Children Of Doom

Paramaecium- Echoes from the Ground (Review)

2011-09-20T09:20:00.000-07:00

Paramaecium- Echoes from the Ground

My failing heart can’t resist the haunting melodies of the crystal clear majestic operatic female voice. I tend to die while these bass lines combined with the mournful guitar chords. There is no hope but there’s no fear. The atmosphere is apocalyptic and the tear streams I pour away are revealed with the first touch of the violin strings and the slow crying riffs. Clean vocals substitute the brutal ones in a stage which Paramaecium play the first role.

Doomed, but the light has not yet faded. Christ is the savior and this is revealed through the sad but also modest lyrics. And it continues. The violin still penetrates my soul and spirit and the prayers of thy forsaken lament more and more in a threnody that never seems to end. This growling rage keeps me suffering, speechless and countless times helpless….

Father Alex

Memory Garden-Mirage (review)

2011-04-29T01:37:00.001-07:00

It is when the pure melodies meet the doom riffs, when the harmonies of the solos meet the fellowship of the piano, when someone’s dreams gather and spread towards the sky. I know this is not enough, but I think it is a good prologue in order to describe Memory Garden’s Mirage album.

We shall start from the album’s cover art which prepares you for something pretty, pure, majestic, epic, peaceful, calm and melodic, characteristics which are definitely included in this album but also combined with a “progressive” touch. Twin guitar harmonies, vocal lines out from another dimension, technical drumming and acoustic breaks full of emotions and feelings compose a beautiful atmosphere. An album which forces you to close your eyes, dream and travel through the astral gateways of your imagination. A journey that starts with a “Prologue” and ends with a “Search”. During this, you wish this trip to last forever and unable to admit what you are listening to, the album ends. However, like an addict that has no ability to control his addiction, you put the album to play again. You expect the same feelings to take place but you are absolutely wrong. New experiences are revealed for you to face based on the same nostalgic path that you tried to follow during the first listening. Now melancholy is appeared behind the mist of the massive riffing and a new mournful horizon has been set. You are excited but scared to continue and finally you dare. Another journey through this album has ended again. Although the hope is still not lost and you are prepared for a third journey.

This is Doom Metal. A dark place that no matter how many times you explore, you manage to discover nothing. Then you still wandering around it until the time that you become a total addict to it.

Father Alex

April, 2011

Pylon-Armoury of god (2011) Review

2011-04-25T01:57:00.000-07:00

Pylon is a great and special band from Switzerland which has nothing to be jealous and afraid of other great doom metal bands, but still remain in the underground. But who cares about that? Maybe it is better, because this special and unique performance of doom metal is not for everyone.

Thus, Pylon, 2 years after the successful third album titled “Doom”, they moved into a new masterpiece called “Armoury of God”. So, the combination of epic and traditional doom metal elements continues, along with haunting vocals and lyrics concerning Christianity which gives Pylon a very special, characteristic and also personal sound. Long songs with both slow and up tempo moments, amazing twin guitar melodies and skull crushing solos which complete the sentences performed by the heavy riffing. Also, acoustic guitar parts along with creepy keys in the background, synthesize something difficult to describe through words. According to my opinion is the best occasion for a band to take advantage of their influences and add a steady and characteristic personal touch. Their personal style is consecutively being respected and likeable from their gift to fulfill their enormous and heavy riffs by mystical twin guitars and adorable vocals. This creates a delightful but also mourning atmosphere which charms you.

To say the truth, “Armoury of God” and general most of Pylon’s releases, are not easy to listen. I could say that it is more difficult to understand the things that they offer through their music. But, as along as someone becomes familiar with their sound and personal style and adopts their philosophy, I am absolutely sure that he will love them.

It would be unfair to contrast “Armoury of God” with their previous album, because both of them are masterpieces. Although both of the albums are in the same style, I should say that in the last one we can listen to something “more”. Maybe it is the maturity and the musical progress of the band or I don’t know what! The only thing that I know for sure is that songs like “The First Church”, “Gravestar”, “Hollow Sky”, “Hunter Angels”, “In Serpent Tongues” and “Somewhere In Nowhere”, are rare to find nowadays and they worth attention if we want to persist supporting Doom Metal.

I will close this review by thanking Pylon once again for the moments that share with us through their music. Doom metal needs not only pure melodies but also pure hearts.

Father Alex, April 2011

CONDENADOS “La Gran Muerte” Reivew

2011-02-17T05:25:00.000-08:00

CONDENADOS
“La Gran Muerte”
EP 2009
(Legion of Death)

Condenados is a pure doom metal band from Chile, that has been created during 2005. I was familiar with this band about 3 years ago but I never listened to their songs for unknown reason. However, when their first EP (La Iniciacion) was released, they totally persuaded me that they have entered the doom metal scene for sure. All lyrics and vocals are in Spanish which is
something new for doom metal and I have to say that this band is very easy listening
to. Condenados play slow mournful doom metal including a very characteristic
sound strongly influenced by the classic sound of Latin America. A band, that has much to give to doom metal.

Web: www.myspace.com/condenadosdoom

MitsDoom

CARDINAL’S FOLLY “Orthodox Faces” Review

2011-02-17T05:16:00.000-08:00

CARDINAL’S FOLLY
“Orthodox Faces”
EP 2009 (private)

Cardinal’s Folly, hailing from Finland is
a quite new band, existing though from
2004 under a different moniker (The
Coven), which was latterly changed in
2007 in the one that we know. Their EP
called “Orthodox Faces” was the one that made them one of the most worth checking bands in doom metal. However,with slogan like N.W.O.F.D.M. nothing more but true traditional doom metal isexpected. We all know that Finland is a goldmine for every doom metal fan as it has produced sincere bands like Minotauri, Spiritus Mortis, Fall of the Idols, Reverend Bizarre and many more which have raised doom metal to another class. Cardinal’s Folly is one of them and the signs are clear; they have entered strongly the doom metal scene as they play pure heavy doom metal, a music style that Finnish people know at its best. The production of the album is the one that I prefer in a doom metal band and the vocals are also classical for a Finnish doom band. What I like most in this group, is that they have a unique style. Their arrangements are classic and in general I don’t have to add something more. All I have to say is: fans of Reverend Bizarre and Minotauri don’t waste more time and go check this band like I do.

Web: www.myspace.com/cardinalsfolly

MitsDoom

TEMPLE OF PAIN “Lord of the Undead Knights” EP Review

2011-02-17T04:55:00.000-08:00

The Temple Of Pain is project group of Fabio, lead singer and guitarist of the doom metal band Thunderstorm from Italy. Not along time ago, their first demo cd (Lord of the undead) came to my hands and I admit that when I firstly listened to that, I was excited and I continue listening to that for 5-6 times more. This is how doom metal should sound like; slow, heavy, epic, sabbathic. It is a band much worth checking and a band that you can count on, and I hope that they also believe that this demo is not enough and that it is time for a full length album to start being prepared. For all the true supporters and fans of doom metal, I suggest you to find and listen to this demo. The sound is very good and very easy listening, even though it is a demo. Also, it is well known that the doom metal scene of Italy is among the best in the whole world and that’s one more reason to listen to The Temple of Pain. At last, we all know Thunderstorm, so we can all congratulate Fabio for thismasterpiece which gave us.

www.myspace.com/templepain

MitsDoom (Holy Sword/Children Of Doom)

Rituals Of The Oak Review

2011-02-17T04:46:00.000-08:00

Rituals Of The Oak "Hour Of Judgement" Cd/LP 2009 Review

[Eyes Like Snow]

Rituals Of The Oak is a Doom Metal band from Australia. When I first listened to this band was because of their 2009 demo. Considering the fact that from Australia there are not so many doom metal bands, I was enough prejudiced when it was time to listen to their album. Fortunately, I was wrong because from the very first second of the first song, I realized that Rituals Of The Oak, are my new favourite band. As the time was passing by, and I was even more used to their sound, I believed that even more. It is a doom metal band with female vocals and their sound is exactly how doom metal should sound like nowdays. Clean vocals lines reminding The River. All the songs are true masterpieces, and you don’t know to which you want to listen first. The last 12-minute opus song of the album under the massive title “spell of doom” is a song that before you listened to it, you clearly know what to expect. I am not going to say anything else about this band. Listen to their album and you will understand exactly what I mean. As I have said before, with bands like them, doom metal will never die. As for those of you who haven’t listened to this album yet, follow my advice and do it immediately.

Web: http://www.myspace.com/ritualsoftheoak

MitsDoom (Holy Sword/Children Of Doom)

Gallow God Interview

2011-02-13T03:42:00.000-08:00

Gallow God Interview

1 - First of all, I would like to thank you for the fact that you agreed in making this interview with us. It is very important for us to support new bands from the doom metal genre. So, let’s start with a typical question. How did the whole thing started? I mean how you decided to form a doom metal band?

DAN: Hi Alex, Thanks for contacting us to arrange the interview, it’s great to see people like your-self supporting new bands.

The story of how we got started actually goes back quite a few years; I have been in Doom bands since way back in 1996. But I think it was in about 2004 that Ric and I met each other while we were both working for a local record distribution company.

We got talking and Ric told me that he was producing and engineering music for various artists from his home studio. He invited the band I was in at the time, to record at his place for free, because he was trying to get a bit of experience recording heavy music.

We never actually got round to recording the stuff I had done with the previous band, So we decided to start writing together instead. We wrote about 3 or 4 songs and attempted to record them, but had a nightmare due to various computer crashes and technical difficulties so we kinda shelved the project and went our separate ways.

A couple of years passed but then in early 2009 I got an email from Ric saying that he had re worked the studio and stated writing again, so I went round for a listen and the stuff he showed me sounded really promising, so we decided it was back on, and we began writing and recording "False Mystical Prose"

RIC: We have been working together now on and off for over six years and have really bonded musically, as well as having a very strong friendship. Dan introduced me to Doom, and I have grown to love the genre.

In my youth I was really into thrash stuff like Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Nuclear Assault, as well as more traditional Metal like Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath. Once I got into the Doom stuff that was it, and I haven’t looked back since.

DAN: Yeah, there was absolutely no question that we were going to be a Doom band. We had originally been using the name Celephais for the project, a name taken from one of my favourite H.P Lovecraft stories. After a bit of research we found that there was already a band of the same name, so the name was changed to Gallow God.

