously until 1999.

3.You have a range of influences that range from New York Hardcore to Doom/Sludge to even some Psychedelic stuff.All of which comes out in your writing,to me anyway.What processes to you go through to put together your songs ?

There's really not much of a process at all. I'll write some guitar riffs, Aaron will write some bass lines, then Old Mac throws down some beats and we eventually come up with songs we are satisfied with. The one thing that has always been the same since the beginning is that I write the lyrics because i have to sing them. You are correct in the influences of Negative Reaction - New York hardcore is a strong influence on our writing as well as psychedelic stuff and when you put the two together, I think that's the true form of sludge.

4.Has living where you do been a bonus you think or has still been hard getting gigs and getting your name and music out there ?
Living here has been a bonus because I hate it so much my anger comes out in my music. As for getting gigs, Long Island has become the tribute/cover band capital of the world, so it's not easy for original bands to get gigs here anymore which is just as well because we would rather travel anyway.

5.What has been your personal ambitions been in music and how far would you like to take it ?
I'd like to take it as far as possible because I am definitely not happy with where we are now.

6.There is more Doom and Sludge in the world now than ever before.Do you think the genre is in danger of getting burned out ?
Yes, absolutely. I think too many bands are beginning to sound just like the last one I heard and many doom and sludge bands sound like they put out the exact same album over and over again.

7.Tell us about recordings and what is in store for the future ?

We are going into the studio April/May to start recording the next album.

8.What has been the real high points for the band so far ?

Our 2004 tour of Europe and being the last band to play CBGBs on a Saturday night.

9.What is your opinion of people obsessed with i tunes,i pods and the general slow death of CD's ?
Unfortunately, it's a sign of the times, I'm still pissed off that people are trading in their vinyl for CDs!

10.What is your favorite bands to gig with ?

 I don't know, I haven't gigged with Monster Magnet or Hawkwind yet. As of now, I'd have to say Maegashira from New Jersey, Beneath Oblivion from Ohio, StereoChrist from Hungary and Versus the Stillborn Minded from Germany.

11.Have you played with any bands that you wish would just die and go away.You don't have to give any names...

YES and thank you.

12.How would you describe the average Negative Reaction fan ?

Extremely loyal.

13.Any big tours planned ?

What do you got for us? Let us know, we'll see what we can do.

14.When you were younger did you ever imagine playing this kind of music

No. I was told I was musically impaired in the 3rd grade and I think they were right.

15.The mainstream Metal scene has become real watered down over the years.Do you think it will ever recover or are we stuck in a rut forever ?

As long as Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden and Metallica are around, I don't see it ever being in a rut.

16.What kind of equipment do you all use ? You have a killer sound !

Original Orange 120 Overdrive Amps, Gibson and Jay Turser Guitars, Ampeg SVT amplifiers, Fender Bass and the biggest drums that Old Mac can find or afford.

17.Do you take a lot of interest in the artwork and general packaging of music ?

Yes. Actually the inside of the last album featured my watercolor paintings.

18.What is the best places to play in the US in your opinion ?

Philadelphia has been good to us this year. Chicago and Milwaukee were good in the past.

19.What inspires the lyrics in the songs ?

Insomnia, depression - life.

20.Ok give yourself a plug and tell everyone the best way to check out the band.

 Our website is www.negativereaction.info and our myspace is www.myspace.com/negativereaction.

Thank you and I hope I didn't bore you. Long live Dee Dee Ramone!

Black Market Ministry - Voices Of The Coming Plague

Ever got the shit scared out of you ? Listening to the Black Market Ministry CD "Voices Of The Coming Plague" is somewhat like that.This is some real drunken,drugged up intense sludge that only these maniacs can produce.Total destructive chaos is what is on display here.From slower thick ass heavy riffs to more hardcore punk in your face attack,this band really mix it up in just the right quantity.There seems to be a million bands doing the Sludge thing but none quite like this.The sound is great combining a killer guitar sound,amazing bass,powerful drumming and some of the sickest tortured vocals you will ever hear.My favorite track at the moment is "A Room That Stinks Of Booze And Filth" but with a total of 11 awesome tracks on offer that could change on a daily basis.They have a taste for the violent and the destructive and that comes out in every way in the music.Is there something about living in Louisiana that makes you so pissed off,i don't know.One of the things that stand out about this band and this CD is the perfect blend of Doom,Sludge and Hardcore Punk aggression,not many bands can mix it up so well as this band.From the opening feedback to when the final note rings out this will leave you exhausted.The artwork is pretty cool and Leaf Lust Records have done a amazing job bringing this one out to the masses.This is going to be one of the albums of the year and is my number one Sludge album for 2009 so far.This is not what you could call standard Sludge Metal,Black Market Ministry have so much more to offer whether you like it or not.I mean that if you are of a weak disposition this might be a bit too brutal.I beg everyone to give this a listen,essential......9/10