We still have an unrecorded track called Celephais, so we have a little reminder of the early days. It was only toward the end of recording the EP that we decided to expand into a full band and hired our rhythm section of Doom, Jim Panlilio and Martin "Yeti" Singleton.

2 - Gallow God sounds evil, doomed but also promising. Please tell me how did you come up with this name and what is the meaning of the title of your EP “False Mystical Prose”.

DAN: The Gallow God name is a bastardisation of an Old Norse name for Odin, the actual Kenning is "Lord of the Gallows". It refers to the legend in which Odin Sacrifices himself and hangs upon the World Tree Yggdrasil for Nine days and nights to gain the wisdom of the runes.

We use a lot of tree imagery in our artwork. Tree’s being the most ancient form of Gallows, and as a nod to the Lord of the Gallows himself.

As for the EP title "False Mystical Prose", it kind of has a few meanings, it’s about the stuff I read, weird and esoteric, religious, theoretical but essentially scientifically it’s all false mumbo jumbo.

Alternatively it could be about the lyrics to the songs, stories, ideas or personal experiences wrapped up in metaphor and false mystical prose to make it interesting, majestic and other worldly.

Finally it’s just the words themselves False. Mystical. Prose. That’s why the words have been triple spaced on the artwork, so they can be viewed as individual statements.

3 - In your magnificent EP “False Mystical Prose”, we can claim that there are a lot of different influences, combined with a personal touch. I can remember when I first listened to it, the Reverend Bizarre effect! Can you please tell me what the main influences of the band are?

DAN: Sure, and thanks for the compliment. My influences are probably the same as many other guys who are in Doom metal bands; Black Sabbath, Saint Vitus, Reverend Bizarre, Candlemass, Pentagram, Solitude Aeturnus, Last Chapter, Solstice, Isole and the early My Dying Bride albums in particular the drumming by Rick Miah. I could go on, but to be honest I think the biggest influence on us is the stuff we have done ourselves in the past, we have just tried to keep developing our own identity.

But as you say, all of our collected influences are also a major part of our sound, and I am grateful to all of the bands who have inspired us and paved the way.

RIC: My main Influences would be Black Sabbath, Metallica, Iron Maiden, While Heaven Wept, My Dying Bride and Opeth among many others, in fact pretty much the same bands Dan mentioned

We are both self taught on guitar and all the other instruments we play actually, so I think we have always tried to develop our own style. We are very conscious to try and avoid writing guitar riffs that sound too much like another bands riffs, and don’t really copy other band’s styles. I would like to think this is why we have had such a good response from people.

4 - Doom Metal, is my favorite genre of heavy metal. Very often though, I am disappointed by the fact that many bands who used to be in the underground , became mainstream probably because of a successful effort, and forgot that they are more metal fans and less professionals. Are you into doom metal and generally into metal as well?

DAN: Doom metal is pretty much the only genre of metal I’ve listened to for the past 15 years with the odd exception, so there is no chance of Gallow God going mainstream. We would not change what we are doing if we became popular; no one gets into Doom Metal to “make it big”. And I agree that a lot of bands can alienate their fans when they decide they have out grown the Doom metal tag. I know it’s pissed me off from time to time.

RIC: yeah, I mean we are all basically in our early to mid 30’s except for the Yeti, who is a young Bastard. I think that if we were going to grow out of it, it would have happened by now.

5 - England is famous for her metal scene, as well as for many skull crushing doom metal bands. Black Sabbath, Solstice, the Lamp of Thoth, Cathedral, Warning, Mourn and also more underground bands like Witchsorrow, Khthon, Iron void and Crowned In Earth. Please tell me if what the situation in England nowadays is. Are there any true supporters of doom metal? Are there people in charge to organize concerts?

DAN: Well, we can’t really be considered part of the “scene” as we don’t know any of the other bands or anything like that, so we might not be the best people to comment on this. Things do seem to be looking up for Doom Metal in England, but few years ago things weren’t going so well. A lot of the typical venues where you might go and see a Doom gig were being closed down and there wasn’t much promotion happening. However in the last year or two there are a few promoters dealing with underground metal and specifically Doom metal that seem to have secured a new crop of venues. Not to mention all the hard work done by bands in the scene to try and get things moving again.

6 - “False Mystical Prose”, came out of nowhere in the underground and was a great surprise for everyone. What are the responses from the media and generally from the people that listened to it?

RIC: The response has been incredible, and no one is more surprised by this than us! We never expected it to take off the way it has, in fact I remember a conversation we had in the studio one night where we said, we would be happy if we sold 1 copy. Another thing is the quality of the bands we have been getting compared to and mentioned alongside, it’s blown us away, and like I said, was completely unexpected.

DAN: The fact that you even asked that question blows me away!

7 - What is the “strategy” of the band? I mean are you cooperating in composing the songs, or is it a “brain” in the band that writes both lyrics and music? I would also love to know what the general lyrical content of this EP is.

RIC: Things are definitely a collaborative effort, except for the lyrics, that’s Dan’s Department.

DAN: well, not totally, if someone else comes up with a good line or has a good idea for a song then I kind of work with that. The majority of the rhythm guitar parts for False Mystical Prose were written by Ric as well as a couple of the leads, I then added my Harmonies and leads and brought in a few riffs of my own, but Ric was definitely in the Zone on this one! The credits on the EP let you know the rest of the instruments each of us played, and we collaborated on the writing of those parts.

RIC: Usually one of us will have an idea for a riff, record it, and then we get together we Jam it for a bit and refine it, I think the new album we are working on has a more of an even split in the Guitar Department, and we are looking forward to the stuff the new guys will contribute.

DAN: Lyrically the EP focuses on subjects drawn from History, Folklore, Mythology, or stories I come up with to evoke a particular mood; Although The Sin and Doom of Godless Men is a deeply personal song for us.

8 - Have you played any gigs so far? Please let us know what the plans are for Gallow God. Maybe a good promotion of the EP including live performances in and outside UK, Or to continue with a full length album? Are there any labels which are interest in your music by the way?

RIC : We haven’t played any Gigs yet, we have really only had a full line up since October so we still need to do a bit of rehearsal to get up to speed, which can be difficult to arrange because we all have Jobs and families to fit things round.

DAN: The main priority at the moment is the recording of a Full Length, we have already started work on this but it is in the very early stages. We are aiming for an October 2011 release. In the mean time we will be rehearsing and are hoping to start gigging toward the later part of the year, to coincide with the release of the new album.

We do have some Label news as well; we are happy to announce that we have signed to PsycheDOOMelic for the release of False Mystical Prose, so you should now be able to pick up a copy of the EP from either the band or the label websites or one of PsycheDOOMelic’s many distributors.

9 - I think it is a bit early for this question, but I will ask!!! Is there a possibility that you will visit Greece for a live appearance? There is an underground festival which becomes more and more popular, called “Up the Hammers” festival, which takes place in Athens every year! I would be nice to see you live there, so if you want you can ask the guy who organizes it for further information.

RIC: Yeah we would love to come to Greece, although as mentioned earlier we probably won’t be gigging until late 2011 and throughout 2012, but there are quite a few places outside of the UK we would like to play.

10 - Unfortunately, our interview has reached the end. It was very nice talking with you and I will like to thank for all these information about the band that you shared with us. I wish the best for Gallow God and each of you personally. Bands like this should be born every day. You can close this interview as you wish!

Once again we would like to thank you for contacting us to conduct the interview you are the True Preacher of Doom \m/

We would like to thank everyone who has taken the time to check out the EP and given us such great feedback, the radio shows that have played our music, and the reviewers for the brilliant response they have given to “False Mystical Prose”. Also a big thank you to Mark at PsycheDOOMelic for bringing our Music to a wider audience.

For more information on the band or to stream “False Mystical Prose” please visit www.GallowGod.co.uk here you will find links to our Shop, Facebook and MySpace

Doom Ever Onward

Gallow God 11/02/2011

Father Alex

Children Of Doom

DOOM OVER VIENNA 5

2011-01-28T07:20:00.000-08:00

DOOM OVER VIENNA 5

The day was Saturday, November the 6^th and central Europe, especially Vienna, was expecting a doomed depressive night, as the Doom Over Vienna Festival was about to take place there.

So, the journey from Bratislava begun late in the afternoon to catch the train to Vienna. The sky became black and the atmosphere gloomy like signs of warning for the mourning that would follow. Finally, we arrived at Escape Metal Corner, the place where the festival would take place. As we got there, we could see the wonderful merchandise full of cd, vinyls, t-shirts and patches, not only from the bands appearing on the festival, but from bands of the whole doom metal genre. The place was crowded with metal heads, among them the band Isole which were drinking their beers peacefully while talking with people as well.

Suddenly, my eyes fell on Christian Linderson in thebackstage, waving his hands to me like he was inviting me in the backstage with him as well as with the other bands of the festival. I walked in there and I introduced myself to him in order to remind him who was I, and the great interview which he has given to our BlogSpot months ago. Greetings, hugs and beers with him followed, as well as with the whole Lord Vicar band and Daniel from Isole.

That was the reason why we missed the first 2 bands of the festival including Mael Mordha from Ireland and Vortigan from Austria. Nevertheless, we had time to discuss with Peter from Lord Vicar about the future releases and plans of Lord Vicar and Orne, as well as the good times back in 2005 where Reverend Bizarre appeared live in Thessaloniki. I have to mention that everyone was very friendly and polite, behaving just like proper human beings and not like rock-stars.

Anyway, the time has come for Isole to play and so we left the backstage and we

moved downstairs. After some few problems with their sound which were finally solved, they started their program with “Deceiver” from their first album and the whole place started singing and head banging with them, the best welcoming ever!!! By blood, Dreams, Hollow Shrine, Age OF Darkness and From the Dark followed. Unfortunately, the time available for them was up and they had to stop, but after the warm and active begging of the fans, they played “Moonstone” for the encore.

Excellent performance, with temporary different bass player this time due to Henka’s personal duties, powerful vocals and merciless riffing from maybe the most talented band in doom metal!

The next band appearing were Mirror OF Deception and the fans responded with excitement as their new album “A Smouldering Fire” is a sample of

how doom metal should be played nowadays.

The first riff of the song “Bleak” out from their first album started and a delirium followed. Mid tempo rhythm with many slow but skull crushing riffs, double guitar solos and nostalgic vocal lines are the main characteristics of this band, which gave their best and satisfied all of us. Their playlist was: Bleak, Ghost, The Riven Tree, Sojourner, Student, Entgleiten and Ship of Fools. As an encore they played Vanished.

At last, the time had come for Lord Vicar to “conquer” the stage and doom metal fanatics including me were crowded in the first lines surrounding Chritus. The band played songs from both their “Demon of Freedom” EP and full length album. Heavy riffs, nice melodies and the entire Black Sabbath feeling composed the thing that we call true traditional doom metal today and lead the fans as well as me to grab Chritus’s microphone and sing with him. The emotions were mixed as it is difficult to combine Peter’s riffs while listening to Chritus’s amazing voice. The whole pandemonium ended with “Funeral Pyre” but all the people wanted to play more and as a result the whole band found difficulties in leaving the stage, especially Chritus!! I have no words for this band, not only for their live performance which was more than excellent, but also for their behavior and kindness. Also, I can remember Peter watching with us all the bands played before him, as a way of supporting them, thing that has to be with everyone. Doom metal is a sensitive genre of metal and it is our duty to support it. Also, bands have to support and help each other because first of all we are doom metal fans and then musicians and the whole doom metal genre has no need for big mainstream industries and commercial supporting but only the melancholic and mournful melodies. Keep it heavy, keep it pure!

Father Alex

08/11/2010

New EXTORIAN CD "Truth & Silky Rags Of Cant"

2011-01-25T04:40:00.001-08:00

New Extorian CD "Truth & Silky Rags Of Cant" now available!

Total doom time: 63:38 minutes. Release date: 15 September 2010.

The octahedral booklet contains all lyrics as well as photos of the band members.

For orders (14,90 Euro plus shipping: 1,50 for Germany, 4,50 Euro registered in Europe, 8 Euro registered worldwide) please send an e-mail to doom[at]extorian.de.

Griftegard / Lord Vicar - split 7" EP

2011-01-25T03:24:00.001-08:00

Griftegard / Lord Vicar - split 7" EP

- featuring a new song of each band:
- Griftegard - "A Deathbed For All Holy"
- Lord Vicar - "Do You Believe?"

SPIRIT DESCENT- "DOOMINION" RELEASE !

2010-07-25T10:49:00.000-07:00

http://www.northern-silence.com/files/eyereleases15.htm

The vinyl-edition will be released in early 2011 and will feature an extra bonus-track and a redesigned artwork.....details will follow soon...

ONE EVENING WITH CANDLEMASS!!

2010-07-25T10:45:00.000-07:00

The legends of doom celebrates 25 years as a band with an extra long performance at Debaser Medis in Stockholm december 18.

The classic album ”Epicus Doomicus Metalicus” will be performed in its entirety for the first time with the original singer Johan Längqvist!!
Robert Lowe will of course also be on stage this evening singing both old and new material at this mega cool event!!
Expect a long show with the kings of Doom!!
Tickets: www.debaser.se/kalender/4830

ROTE MARE- Sorrows Path EP available to order now

2010-07-25T10:42:00.000-07:00

Sorrows Path EP out within the next week or so. Order now from www.rotemaredoom.com for $7 + postage.

Candlemass-Ashes To Ashes Live DVD

2010-04-27T04:51:00.000-07:00

Candlemass new dvd ASHES TO ASHES – LIVE will be released april 23.
And you get two shows for the price of one…Sweden Rock (june 4) + Athens – the Gagarin Club (oct 3).
The DVD will be released as a CD + DVD also with the Sweden Rock show as the audio cd.
For the die hard fans Nuclear Blast are putting 2 set of double vinyl together. One set SRF, one set Athens.
Limited edition 1000 copies each.

Setlist Sweden Rock Festival:
Dark are the Veils, Samarithan, If I Ever Die, Hammer of Doom, At the Gallows End, Emperor of the Void, Bleeding Baroness, Sorcerers Pledge, Solitude, Kill the King

Setlist Athens:
Mirror Mirror, Samarithan, At the Gallows End, If I Ever Die, Hammer of Doom, Dark are the Veils, Demons Gate, Emperor of the Void, Man of Shadows, Bleeding Baroness, Tears, A Sorcerers Pledge, Demon of the Deep, Solitude

While Heaven Wept- Vast Oceans Lachrymose review

2010-02-04T07:23:00.000-08:00

When they told me that While Heaven Wept are about to release a new album, I could hardly believe that, from the view that I wasn’t sure if they could compose something similar to the previous masterpieces with the same emotions and feelings. Although, I thought about my eternal hero and idol Tom Phillips and I compromised with the idea that he has never let me down musically and for sure he won’t with the new album.

Then, I was informed that Rain Irving would sing instead of Tom Phillips which was a surprise for me as well but looking back to his previous bands I found out that his voice was pretty much trustworthy.

After all these, the album came to my hands. I would like to start from the magnificent artwork and front cover which translates exactly what the album’s title is about: VAST OCEANS LACHRYMOSE

Moving on the first epic song “The Furthest Shore”, we realize that While Heaven Wept have been refreshed, as they present more mature both lyrically and musically. Rain Irving’s apocalyptic voice, reminding to me in some parts the voice of the legendary Fates Warning first singer John Arch, was suitable for the occasion, as it combines with Tom’s haunting guitar melodies perfectly. As we continue with the next two songs of the album, we are absorbed by the atmosphere made by slow but also many mid tempo parts, acoustic guitars, and beautiful vocal lines, all bonded together by a dreamy production.

Then, “Vessel”, an amazing song and my personal favorite, orientates a new dimension for the album, as it is firstly a song consisted of the classical While Heaven Wept elements, catchy chorus and melodies that are unique and made us put this band to our hearts forever and secondly is a “key” song because after that the album fades out slowly by two amazing instrumental hymns.

Having all the emotional vibes and structures from the previous songs, “Vast Ocean Lachrymose” and “Epilogue”, has come to show that While Heaven Wept, beyond all pleasant changes, retain the elements that we all love like bittersweet melodies with a rise of hope just to breathe for a while until you drown eternally….

Father Alex

While Heaven Wept- Sorrow Of The Angels EP REVIEW

2009-10-28T12:02:00.000-07:00

Romantic, sensitive, emotional, doomed, painful, esoteric, depressive. I know all these are not enough to describe While Heaven Wept-Sorrow of the angels album, but are able to give you a taste for what this album is about.

Just from the very beginning of the album’s first song “Thus with a Kiss I Die” and the slow mournful chords combined with Tom Phillips’ haunting and melancholic voice, you feel your blood starts freezing while the feeling of an emotional accumulation penetrates you when you read this song’s lyrics. Emptiness is filled with tears of sorrow while somewhere around, you are trying to find a creeping sunrise and tears of joy. Beautiful acoustic passages give you the strength to continue listening to this album but also to dream and hope. Moreover, questions and worries are being born concerning the existence of true love and feelings.

Imagine yourself shivering and naked, desperate and hopeless trying to find an answer which deep inside you know that it is going to hurt you more. I wish I could stop here but the gates are wide open now and we are all ready to encounter the second hymn with the name “ Into the well of sorrow” . The lamentation continues and from the very first melodies of the amazing acoustic guitar you start creating an imaginary world within your mind where solitude is the main thing that you have to come up against. Dark clouds surround you soliloquizing in order to remind you your loneliness, while it is time to admit the pain and find the courage to carry on.

Then looking back again to your imaginary world you can see that the most beautiful flower has withered and gone, so the first suspects of “The death of love” are rising. The drops of the autumn rain seem to be a waterfall for you, while you are thinking whether tears are or not.

The epilogue has come as a salvation to this suffering. Optimistic melodies which reveal the new day’s dawn but without forgetting the past. You are walking away from the world you’ve made searching for relief and peace of mind. You have no reason to turn back, because only memories are lurking.

Now, transferring ourselves back to reality, we have to say that Tom Phillips’ 4 song masterpiece involves you to a journey of soul sadness and desperation where there’s no turning back. A journey which starts with a translation of a disappointment followed by grief, sorrow and desperation, realization of the truth and the reality and ending with a sweet memory of the threnody during September’s cold mourning days.

Father Alex (Children Of Doom) 2009

Bobby Liebling (Pentagram) Interview and Pentagram Live Report (Zlin, Czech Republic)

2009-10-17T06:26:00.000-07:00

The day was Thursday the 8^th of October and after our long journey from Bratislava to Zlin, we found the place were the mighty Pentagram were going to appear!! After entering the Masters Of Rock Café, where the gig was going to take place, a place in which many people where there drinking beers and the atmosphere was decorated with Manowar posters from past gigs, I saw a figure fooling around but I didn’t pay attention to who he was. After a couple of minutes though, I realized that he was the godfather of doom metal and one of the most special voices that heavy metal has shown: Bobby Liebling!!!!!!
Without wasting any time I rushed towards him for an autograph and for a picture. Then he offered me a sit in order to talk and have some coffee together. So, I found a chance to make a sort of an interview with him.

First of all I would like to mention that he is so calm and polite and his words and face provide kindness. The first question that I asked him was how come he is touring again and specially in Europe and why did he chose Zlin as a place for a show instead of Prague which is the capital of Czech Republic. He replied that he visits for first time Europe and that this is quite exciting for him and that the choice of the city wasn’t his but his manager’s. Also he told me that he visited Europe because this was a vision of the past and to prepare doom metal fans about the new forthcoming album which will se the light of day during next March!!! Then I asked him about his new line up and what happened with the old legends like Victor Griffin (1979, 1983-1988, 1993-1996) and Joe Hasselvander (1983-2002), guitar, bass (1999-2002). What he replied was that with Victor they still love each other but unfortunately Joe is a different person… About the new line up he told me that they rule, thing that I really understood few hours later at their show. The new line up consists of the following: Gary Isom – Drums, originally drummer for the US doomsters Unorthodox but he used to play for Pentagram as well back to the 1994, Mark Ammen – Bass, also from Unorthodox and Russ Strahan – Guitar. He told the best words for them and that he is quite happy to be collaborating with such musicians.

After all these, I asked him what happened back then in the 70’s what was all these bands that he was involved to, his main influences and the unfortunate and sad facts for him visiting the prison. What he replied about that was his strongest influence ever still nowadays is Blue Cheer. He also told me that he is still a huge fan and about few years ago he accomplished his dream and he met them. Now, as far as the 70’s are concerned Stone Bunny was just a moniker in order to play some rehearsals and nothing more, Bedemon was kind of more serious but only few demo tapes are saved. About that I informed him that there was a re-issue on vinyl by the Black Widow records and he disagreed totally by saying that he lever gave permission for that. Then Death Row was the first moniker that then changed into the tremendous Pentagram and the rest is history. After that, I asked him if he was influenced at all by Ozzy Osbourne of Black Sabbath both in the singing and clothing (crosses and stuff) but also phrases that we all are keen of like Allright now!, Oh Yeah, etc. His answer was clear: Not at all!! And he continued by saying that Victor was a huge Black Sabbath fan and he did plan all these parts in their songs and he has nothing to do with that.