Interview with Gallows Of Sedition

We all get sick of the word "Brutal" used to describe bands but there is no better word to describe "Gallows Of Sedition".Their sound is thick,dense and heavier than your fat aunt.I actually think they are one of the best bands going around at the moment.Check out the tunes on their site for clear evidence of that.They are also true promoters of the Doom scene,Ron has a site called Gradations Of Morbidity which is essential viewing for doom heads.I also think if things fall into place they could finish up being one of Americas leading Doom bands.Check out this killer interview and add their site...Support the Doom ! 1.Thanks for doing this interview.Lets start off by giving everyone a history lesson. When and how did the band get together? Ron: Thank you for speaking with us! Me, Seth and Ben have all known each other for a while and have worked with each other in the past on different projects. We all share similar interests and approaches to music so it works out nicely. Gallows of Sedition was formed around 2007. 2.What is the musical background of all the members of the band.Have all you guys always played Metal ? Ron: I came up listening to all the great hard rock bands of the 70's. Bands like Sabbath, Kiss and Blue Oyster Cult all really had a profound affect on me at a young age and set me on the path to wanting to become musician. My Grandmother was the first to pick up on this, she got me my first guitar, a record player and a copy of Kiss Alive II when I was about 8 years old and I've been doing this ever since. I've always played rock/metal but do have an interest in other sorts of music as well. Classical guitar, film scoring, ambient noise are some other areas I can see myself pursuing at some point. Seth: When I first started playing I was learning the typical: Slayer, Metallica, Sabbath and the like. Shortly after that I started playing more punk stuff and later in life other things but have always stayed playing metal. Ben: Yeah, metal, sludge, doom ... I like a lot of different music, but it's all I've ever played. 3.What is your opinion on the west coast doom scene and how does it compared with the rest of the country ? Ron: I've noticed that a lot more doom bands are popping up in the area, quite a few good ones actually. Yidhra and Stonehlem are the first that come to mind, but to say that there is any sort of "scene" here in Los Angeles for doom would be stretching it. You gotta go to the Bay area for that.....On the whole I'd say that it's growing on the West Coast in general, but we've got some cathing up to do with other places. Seth: I agree with Ronnie. From a live prospective though, LA seems to be the worst of the West Coast. Like other places, when bigger bands come through there will be a turn out but not much if any for smaller bands. LA is a bit jaded possibly due to the high amount of shows here and other activities . Whereas San Francisco and up ( Portland, Seattle, ETC) seem to be some of the best spots in the country. There seem to be some pretty strong pockets throughout the US so I am not really sure if one region is really can claim top spot right now, though LA does seem towards the bottom for sure. 4.What about recordings,what have you done so far? Ron: Nothing really noteworthy to mention unfortunately. We have some good opportunities to get some real releases under our belts but thus far we've only recorded our demo and this Song called The Bridge due to what seems like never ending issues with drummers. 5.There is so many sub-genres of doom metal these days.Where does Gallows Of Sedition fit in ? Ron: Oh man, I dunno, I guess we're on sort of the "extreme" sludge end of the doom scale....."Extreme" is one of those words one doesn't like to use when describing their music though haha..... Seth: I am not sure if we totally fit into any one sub-genre more than any other. Not that we are so unique or anything ridiculous like that. I think we might have some elements of sludge or drone or whatever. We are still in some ways kind of finding direction in some things and hopefully will incorporate more things into future writing 6.What is the latest news on recordings. It says on your profile page you are working with Blind Date Records... Ron: Right, Marcel of Blind Date has been very supportive of the band and has given us the go ahead on a 10 or 12 inch EP, and an exclusive limited edition vinyl re-release of our demo. We're also contributing a track on one of the upcoming Blind Date "Cloned" series recordings. Cheers Marcel!! 7.If you wasn't involved in making doom metal what kind of music do you think you would be making ? Ron: I'd probably be doing some sort of soundtrack type shit. Or maybe something along the lines of a Mogwai kind of thing.... Seth: Grindcore. Ben: Maybe grindcore, some noisy rock or some good d-beat or crust punk. I'm sure if I end up playing anything else it'll be heavily influenced by doom metal. 8.Who is your major influences ? Ron: As a guitar player I'd say Ace Frehley, Tony Iommi and Buck Dharma. Ben: I've always admired balls out & innovative/creative underground vocalists like David Yow, Julie Xmas, Nivek Ogre, Barney Greenway, Mike Williams ... 9.You have a drone/doom kind of feel,is it hard to play that slow? I feel bands like you guys don't get the credit they deserve. It is not as easy as it sounds ! Ron: Drummers seem to have a hard time playing it haha...... Seth: Not having a steady meter underneath you adds to the difficulty for me and playing slow really makes mistakes much more obvious. 