At the end I kept one pleasant and one sad fact. I will start with the sad first which is Bobby’s past where he was involved with drugs and jail because of them but I will continue with the most important and most pleasant of all, that he has quite all these stuff and he deeply regrets as he told me with tears in his eyes because now he can understand the real meaning of life, everyday and in every live show when he sees the people’s response his emotions grow more and more and he cries while he thanks the crowd. Also he didn’t stop saying about his new love, which according to his sayings was gift from God in order to keep him alive. He counts 3 years of relationship with her and also 3 years without any drugs.

After this short interview and while I was shaking of sitting near the god of doom, he left in order to dress himself and to prepare for the show which would start in about 45 minutes. He said goodbye and we re arranged our meeting on stage.

So, after few minutes the dream continued. The mighty Pentagram appeared on stage starting with Wheel of Fortune and continuing with Forever My Queen. What I saw was an incredible movement of Bobby, an excellent musical performance by the rhythm section of Unorthodox and an unbelievable guitar play by Russ which left me speechless. No words to describe the feeling but also the response of the people which had the same luck to be present there like me. Bobby showed his best and also his appetite to live and sing his and our favourite songs. Excellent choice of songs, including Petrified, Living in a ram’s head, All your sins and encore with The sing of the wolf!!!!!

Conclusion: Different emotions surrounded me during the whole event including the internview and the live show and many things were clearly realized like there’s not anything more important that life and joy. Hopefully this was also realized by Bobby who we hope to continue giving us the doom!! God bless him!!

Father Alex (Children Of Doom Blogspot) 2009

Hammer Of Doom III news

2009-10-09T13:15:00.000-07:00

We are moving forward fast and already can present WHILE HEAVEN WEPT as the next amazing band on the billing. Their new album “Vast Oceans Lachrymose” is one of the highlights of the new millenium.....

HAMMER OF DOOM 3

SAINT VITUS (USA)....

WHILE HEAVEN WEPT (USA)
GRIFTEGARD (SWE)
ATLANTEAN KODEX (GER)
THE WIZAR’D (AUS)

February 6th. 2010 Würzburg Posthalle (www.posthalle.de)

Tickets will be available first at Hammer Of Doom 2. Tickets for Hammer OF Doom 2 (also for THRASH ASSAULT 4 festival) are still available at www.nuclearblast.de, www.eventim.de or just send a mail to bestellung@keep-it-true.de.

Metal On,

Heiko and Oli

WHW-VOL news

2009-10-06T02:58:00.001-07:00

I'm very proud to announce that as of Monday, September 28th, 2009 the "Vast Oceans Lachrymose" album has been completed... after 5 tumultous years... approximately 14 years after it was first discussed (albeit with a different tracklist)... anyway, the bottom line is... it is DONE.

There's no doubt we could've continued working on it, but perhaps the details and minutia that would be affected are ultimately irrelevant to anyone outside of the band and our engineer Chris Salamone. Further, we literally worked up to the very last possible minute given the time necessary to manufacture and ship in time for the release dates.

Speaking of those, for the compact disc edition, they are as follows:

Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 - North America
Friday, November 6th, 2009 - Europe

The album is (and has been) available for pre-order through several retail outlets, and will be available through most major stores. I am sure there will be a plethora of online retailers as well, including Cruz Del Sur Music directly.

We will also be making the album and various tracks available electronically via all the existing options, and more details will be made available regarding that soon.

Additionally, a 180gm audiophile LP version (in a stellar gatefold sleeve) will be released via Maniacal Records in a limited edition of 500 copies. The actual release date of this will be determined after we've had the chance to listen to the test pressings and insure all is well. Expect it before the end of the year however (most likely in November).

Coming up next will be massive website updates, information about merchandise, and upcoming shows in support of the album.

**Media and press people - If you have procured any other version of the album prior to September 30th, 2009 - you do NOT have the final production master, rather an initial master we assembled specifically for you, however, if you are on the CDSM promo list and would like an advance copy of the final album electronically, please contact me directly, and I'll sort something out. Many of you WILL receive a finished copy of the album as well once it is available**

New samples from the entire album are now available for streaming at www.myspace.com/whileheavenwept

Thanks again to everyone who has waited so patiently for this album... I cannot tell you how much of a relief it is to be done... I sacrificed so many things over the last 5 years and most recently my physical and emotional health in order to complete this on time... your comments are certainly welcome and encouraged... but please understand that I am desperately in need of sleep and I'm also dealing with a case of postpartum depression, so if I don't respond instantly to you, just give me a week or so to catch up on everything that I need to.

Cheers... more soon...

Tom Phillips
Tuesday, September 29th, 2009, with addendums Friday, October 2nd, 2009

COUNT RAVEN - Mammons War

2009-08-03T07:14:00.000-07:00

COUNT RAVEN - Mammons War

1. The Poltergeist
2. Scream
3. Nashira
4. The Entity
5. Mammons War
6. A Lifetime
7. To Kill a Child
8. To Love, Wherever You Are
9. Magic Is...
10. Seven Days
11. Increasing Deserts

The artwork and track listing for the new Count Raven album. Mammon is a term that was used to describe greed, avarice, and unjust worldly gain, and that let's you know the band still covers topics about social injustices and how fucked up the world truly is - especially today. Old fans should not be disappointed by this album musically either; it feels like no time has passed since the mid-90's. The Raven flies again, more inspired than ever!

Preliminary release date, August 31st.

THE TEMPLE

2009-06-28T06:07:00.000-07:00

Out from the darkness and beyong the sacred gates of the deepest void of hell, Father Alex after leaving his previous band Witchcurse has come to start a new painful era under the name The Temple. Infulenced by the entire traditional and epic doom metal scene, The Temple combine the approaching doom with the perfume of the graveyard and the Black Sabbath heritage.

Discography:

http://www.myspace.com/scoobydoomsabbath

Dreaming

2009-04-02T08:57:00.000-07:00

Dreaming was founded in summer 1993 by Thomas Becker (drums), Thomas Schulz (bass, vocals) and Sandro Uhlmann (guitar, vocals) in Motor City Zschopau, Saxony. The first concert was played in February 1994 with Mirror of Deception and Dawn of Winter and in summer 1994 they published a demotape called "Smirten Prøben". A lots of events with bands like Naevus, Solitude Aeturnus, Morgana Lefay and others followed. The debut, entitled "Tý Vølœý " emerged in October 1999 on their own Slow Fox Music imprint, promoted with support gigs to Solstice, The Lord Weird Slough Feg, Warning and Jack Frost. In Spring 2001 they released a new song called “Treadmill” on the Psychedelic- Compilation “Out of Focus – Vol. 1” and recorded “The Warstarter” for a St. Vitus-Tribute on Raven Moon Records (which never was released). In Autumn 2001 two gigs in Hungary with Mood and Convoy were done. In 2003 they played at the first European Doom - Festival Doom Shall Rise in Crailsheim/Triensbach and in 2004 at the Autumn of Doom - Festival at Die Eiche/Obereuerheim together with Reverend Bizarre, Officium Triste, Rise And Shine and others. The second album “II” was released on PsycheDoomelic Records as CD and on The Skull Records as LP in 2006. Dreaming played at Doom Shall Rise V. in Göppingen, at the Low Frequency Assault Festival in Nuremberg 2007 and at the second Dawn of Doom Festival in Einsiedeln/CH in 2008.

http://www.blogger.com/www.dreamingmusic.de.vu

Revelation

2009-03-11T04:22:00.000-07:00

Friends since childhood, the members Revelation began exploring their vision in May of 1986. Originally comprised of John Brenner (guitar and vocals), Andy Kremer (bass), and Steve Branagan (drums), they released the demo "Face Reality" in January, 1987. Shortly afterward, Andy left the band and John began recording bass guitar temporarily. Revelation's doom metal sound and style became more defined and the demos "Terminal Destiny" and "Images of Darkness" were released, in the summer and winter, respectively, of 1987.

In February of 1988, Bert Hall Jr., who had played with John in bands since the early 80s, joined as bassist and made the line-up complete. After recording and scrapping a self-financed record, Revelation recorded their fourth demo, "The Illusion of Progress." This new music with Bert saw them adding a progressive, Rush-influenced aspect to their style and gained them label interest.

Revelation appeared on the Doom Metal sampler "Dark Passages" in 1990 with the song "Blessed Realm," which led to a recording deal with Rise Above Records (owned by Lee Dorrian, of Cathedral and Napalm Death). "Salvations Answer," their first full-length recording, was recorded in June of 1990 and released on Rise Above Records in early 1991. Shortly after their first release, and without a recording contract, instead of sitting idle, the band decided to record their fifth demo, "The Unbearable Vision." Bert Hall left Revelation shortly afterward to pursue his personal music vision.

Josh Hart joined the band on bass in late 1991, and soon afterward, Revelation signed a recording contract with Germany's Hellhound Records. The band recorded "Never Comes Silence," which was released in 1992.

Shortly after Never Comes Silence was released, John Brenner decided to leave the group. Faithful friend and fan of the group, Dennis Cornelius, joined as John's replacement. Josh Hart also left the group, but Dennis and Steve vowed to keep REVELATION alive. The two recorded a promotional demo in February of 1994 titled "Mourning Son," which continued interest in the band from their fans and record label.

Jim Hunter joined in the Spring of 1994 as permanent bassist, and the three began preparing for their third full-length recording. "...Yet So Far" was recorded in Nov.-Dec. 1994 and was released by Hellhound Records in early 1995. The album's release was followed by European tours with Saint Vitus in March and Solitude Aeturnus in May of 1995. The band followed the tours with local shows and began writing new material. After a brief split with Dennis in March of 1996, the band reunited and recorded a new demo in December of 1996 titled "Frozen Masque." The band played a few shows and festivals in the ensuing 8 years, but because the members lived in different states, keeping the band afloat became all but impossible.

In May of 2007, after appearances as Revelation at Doom or Be Doomed Festival in Baltimore, John Brenner, Steve Branagan, and Bert Hall, Jr. decided to revive Revelation and write new music.

Leaf Hound Records re-released the Never Comes Silence CD in April 2007 and the Salvation's Answer CD in November 2007, and will also release, on vinyl only, an Unreleased LP Revelation recorded in 1988.

In June 2008, Revelation released a new album titled "Release" for Leaf Hound Records in Japan: www.leafhound.com. This was followed by an appearance at the Declaration of Doom festival in Baltimore and a 3-date tour in Japan.

Band Members:

CURRENT LINE-UP:

John Brenner - sings and plays guitar

Steve Branagan - plays drums Bert Hall, Jr. - plays bass

Salvation's Answer line-up:

John Brenner - guitar and vocals

Bert Hall, Jr. - bass

Steve Branagan - drums

Never Comes Silence line-up:

John Brenner - guitar and vocals

Josh Hart - bass

Steve Branagan - drums

...Yet So Far line-up:

Dennis Cornelius - guitar and vocals

Jim Hunter - bass

Steve Branagan - drums

Discography:

Face Reality	Demo, 1987
Terminal Destiny	Demo, 1987
Images of Darkness	Demo, 1987
The Illusion of Progress	Demo, 1989
Salvation's Answer	Full-length, 1991
The Unbearable Vision	Demo, 1991
Never Comes Silence	Full-length, 1992
Mourning Son	Demo, 1994
...Yet So Far	Full-length, 1995
Frozen Masque	Demo, 1996
Fourteen Inches of Fury	Split, 1998
Frozen Masque	Best of/Compilation, 2003
Paleontology	Best of/Compilation, 2007
Release	Full-length, 2008

Links:
http://www.myspace.com/revelationdoom

The Lamp Of Thoth Review on Portents, Omens & Doom album

2009-02-21T03:44:00.000-08:00

Being part of the United Kingdom’s doom metal forces and hailing within the Miskatonic Foundation, The Lamp Of Thoth’s last full length album “Portents, Omens & Doom” is here to invade all the weak.

With nicknames like The Overtly Melancholic Lord Strange, Randy Reaper and Lady Pentagram, The Lamp Of Thoth perform a powerful and ominous traditional doom metal straight from the deepest void of hell. The inquisition starts with the magnificent “I Love The Lamp” and finishes with the heavy opus “Satan’s Hammer”, describing by this way the ruthless tradition and heritage of doom metal. Combining slow gloomy riffs and mid-tempo gateways with the raw nihilistic vocals and pure but also obscure drumming, The Lamp Of Thoth are here to destroy any signs of tranquility and begin the holocaust. Songs like “You Will Obey”, “Pagan Daze”, “Wings Of Doom” and “Blood On Satan’s Claw” are ready to mourn instead of the lament and teach about how skull crushing true traditional doom metal should be played nowadays. Absolute heaviness influenced by Satan and Doom, this cult trio from Keighley are honored by the oath in which they have been dedicated: Black Sabbath. Just imagine yourself being during a cold and misty morning in a graveyard while next to you a dragon tries to destroy you by spitting flames around you. This is The Lamp Of Thoth and if you dig the doom you’d better check this album now, otherwise the beast of doom will be set out free and be sure, it is sent to desecrate your soul. Believe me!

Tracklist:

1.	I Love The Lamp	06:43
2.	Witchcraft & The Law	04:36
3.	Wings Of Doom	06:40
4.	The House	07:58
5.	Blood On Satan's Claw	03:46
6.	Victorian Wizard	10:37
7.	You Will Obey	04:38
8.	Pagan Daze	07:51
9.	Hand Of Glory	07:49
10.	Satan's Hammer	05:06

http://www.myspace.com/thelampofthoth

Doom Onwards

Father Alex

Interview With Christian Linderson (CHRITUS)

2009-02-15T11:08:00.000-08:00

1.Hello Christian!! First of all we would like to say that it is an honor for us to interview you, as you were a hero for us during your career with Count Raven, Saint Vitus and now with Lord Vicar. So, let us start by asking you what happened back in the late 80’s and Count Raven were formed?

Thank You for the kind opening comment, and the pleasure is all mine, Im sure! Comments like that makes it ALL worthwhile, I feel. Its good to know that I at least seem to have been able to touch a few people out there with some of my music throughout these years. Cheers!
As it was back then, and as far as I remember it, I had been involved in several different local rockbands since mid 80s. I was a HUGE WITCHFINDER GENERAL/BLACK SABBATH-fan and still am to this day. And so I guess it was a natural progression for me to want to move more in that direction musically, as I felt it had more substance to it than what Metal media was hung up on at the time. It was dominated by the glamrock-scene, which I truly loathed. It so happened that I Some Enchanted Evening went down to a local place where most kids and teenagers can hang out in evenings and after school. They also organised concerts with different local bands mainly. That night a band called STORMWARNING played, and I was almost instantly infatuated with the crunchy sound and by all means no-bullsh*t approach they had. Got to talk with them afterwards, it was Dan, Wilbur and drummer Mikael. We hit off really good on a personal level very soon, so I started showing up at their rehearsals sometimes, or me and Dan just got together to hang out - as it turned out we lived just across the street from one another. Seeing them at rehearsals and gigs really lit a fire within me, and one day I just had to ask Dan while we sat around in my room: "Hey, why don’t we form a REALLY heavy band? Forget about STORMWARNING, man! We could do better together!" And Dan, humble as ever, replied: "Ha! Ha! I AM STORMWARNING!"... So from then on I got to sing during rehearsals, as he wanted to focus mainly on his guitar playing. It was by then lyrics started to be in English, as it felt more natural for me to sing in that language. And we just took it from there. Our very first gig must have been pretty good, As I got that nodding approval from him afterwards! Ha! We continued with that line-up for about a year or two, and played a lot of gigs and festivals throughout Sweden. What we did was to simply bring forth a phone number-catalogue and just call about EVERY DAMN PLACE there was in the country that organised gigs and put together our own tours! It was hard, expensive work but great fun in the end. But then Mikael got tired of it all, and wanted to spend his time with his family instead. So we had to find another drummer for the band. Finding him is quite a good story in itself and can be found for everyone to be read in the booklet of the re-released first album. So, Renfield then came into the band after a long and very frustrating search for a replacement. We recorded the demos, changing the name to COUNT RAVEN cause apparently there was some other band who had just bought the rights to use STORMWARNING. It was a actually a good friend of mine then, Matz Ekstroem (First CANDLEMASS drummer) who came up with COUNT RAVEN. He actually rehearsed with us on occasion aswell, but it didnt work out with his style of playing - straight double basspedalling throughout the songs! Really nice guy, though! In what must have been late 89 or so, I picked up a Metal Magazine somewhere and in it, it said that SAINT VITUS had signed to a German record label. I sent the label a demo and a letter that said something about me being a BIG fan of the band and asked them if VITUS ever came to Sweden, could we please open up for them? They replied that we could open up for them during their WHOLE UPCOMING TOUR, IF the label could release our album! Ha! Simple, huh? So we recorded the album and titled it "STORM WARNING", as a reference to the bands past history. A pretty smooth passage there. I was in seventh heaven that tour in 90, so was my friend Griff from CATHEDRAL/YEAR ZERO fame. CATHEDRAL opened up for them in England, and COUNT RAVEN throughout the rest of Europe. Good Times!

2. How did you start singing?
I opened up my mouth and went: Ghaaaaaaaa! Ha! No, it was in the Swedish version of College, or in 10th Grade if You like. A classmate of mine heard me sitting behind my desk humming a SAXON song or whatever, and he suggested I should go try out for some friends he knew, who had a band but no singer. So I did, ending up a member. We were called SAMHEIN. Then followed some other local bands; CONQUEST and later on a band who had numerous names for a while, so I have none to give You there, Im afraid! Ha! Ha! It featured Joakim Langquist on guitar, though. (The younger brother of Johan, who later on sang on the first CANDLEMASS album) Things started to lean too much towards ordinary melodic Metal towards the end there though, and by then I had seen STORMWARNING play that gig I told You about previously, that direction was what I wanted us to go in, and the others did not - so we split up. In addition I can tell You I have only had ONE good half hour worth of professional vocal coaching in my entire life, Could not afford any more. Ha! Reckon none-fans of mine would be keen to say that it shows.

3. By which artist or singers have you been inspired?
Ozzy, And Zeeb Parkes from WITCHFINDER GENERAL - believe it or not! Never purposely meant to come out sounding anything similar to them, though. It’s just the way I sound, and it’s been quite a few years now since I stopped explaining this to ignorant and narrow minded critics. I guess all that time I spent in my room singing along to these artists songs left a mark somehow, sure, but it’s not like it was a part of a plan or something. It’s been a blessing and a curse alike, but take the Death Metal genre for instance - noone is bitching over all these what must be f**king MILLIONS of bands singers growling, sounding more or less identical in their performance, Yknow?! Strange! I’m not knocking them, just stating a fact. Apart from Ozzy and Zeeb, Kate Bush has also meant a lot, as her style of vocal harmonies really hits the spot for me. Her despair at times, man. Intense! Ian Anderson of JETHRO TULL is also a big hero of mine. And I can tell You this: If it wasn’t for Johan Langqvist I probably wouldn’t be singing in the first place. I have this older cousin who always brought me to his childhood friends band rehearsals, who called themselves JONAH QUIZZ, and Johan was their singer. An excellent constellation, they sounded like a crossing between SAXON "Denim And Leather" and Judas Priest "Screaming For Vengeance" musically, really professional like. He sang in Swedish there in the beginning, and later on started to sing in English as well. Jeez,I f**king WORSHIPPED the man. I wanted to be just like him...no, I wanted to BE him! what a great voice! Initially and without a doubt, he sowed that seed in me thinking that "One Day..." Yknow?! I still consider him being the best singer EVER coming out of this country when it comes to hard rock. Him and Ulf Torkelsson from ABRAMIS BRAMA. Simply Amazing Naturally Talented vocalists both of them.