10.Live shows - what is planned for the rest of 2009 ? Ron: No plans currently, although we would like to do a West Coast tour sometime in the near future (fingers crossed) 11.You have some real epic doom tracks,do you have a preference for longer pieces of music ? Ron: Not really, that's just where the songs have taken us thus far. In the future you'll probably hear some shorter, less repetitive material from us. Seth: I would not say that as far as writing goes that we have a preference as much as that it is just how it has happened to work for better or worse. Some of the songs did not initially start of nearly as long but after everything is said and done they ended up that way. I do not have any issues playing longer songs at all but sometimes it is nice to have tracks that do not take so long to get to the point. I guess it really just depends on the song for me. If you can keep it interesting or get the right kind of feel so that you can drone on with it without becoming dull then I am all for it. 12.The D.I.Y approach to music is the way a lot of bands in this scene handle things.Do you think doom metal will ever get the support it deserves from labels etc? Ron: Doom Metal is not a revenue generating form of music, and as long as it remains as such you will not see any type of major label funding or backing. While it would be nice to have some financial resources made available from a label I don't think the trade off would be worth it. 13.What is like playing live for you ? Do you get nervous ? Ron: Ya, I get some pre show jitters, but it's nothing a few beers can't handle ;-) Seth: I would say playing live, for me, is my favorite part of being in a band. I do not really have issues with getting nervous in a live context normally. I find recording makes me much more anxious than live shows, playing live usually just fun and I do not think about it too much. Ben: I love playing live. For me it's the great catharsis. There's usually too much other shit going on (time/gear issues etc.) to get a chance to be nervous. Although ... 14.You are involved in other things related to doom apart from the band.Tell everyone about those things. Ron: I have a blog called Gradations of Morbidity which is very similar to what you do ED.....Doom news, reviews and interview type deal. For me it's a way to work and stay in touch with other people from all over the place that are into doom and it's related genre's. It's all about Blogging fer doom man haha....Yup, I'm a geek. 15.When the band started did you all have the same mindset or was there some compromising that went on ? Ron: Me, Ben and Seth are very much on the same page and can communicate with each other in an effective manner. Our perspectives on what we do have never been so dissimilar that it interfered with us progressing, obviously there's always going to be some sort of compromise somewhere, but more times then not we're on par with each other. Seth: I have learned that whenever playing in a band outside of hiring members (and possibly then as well) there is always some amount of compromise. Luckily we have many similar ideas, concepts, philosophies and ethics so that for sure helps. It is one of those things where you can try and meet in the middle or find yourself doing your band by yourself. Ben: There was and is always compromise. I would say it's one constant of being in a band. I welcome and appreciate our differences in opinion because I believe the group dynamic compromise creates is integral to the creative process. I'm lucky to be working with friends like Ron and Seth that not only bring great ideas into our music, but are also so willing to compromise them to make a song better. 16.The band has some truly gruesome vocals,how important is the vocal sound to you and doom metal in general ? Seth: It is very important to me. A lot of the times vocals can make or break the band. Vocals can set the whole tone of the music and in some cases vocals can ruin the music for me. Ben: Seth took the words right out of my mouth.As a vocalist everything I do is very structured from the first time it's written. Then 9 times out of 10 it's thrown away and rewritten/phrased a few more times. I can be a bit of a perfectionist and vocals are very important to me within a song. 17.Who writes all the lyrics and music ? Seth: Ben writes 100% of the lyrics for both his parts and mine. The music is more of a collaborative. The music starts with some riffs or a whole song written out for one or two guitars and then we add drum and bass parts, start rearranging and structuring, maybe some rewriting or adding and then usually add vocals last. Everyone usually has some input throughout the process. 18.What would be the ultimate line-up for a doom gig ? Ron: For me it would be Electric Wizard (Dopethrone era)...That's it. Seth: We recently played a show with Asunder and Corrupted. That would have to be pretty close for me. Anything with Burning Witch would would be great but I fear the crowd would be rather upsetting. Ben: ... if only Sleep and E.H.G. could have played that Corrupted/Asunder show as well ...Damn. 19.How can everyone get hold of your stuff,do you still have t-shirts ? Ron: Yes we do have some mech available, Just hit us up on myspace. 20.Final words for the doomsters out there..... Ron: Thanks ED, you do awesome work in your relentless support of doom metal and the underground in general. We are grateful and fortunate to have you! Ben: Abandon all hope.