4. What were your influences in general?

I grew up with parents mainly listening to THE BEATLES, ELVIS PRESLEY, ABBA, CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL, STATUS QUO and get this: DEMIS RUOSSOS!
So, these just mentioned here is sort of rooted deep in my soul and spine, being part of my entire childhood. In mid teens I discovered KATE BUSH whom I am a big fan of. And personally, I was never really a big fan of DEEP PURPLE as a band, but GILLAN solo stuff really appealed to me in quite an early stage aswell...and Yknow, all these other 70s legends like BLACK SABBATH, JETHRO TULL, NAZARETH, URIAH HEEP, LED ZEPPELIN, BUDGIE, ROBIN TROWER, ALICE COOPER, KISS, some HAWKWIND etc. Eventually when Metal started to become a renewed sensation in early 80s, just like most other people I was into SAXON, MOTORHEAD,JUDAS PRIEST, IRON MAIDEN and AC/DC. And then along came WITCHFINDER GENERAL, SAINT VITUS, PENTAGRAM and TROUBLE...at least for me.

5. The year was 1989 and suddenly 2 demos were recorded and the year after the amazing first full length album Storm Warning was recorded and released. What are your feelings about being part of such an excellent debut and how did you feel as a band after the magnificent reviews and comments that you received?

Well, we had both good and bad reviews of course. I think most underground Fanzines welcomed us with arms wide open, so to speak. As for some of the major leading Metal Zines that were around back then, I remember KERRANG! and METAL FORCES really liked us, as well as German METAL HAMMER. But If I remember correctly, UK.METAL HAMMER really HATED our guts, though! Ha! Ha! At least the guy who reviewed the album did. He stated the intro kept going throughout the whole album or something, so I suspect he must have gotten a mispressed copy! Oh, well. You cannot win them all, I guess. Oh, but we were really proud and happy about the album, of course. A bit of a leading question there, fellows! I guess It’s fully comparable to become a parent in certain ways, or having sex with ones girlfriend for the very first time, Yknow? ...That pure euphoric, sensational feeling of that the whole world changes around You, sort of! And for me personally it was a f**king dream come true to end up on a piece of plastic and paper! Thats a lifes ambition for You! And I remember we had a blast going on that tour with SAINT VITUS and the chance to go outside of Sweden and play for a foreign audience! I even got some female attention that tour, and that has NEVER happened in that situation since then! In retrospect, looking back at that album now...I don’t know, it is what it was way back when, and it was me at that certain specific time in my life, Yknow? And in true Swedish self-denying fashion I thought that was it! I had no idea there would be more to follow, really. And If I could change anything about it today, it would be some of the asspompous self-righteous Christian views I had when writing lyrics back then. It just came out like that cause I thought that was the way it was supposed to be, kinda. I can’t remember what the hell I was thinking. I was still young then and very naive, mind You. And as time flies by, one changes views when growing as a person - be it through general experience in life or contemplating or both. As for the vocals itself, well...I can’t say my ambition was to try to sound like Ozzy or Zeeb, I just hadn’t really found myself vocally yet. But my conclusion has to be this, after thinking about it for another minute here, is that there are far more worse albums out there...and some of them aren’t even debuts! And You can quote me on that one.

6.Tell us please what happened then and you left Count Raven. Where there any problems with your band mates or something like that? Rumors said that you weren’t able to continue under this hippie image any more. Is it true?

No, not at all! That is NOT what happened, and it truly
sounds like a really STUPID reason for leaving, since You ask...and rumors, Dude - who needs them?! First off, the "hippie image" of COUNT RAVEN or whatever, was NOT a gimmick. we never f**king PRETENDED to be what we were not. The poseur movement that had its origin in L.A at the time spearheaded the pretending part, not us, and if they didn’t its even worse! Read or listen to "In The Name Of Rock And Roll" once more and ask Yourself if there actually was a "hippie" image to COUNT RAVEN per say! There is not much peace and love in that one, dude. Just a pure reflection of HATRED, rather! Dan And Wilbur were the ones out of the four of us being youngsters with roses on their cheeks during that era, not me or Renfield. He has always been a Biker Viking through and through! And personally, well, Im kinda fond of the 60s movement yeah, for nostalgic reasons such as the WEED And SEXUAL liberation and the MUSIC! But it was all both for good and bad, I mean - they had the answer right there in their palm of their hand but drugged it all into NOTHING! Stupid C*nts! And on top of it all, I was born in 1967 - The Summer Of Love, Baby..."And By Peace He Shall Destroy Many"...But to be perfectly honest with You here, I can truly not quite remember what the actual reason was for finally leaving. It was bound to happen sooner or later anyway. I remember me and Dan often got into arguments about whatever towards the end there, as often happens when strong wills collide. Wilbur and Renfield were always trying to meddle between us, sometimes successfully and other times not. Being in a band is much like having a relationship with your spouse, Yknow? A cliche indeed, but oh how very true. I’m sure You know this already, so I won’t dwell on it. Boring answer, huh? Whatever, this is a long time ago now. What must be an ocean of rivers have passed under that bridge. I actually bumped into Dan only just a few weeks ago. COUNT RAVEN have recently finished recording a new album, which I’m really looking forward to hear. Quite some time after TERRA FIRMA split up, an idea came through in my head of forming another band to maybe record something. It has now been granted with a name even, which is WEEKEND BEAST. I then actually got in touch with Dan to ask him if he was interested in participating, and he was. But nothing came out of it. After quite some time he called me asking if I knew of any bassplayers...I snooped around for a bit, then Dennis Berg from ABRAMIS BRAMA suggested Fredrik Jansson, our mutual friend and ex-drummer of that band, who also is a bassplayer on occasion. And so it turns out I ended up giving Dan a bassplayer that I originally had thought of for the drumming part in the WEEKEND BEAST line-up! Im happy for Janssons sake though, as I understand he has also been a long time fan of COUNT RAVEN. Fredrik also plays drums in WITCHCRAFT nowadays aswell.

7.Many years after, you became the singer of Saint Vitus’ C.O.D. album. Tell us please about Saint Vitus. Was it a band that inspired you as a band back with Count Raven and was it something special to you? What happened and you went to sing for Saint Vitus?

I was a big SAINT VITUS fan well long before joining STORMWARNING. I discovered the first VITUS album when I was working in a local record store as part of my school education. And it was just grinning at me, sitting there in the import vinyl section, going: "Hey, Check Me Out!", and it was Love at the first listening! And as I was working there I naturally excercised my authority of ordering stuff from their SST Catalogue through other retailers, so "Hallows Victim" and "Walking Dead" and the rest of their recordings quickly followed. So anyway, what happened was that in the middle of recording the second COUNT RAVEN album, I read somewhere that Wino had left the band. I had by then gotten to know Messiah from CANDLEMASS through Matz, and Messiah and myself were the biggest fans of SAINT VITUS in Sweden at the time, that I know of anyway. I was asked through our record company to get in touch with him, to ask him if he would be interested to go over there and maybe join them, this since he was out of CANDLEMASS by then. Turns out he was not very keen on the idea for whatever reason, so they asked me to give it a go instead! I was not comfortable with the situation in COUNT RAVEN then either, even though the recording of "Destruction.." was almost done. So I just went for it. Good thing I did, cause Dan then naturally had to start singing again and record the vocals all over again and my vocals really SUCKED on that recording! If You need proof of that, just have a listen to the bonus tracks apparently included on the re-releases of their back catalogue! Anyway, going over to California to try out for VITUS, one of my favourite bands at the time, was just out of this world! Turns out I was a member of the band already before the flight even hit the airport over there. Imagine that! My sanity hung from a very thin thread, believe You me! Our very first song during rehearsal was "Prayer For The (M)asses" I remember, and how could I ever forget?! Time stood still and I truly F**KING LOVED every second of it! I was with them for some three and a half years from then on. It was a true adventure, containing both ups and downs of course. That experience itself really changed me as a person, for the better I hope. I learnt a great deal from them guys, and all in all that period gave me a lot of fun memories. However, since Dave would not have me singing the way I did naturally, because of the obvious Ozzy-comparison again,(Aaah, the curse! THE CUUURSE!) it lead me to become really distant to myself and uncomfortably insecure of myself in general. still puzzles me to this very day, mind You, since he obviously knew how I sounded like already, Yknow? And then when we did that European tour with CATHEDRAL, it was HIS suggestion we should do "Paranoid" as a cover...go figure! But this is also history by now, and I have NONE whatsoever grudge with them these days. It’s part of the business I’ve come to learn, and besides, life is too short! Recently I finally got in touch with both Armando and Mark again through my MySpace after all this time, and things seem to be cool between us. I wish them all the best of luck with that whole reunion thing and I will always treasure my time with them. I am also very grateful for the opportunity back then to go and visit the Magical Wonderful World Of Disneyland! Zipp-a-dee-doo-daah!

8.Are you still a doom metal and generally a heavy metal fan? Which bands are you listening to and how do you see the doom metal scene nowadays? Any worth checking bands?

Yes and yes indeed! I kinda lost touch with what was going on in the scene for some 4 years or so, after TERRA FIRMA was no more. Raising my Son all on my own had me more than occupied. Then about 8 months ago I finally gave in to modern technology, getting access to this here computer. Previously I would not go closer to such a device than an English mile if I could help it! So, by doing this I soon got filled in and discovered many good bands that are to my liking, so Yep - There Is Hope Still! For me though, it gets somewhat confusing with all this different labeling of musical styles these days. So Regardless of genre now, I like to rock out to HOUR OF 13, THE GATES OF SLUMBER, TALIS, INTERCOSTAL, PLANET GEMINI, LORD OF THE GRAVE, TOWER OF EVIL, THE WANDERING MIDGET, GREY and THE PURITAN to drop a few names here. Im also REALLY into GRAVEYARD, a wonderful 70s groove kinda proggressive band. And NEVER to forget: ABRAMIS BRAMA! Ah, what a high class act! They’ve always been good, but from what I heard of them as of lately their new material is getting more dark and sinister than before and that is never wrong in my book! Next album from them should be really AWESOME! Check Them Out!

9. About a year ago, we learned that Reverend Bizarre were about to split up, but Peter was planning to continue the true doom metal tradition with another band called Lord Vicar. No one though, could believe that the main singer would be you tell us please something about that. Did you know the band Reverend Bizarre from the past or you just knew Peter and you both decided to move to the creation of such a band?

I had heard of REVEREND BIZARRE earlier yes, but I did not know them personally. A good friend of mine went to a Doom Festival here in Stockholm once, where they attended. I forget why I couldn’t go that time, though. Anyway, give or take a year or so ago I got a call from Renfield saying he had met this Peter character from a band called REVEREND BIZARRE. I think they played a festival in Germany somewhere together or whatever, and Peter wanted to get in touch with me regarding forming a band. By then I had not heard so much of BIZARREs music and it wasn’t until later it dawned on me how much impact that band has had on the scene. Apparently I had been away for too long. So, after he called me he came over to my house one day, he travels a lot in his work to different countries and this was the day after some convention here in Stockholm. Anyway, he suffered somewhat of a hangover from the night before apparently. We hit off good from the start though, and so we tried to cure his hangover with plenty of beer and a bottle of Whisky that he had brought with him as a gift. Drinking out of my horn with Odins Hail, we both were in pretty good shape by the time I went with him back to the train station to wave him off! Ha! Ha! He soon after that sent me some REVEREND BIZARRE CDs and I found myself getting really smashed one evening, rocking out and headbanging to their "So Long Suckers" album. I still regard "They Used.." as my personal favourite song by them. I had not heard of CENTURIONS GHOST either previous to this, and getting to know both Milly and Jussi has been nothing other than a PURE PLEASURE! When we did our first tour in November last year, together with THE DEEP BLUE, Void came to hang out with us in Berlin. I found him being a really nice person aswell. Albert I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting just yet. I’ve seen some old BIZARRE pictures where he is wearing a COUNT RAVEN shirt though, so at least I know he has good taste! Ha! The name LORD VICAR has its origin from our personal names. LORD comes from Lord Chritus - a nickname that Freddie Eugene came up with at some point when in TERRA FIRMA. "Lord Chritus from SAINT VITUS!" was his exact phrase, the witty bastard! so it just stuck with me there for a while. I’ve skipped the "Lord" part nowadays though, or TRYING to anyway, as it seems very hard to shake it offa me! Today there are WAY too many Lord This and Lord That running around, so it has lost its appeal for me. So simply Chritus is what I prefer. VICAR, of course, is from Peter. Had Milly and Jussi been starting this band, I guess we would have been called MILLHAMMER! Tsssk. Tsssk.

*photo taken by Blackblood (GDMF)*

10. After a very good debut 7”, Fear No Pain was released, a really masterpiece of doom metal, where a lot of people including us believed that doom metal is not dead...

Well, thank You. Feels good to know that people - including Your Dear Selves here - can see some darkness at the end of the tunnel! An ironic contradiction, since REVEREND BIZARRE stated that Doom Metal IS dead! Ha! Ha! I wouldn’t know a thing about it, though. as I said, I’ve been away for too long. For me it is just about dedicating myself to what I concider being good music.

11.Who’s the main song and lyric writer? Do you participate in any composing of music or lyrics?

Well, there should be no mistake here that Peter is the main driving force in this band. Its more his baby in that sense than mine, if You know what i mean. He comes up with the general rough ideas both musically and lyrically, but we all get to have our say during rehearsals. He is very easy going as a person, and very likeable at that, and he really cares about the rest of us feeling comfortable with what comes out in the end. All in all its a very good way of thinking. I mean, him and Jussi lives in Finland, Milly in England and me over here so naturally we don’t get to rehearse as much as we would like to! Therefore it is optimal that he is at the helm of this, being the very creative person that he is. I have no problem with him writing the stuff, as I’m free to elaborate around the lyrics and vocal harmonies anyway, Yknow? He gave me a working title for a new song a while ago though, called "Endless November", which I will write from scratch. However, I’ve been really spoiled now with "Fear No Pain" getting everything served on a silverplate kinda. So we will see what comes out of that one as I haven’t been writing any
lyrics for ages, it feels like.

12. Also, you were founder and creator of the band Terra Firma. Please tell us about how this started. What were you thinking back then?

Me and "Fast" Freddie Eugene both started it, yes. The idea of forming that band had been around ever since COUNT RAVEN days, actually! Freddie had heard one of the demos back then, while he was still in UNLEASHED. I actually got to meet him in LA one time during that era. UNLEASHED toured in the States and played at the TROUBADOR or whatever that venue was called, and I went there to see him that night. I remember he bought me some shots of Whisky after the show, which I couldnt manage to hold in...so I then must have accidentally "spraypainted" every single inside wall of the venue. Oh well, it was a f**king poseurs nest anyway! But it wasnt until I came back from the USA a couple of years later after being kicked out of VITUS, that we could get together and start looking for other members. At that point in my life it was the BEST thing that could EVER happen to me. And Freddie, Izmo and myself still remain very close to this day.

13. Terra Firma is a little bit different from you previous bands. Did you wanted to play something different or was it a kind of a hobby for you in order to express some feeling that you could’t due to your previous bands’ image?

Not at all, It was a total NATURAL process. The chemistry we had in that band was nothing short of pure BLISS in that way. And that band was NO hobby at all, it was MY ENTIRE LIFE for about 6-7 years or so. It was a TOTAL soulcleansing time for me, as everything just sunk into place on a straight musical/lyrical/songwriting level, aswell as personal. Mind You, getting the boot from VITUS made me really depressed for a while there. That time I thought it was all over FOR SURE, as making the "C.O.D" album with them came out as a huge dissapointment for me personally there in the end. I wanted to pick up from the "Mournful Cries" era or "Walking Dead" even, and clearly that wasn’t what actually happened. With TERRA FIRMA something just snapped within me, as if my true nature just bursted out of its cage, sort of. I feel that the two albums we managed to release have been WAY to underrated in the scene over all. I mean, WHAT THE F**K HAPPENED?! People went totally STONE DEAF all of a sudden?! I think the musicians involved are all pure genious, not counting myself there, which I must clearify is a very Swedish thing to say. I have a good excuse using the phrase, though. In comparison to what I’d been involved in before in my career, none special mentioned here, its way beyond me why we couldn’t go further than we did. But such is Life, I reckon. Shit runs downwards.

14. Which period during your musical career was the best for you? We mean during which period and with which band you were most close and you had the best time with and the most beautiful things that you remember still?

I have probaly given the answer to this one away already! Ha! Ha! In every band I’ve been in, I’ve of course felt there have been moments of Magic on occasion. Without trying to step on anybodys toes here and also giving LORD VICAR a couple of more years; I must say TERRA FIRMA, no doubt. Although the band is a well closed chapter nowadays, I do tend to get very drunk on occasion and put the headphones on and just blast the volume, playing the albums back to back and close my eyes and watch the movie. Time well spent.
There are so many highlights during that era, it’s impossible to tell You about even half of it without writing a kinda Tolkien Trilogy...but one glimpse of it, that sometimes flashes by, is when we toured with CATHEDRAL and ORANGE GOBLIN. We were leaving GRAZ in AUSTRIA early in the morning after the show. Most of us were still heavily intoxicated since previous evening. And we stopped the "Frightliner" Bus to get some gas at this gas-station just outside of town somewhere, right, and I’m sitting by the window noticing this other huge bus also making a stop there. Apparently its full of really old people on a tourist sightseeing of some sort, most of them standing right outside. Then from the corner of my eye, in enters this guy carrying a huge paper machee pink pig under his arm, ever so casually approaching them to have a small talk. You could SMELL their confusion from miles away, eyes wide open as their jaws dropped to the ground! It was my long time good friend Lee Dorrian from CATHEDRAL who apparently decided to enrich their lives with this appearence! Im watching this whole incident and I can’t stop laughing to this day! Man, I guess it would help being there at the time, but take my word for it - that was indeed a Beautiful Thing! Pure MONTY PYTHON like! Another highlight was when we played in Stockholm halfways through the same tour. The venue, STUDION, was totally PACKED with people, and the line outside seemed to go on for miles! The reception TERRA FIRMA got that evening will always be one of the finest moments with that band for me. Ah, those were happy days indeed.

15. What are the plans for Lord Vicar in the future? A second album or some gigs maybe? I know that you played recently in Germany live where our friend FW was there and told us so.

Yeah, which brings us back to the first tour for LORD VICAR, back in November with THE DEEP BLUE again. It was a good one. Actually my first tour in f**king FIVE years! I wasn’t nervous really, just a bit bent out of shape at first. Yeah, FW is a real cool dude. I don’t know if he told You this aswell, but I had to look at the lyric sheet a bit too often, and regrettably continued to do so for the remaining gigs that week. I confess I must not have done my homework properly, but I hope people who attended the shows didn’t take it personally as It might have looked as if I didn’t care. It was quite the opposite, in fact! I dearly promise I will do much better from now on, as I’m sure it will improve with every gig we do. In past bands I’ve been in, we have been able to rehearse for a whole f**king year nonstop if we felt like it, in terms of having access to a studio and each other. but with LORD VICAR its a totally different scenario, mainly cause of the geographical distance. Right, what was the question again, please? Ha! Ha! Yeah, LORD VICAR will keep me quite occupied this year which is just fine by me! We have gigs and festivals booked almost every month until late Fall. Coming up this month, in only a week or two, we will attend the PSYCHOTROPIC CARAVAN in Helsinki, then there’s plenty more to follow: DOOM SHALL RISE, HELL IS PLEASURE etc. and I can’t wait to get out there and shake my tush on stage again! Ha! Ha!

16.Do you plan to visit Greece for a gig aswell?

Ouch! Well, that depends. Have You boys been behaving Yourselves good so far this year? I will let You know soon enough if I get to hear anything about it! Hows that?!
It would be GREAT if we did, as we seem to catch a great interest from Greece! So yeah, we would LOVE to come over there to play for You! Keep them fingers crossed!

17. What are the comments that you receive from the press and generally from the world nowadays?Are there any enthusiasm?

In LORD VICAR, as far as I know of anyway, we have recieved mostly good or at least decent enough reviews and ratings. Which of course is very nice. I think that this band has a lot of potential to become something even better then as of now aswell, given the time. So, no really bad review as of yet. But You know what they say about opinions, right? I can handle critisism aswell, as long as there is any truth in it. Otherwise its nothing but plain bullsh*t, and then I could not give a hamsters ass as of what the person in question has to share with the rest of the world.

18. You were part of the 2 most important bands in the history of doom metal. Do people still recognize that?

I’m every so often amazed by the huge response, to be honest with You. I didn’t think I was missed THAT much, and thought that, save from a few people, no one cared anymore let alone remembered! Ha! Ha! But I do hope this also has a lot to do with my dedication to LORD VICAR, and NOT solely because of my past involvement in previous bands. It was never my intention to become some sort of f**king Doom Metal Jesus or whatever.
I’m a down-to-earth person, what You see is what You get kinda, Yknow? By saying this, I still have a hard time to see myself as anything else than an active member of a rockband. If You’re into it aswell, then fine. And if not - F**k Off! Ha! Ha! No, just kidding! Its just music, Yknow? Life in general has taught me that NOTHING really matters at the end of the day, and that it all is best taken in with a HUGE scoop of salt. That goes for both the Good AND the Bad. And the Ugly.