Interview With Smudge From Drone

Drone is a one man ambient drone band by Smudge who used to be one half of "Godzilla On Demand".A very productive musician who has a swag of recordings already to his name and also a label "Black Winter Recordings".In this interview we talk about his works,drone,influences and the label.Smudge is one of the easiest dudes to talk to and this is a great little interview.Enjoy!

1.Thanks for agreeing to this interview.First off tell us a little about your history,musically speaking ?

Well I was brought up with a lot of classic rock bands like Status Quo, Deep Purple, Smokie and Elvis along with some country & western.I got my first guitar when I was around 11 after hearing Chris Rea's 'Road To Hell'. I played the shit out of my first guitar, I still have it to this day.I then started getting into a lot more heavier stuff along the lines of Malevolent Creation, Pantera, Sepultura etc.I formed my first when I was about 14, Unborn Son. We weren't really groundbreaking of anything. A pretty straight-forward Nu-Metal affair. Through to death of Unborn Son though my first 'claim to fame' came with Deimos. We did pretty well for ourselves around the local music scene and there seemed to be a few broken hearts when we decided to call it quits.I then just kind of went into hibernation from the whole band thing and concentrated more on my actual playing ability and really experimented with my instruments which is essentially what my solo project Dröne is all about. During this time though I got back in touch with my old friend and former Unborn Son drummer Peeps and we would then go on to form Godzilla On Demand. Which seemed to do quite well.Then we broke up but then decided to get back together again after playing a one-off reunion show.

2.When you first started playing music was the more ambient sounds something you were already interested in ?

Not really, I didn't really become aware of ambient music as a genre until about 2003/2004 when I found out about the amazing Aidan Baker. I was just amazed at the sounds he was creating by just using his guitar.

3.You have already done a lot of recordings,are you constantly writing ?

I'm a very creative person, generally. I'm always making music whether it be for Dröne, G.O.D or just for me.

4.How is life for musicians like yourself in Scotland,do you get much support ?

It really depends. There are certain areas that really get into supporting the local music whereas there are other areas that couldn't really care less. It's more about knowing where to look.

5.Whenever i listen to your works i always imagine tranquil landscapes and sometimes some nightmarish situations.Is there a particular feeling you are trying to get across ?

Most of the time, no.There are some tracks like 24º, I wanted it to feel like you were underwater. Hopefully I pulled it off! haha.

6.How do you put together your songs recording wise ?

Well with Dröne, around 95% of it is all on the spot improv. No overdubs or anything. As I basically wanted to capture my 'live sound'.

7.You haven't always played the Drone stuff,tell us about some of your other influences ?

I'm really heavily into prog rock/metal. With Dream Theater being my favourite band all time. I'm a big fan of John Petrucci, mainly from a guitarist point of view.I think learning Dream Theater music really elevated my playing.I also have a bit of harking for Adam D from Killswitch Engage.

8.Tell us about the label,how and why did that come together ?

Well starting a label is something I've wanted to do since starting my first band. Obviously back then it would have been a silly idea but now I've studied business management, I know a lot more about the music industry and how it works (and more often than not, how it doesn't!) So after G.O.D broke up it just felt like the right time. Black Winter Recordings started off as a Net label just releasing free downloads but as you know I released my first physical release a few weeks back. I also have another CD lined up. I'm still going to keep the Net label side of it too though.

9.Is the label constantly looking for new bands.Time to give the label a plug !

I'm always up for hearing new bands. If you're of the ambient, doom, drone or sludge variety then get in touch with me either through the label website, my profile or the label profile.

www.blackwinterrecordings.co.nr
www.myspace.com/blackwinterecordings
www.myspace.com/officialdrone
To start off with I will probably just release your music as a download first and then we will take it from there.

10.Do you have plans for live shows and if so when will those be happening ?

Well I have done a few local shows and there was going to be a full UK tour this year with The Salamander Institute but due to the death of the drummer from TSI it was called off.

11.What has been the worst experience you have had in the music scene ?

I haven't really had any bad nights, thankfully. Although one that does spring to mind is at a G.O.D show the band before us kept doing 'one more song!' which totally cut into our slot and we ended up only getting around 20 minutes. Which, if you know some of the older G.O.D tunes is nothing! haha.

12.Tell us about what you think is the most important bands in the whole Doom/Drone world at the moment ?

Well you can't mention drone without Sunn O))) and Earth. Also Nadja too, can't forget them! I've also recently found out about Löbo. Brilliant band, they should definitely be a lot bigger than they are.

13.If you could achieve anything in music what would that be ?

Probably to make a living off music. Whether it be a full-time musician or with the label... Or both, I'm not fussy! haha.

14.Tell us about current releases and where are they available? Well, most of the releases are all digital and can be downloaded from the BWR website under the 'net releases' section. My first, and so far only physical release is an album by me entitled 'Godvoice' which is limited to only 50 copies, all hand made and hand numbered.I'm in talks with some websites for distro deals for Godvoice and future BWR releases, websites such as Hellride Music. So hopefully I can get them up on there too.

15.Plans for the rest of 2009 ?

Well I will be putting out a CD from Sabazius soon.I do have some big plans for Dröne which I'm going to keep to myself for the time being! ;)

16.Thanks for the interview and is there anything else you would like to add?

No problem. Happy to do it! I'm just happy that people think I'm worthy enough to be interviewed! haha...

Bastards Of The Skies - S/T

Bastards Of The Skies debut album on Meltdown Records is a bit of a Stoner Metal fans delight.While they have shades of Crowbar,Down,High On Fire and even Saint Vitus within there songs,there is enough of there own sound to make them unique enough for most people.From the first track "Deputy Lou Ford" you know you are in for quite the ride,hold on tight because band is quite extreme in places.The opening track starts off with feedback like a lot of tracks on here.More about that later...After the feedback they launch into a monumental riff before moving into a more traditional stoner break in the song.The next 2 tracks blend Doom with more standard extreme Metal sounds that at times sounds a little Hardcore."You Foe" and "Traitor In The Herd" move in the Doom tradition but not real slow but not real fast either.They put their own stamp on these songs especially with the vocals that are very aggressive in parts."Michael Fucking Dudikoff" is a brain melting headbanging track is one of the picks of the album.

The rest of the album is more of the same but the final track "Kubrick Zirconia" is a killer closer.Like i mentioned before the use of feedback is a bit excessive in places so they may or may not affect what you think about this album.Personally it dont bother me,hell i listen to bands that have entire songs full of feedback.This is a great album and cant wait to see where the band goes in the future.They deserved to be more popular than they are.Check out the album....8/10

The Wandering Midget - The Serpent Throne

The Wandering Midget ! Pretty funny name huh ? I have had this on a CD for a while that a friend gave to me but finally got the real deal last week.When you first hear this band,the obvious Reverend Bizarre comparisons come up but after a few listens you soon realize they have there own thing happening. Their EP "I Am the Gate" was hailed as one of the most promising entries in doom metal scene and that was 100% true. Because the Finnish trio really showed that they can play a critical role with their dark, gloomy, obscure, old (very old) school doom metal. "The Serpent Coven" is an album that mixes 70's gloomy heavy rock, ‘80s classic metal and most specific NWOBHM and contemporary doom metal a la RB (which again owns too much to the old stuff).

Is it retro? In a sense yes, since the production deliberately refers to these sound colors. There are elements of Witchfinder General, Cathedral and Witchcraft in their sound too that lead to a tempting approach of doom metal.The songs themselves are quite long for the most part and the original vocals of Samuel Wormius may not be to everyone's tastes.The title track and Family Curse are highlights but the whole album is solid with not much filler passages.This is a pretty good progession from their ep so they can only get better.8/10