19. Christian, first of all we would like to inform you that we have reached the end of our interview. Secondly we would like to thank you for the opportunity that gave us to interview you and learn things about your life and career. We really appreciate this. We are just doom metal fans and all we do is to support our favorite kind of music. We do nothing to earn money and glory from doom metal. All we want is to know better the bands and the artists that have inspired and changed our lives throughout these years.

Fair enough, but You got me all emotional here as I’m really touched by Your words and I could start weeping any second now. I Do Hope You Are Satisfied With This Fact! Ha! Ha! Seriously, I would very much like to thank YOU for letting me spill my guts out here like this. No doubt this is the longest interview I have ever done, Thank You Very Much!And to those of You out there who have supported me and the bands I’ve been in since the beginning or even recently; Hey, should You still happen to be awake after reading all of this - Thank You for taking Your time to do so! Hope to see You at any of the upcoming LORD VICAR shows! Praise The Tasty Forbidden Apple!

2009 Feb.
Father Alex/MitsDoom
(Children Of Doom)

World Below

2009-02-05T09:55:00.000-08:00

World Below was formed by Jonas Kjellgren (Scar Symmetry, ex Centinex, Carnal Forge, Dellamorte...) in 1999. A demo with 2 songs were recorded as a solo project called Beyond The Sun, but it was never meant to be released. The project was asleep some years until February 2002 when Jonas had a terrible nightmare about some very evil and bizarre cult from the 15th century.

So the writing process began, with a truly scary nightmare in mind the inspiration just flowed. A full-lenght album was the goal and Mikael Danielsson (ex Sideburners, Turabus, Mystery Machine...) joined the Doomed horde on bass and vocal duties. One phone-call and 2 hours later Stefan Westerberg (Carnal Forge, Leech, ex Steel Attack...) sat behind the drums ready to record.

After 7 weeks with long afternoon hours passes in the studio we were done. The result was way over our expectations; seven epic tracks of doom, 49 minutes of great quality music. "Sacrifices To The Moon" was released by Underground Symphony 2004.

On the "Maelstrom" album, that was recorded January 2005, the line-up changed. Ronnie Bergerståhl (Demonical, Grave, ex Centinex, Julie Laughs No More...) joined on drums and guitarmasturbator Per Nilsson (Scar Symmetry, ex Altered Aeon...) on guitar. "Maelstrom" was released by Psychedoomelic Records the same year.

World Below did their first and maybe last live shows the same year together with their fellows in Centinex. Two gigs in Germany including the great Bands Battle Festival in Stavenhagen and later two in Finland with the legendary Demilich & Demigod with very good response. Between those gigs they also did an awesome gig at the festival Daldansen in Hedemora, Sweden.

After the shows in Finland Per decided to leave the band to concentrate on his other band Scar Symmetry. A mini-tour was booked by Dreamtide Music in November but it was sadly cancelled when Mikael decided to take a break from the band due to some personal matters. The end of World Below was near because of lack of interest...

Then, in the spring/summer 2006, Jonas decided to make an new album and asked Ronnie and Mikael if they wanted to join the ship again. Of course they did! The new album titled "Repulsion" was recorded and mixed in Black Lounge studios in September and was released in November 2006 through Psychedoomelic Records.

Doomed or be doomed...

Band Members
JP Kjellgren - Guitars/vocals
Ronnie Steelmountain - Drums
Mike Danielsson - Vocals/bass

Per Nilsson left the band in September 2005.

Discography

Sacrifices To The Moon

Maelstrom

Repulsion

http://www.worldbelow.tk

Serenity

2009-02-05T09:24:00.000-08:00

Formed in 1994 in Bradford England.
Serenity made there first demo at the inner city studio in Bradford. Containing the Tracks "Black tears", "Then came silence" and "spirituality", the demo bagged them a deal with Up and coming French Label "Holy Records".

In september of that year they made there live debut, Supporting "My Dying Bride".

Soon after, they entered Engine room studios in bradford to record what would be become there debut album "The Came Silence". Aswell as the 3 demo tracks iot also contained 4 brand new compositions including the standout tracks "I am with you" and "The darkest things".

1995 saw Serenity record 2 new tracks, one for a Holy Records Compilation Cd. The track they used was called "Skin of the soul". The other track left over from these sessions was called "The way i bleed" which would later surface on there 2nd album. These were debuted live at "La Locomotive" in Paris France again supporting My Dying Bride.

. In the summer of 1996 Serenity entered the famous "Rhythm Studios" in Bidford upon avon with Producer Paul Johnston(cathedral, Soitude Aeturnus, Benediction) to record there second album "Breathing Demons". By this time bass player brendan dawson had been replaced by Robin Gillard. The album was a vast move foward for the band, beefing up there sound but still retaining the melancholic feel of the first. This was most evident on the track "The way i bleed" which was re written and re recorded for this album.

Soon after the release of this album, the band broke up on the eve of a UK tour.
Some more tracks were written after the singer departed but these were never released.

Band Members
Lee Baines - Guitar
Rich Savage - Guitar
Dan Savage - Vocals
Gary Riley - Drums
Brendan Dawson - Bass
Robin Gillard - Bass(1996)

Discography

Demo 1994

Breathing demons

Then Came Silence

www.myspace.com/serenitydoom

Children Of Doom Radio

2009-01-24T08:20:00.001-08:00

The Lamp Of Thoth

2009-01-20T14:56:00.000-08:00

The Lamp of Thoth were an infamous esoteric coven who operated out of Keighley back in the Victorian age.( See Marie Campbell's great books 'Curious Tales of Old West Yorkshire' and 'The Strange World of the Brontes'). Our mission as a band is to capture that black magical atmosphere whilst mingling it with a Victorian Christian sensibility, to produce a front of oppressive Christian virtues which can barely conceal the raging lusts which boil beneath. We want to repress, enslave and then devour (in stereo, where ever possible) in the spirit of the Old Ones which the Victorian age eventually produced through their sceintific atheism. We want to doom the doomiest doom that doom can doom!

Band Members
The Overtly Melancholic Lord Strange - bass/vocals
Lady Pentagram - drums
Randy Reaper - guitars

Discography

I Love the Lamp (démo - 2006 )

Cauldron of Witchery (MCD - 2007 )

Portents, Omens , Doom (CD - 2008 )

www.myspace.com/thelampofthoth

Up The Hammers Festival

2009-01-20T04:36:00.001-08:00

Up the hammers festival is an Underground Traditional Heavy/power/epic Metal Festival and our main aim is to organise one time per year the meeting of the best upcoming bands of europe,and not only,in Athens Greece.

www.up-the-hammers.gr

Hellroad Caravan

2009-01-19T12:46:00.000-08:00

Hellroad Caravan is a Doomed Heavy Rock quartet from Greece since September of 2006. Basic influences of the group comes from 70’s Rock bands and from 80’s Doom Metal bands. Doomed heavy riffs and seventies rhythms along with lyrics about loneliness, death and witchcraft are the basic characteristics…

Band Members
Janick:vocals
Alexandros: guitar, backing vocals
Kostas: bass
Tolis: drums of doom

www.myspace.com/hellroadcaravan

Hour Of 13

2009-01-19T12:35:00.000-08:00

HOUR OF 13 is the conceptual creation of C. Davis (Subklinik - Anu - US Christmas) and P. Swanson (Seamount - Upwards of Endtime - Earthlord). The focus is on abundant musical / lyrical heaviness and delves into themes of the macabre, darkness, cold atmospheres, complete bleakness / blackness. HOUR OF 13 plays True Original Occult Doom EXCLUSIVELY!

Band Members
C. Davis - guitar / bass / drums
P. Swanson - vocals / scriptures

Discography
Hour of 13 Full-length

Hour Of 13 - Call To Satan

www.myspace.com/hourof13doom

Procession

2009-01-18T03:27:00.001-08:00

Formed in 2006 by Felipe Plaza and Daniel Perez in Chile's cultural heart, the coastal city of Valparaiso, they follow the path of tradition, laid out by the masters BLACK SABBATH, CANDLEMASS and SAINT VITUS without mercy, without compromise. Their 2008 demotape "Burn" was a first near-fatal blow, which showed already, what the band is capable of. The three anthems featured on the tape are manifests of true doom, in the vein of REVEREND BIZARRE and COUNT RAVEN - played with dedication and excellent musicianship. Ultra-heavy guitars, pounding drums and relentless riffing meet the passionate and powerful vocals of Felipe Plaza, reminding of young Ozzy as well as Albert Witchfinder.
In November 2008 Iron Kodex will release the first vinyl EP of PROCESSION, featuring three brand new songs and the sold-out demo. 2009 will see the full-length debut. Prepare for a monolith of pure doom!

No Goth, no Drone, no Funeral, no Stoner - just TRUE DOOM METAL

Band Members
Felipe Plaza - Vocals, Guitars

Daniel Perez - Bass

Francisco Vera - Drums

Discography
Burn Demo, 2008

The Cult of Disease EP, 2009

www.myspace.com/processionburn

Forsaken

2009-01-16T19:13:00.000-08:00

The band started out as progressive metallers Blind Alley and the initial line-up, formed in September 1990, featured Leo Stivala (vocals), former Fall Out keyboardist Cay Schembri, Kevin Azzopardi (guitars), Simeon Gatt (drums) and Tony Azzopardi (bass). The band adopted the epithet Forsaken shortly after the recruitment of ex-Kremation and Vandals bassist Albert Bell in July 1991. The new line-up set about writing new material that displayed an array of influences amongst the plethora of sub-genres in the Heavy Metal scene resulting in the band's first and only demo to date, entitled "Requiem". This served to attract a great interest in the band, which culminated in a deal with the French underground independent label Arkham Productions. The band released its debut 7" Ep on Arkham entitled "Virtues of Sanctity" in July 1992. The Ep featured a re-worked version of "Where Angels Have Fallen" from the "Requiem" demo and another track called "Confessing My Desolation". The Ep was released to widespread acclaim in the underground scene furthering the band's recognition with Doom Metal enthusiasts world-wide. In May 1995 another mainstay in the band's repertoire "Moon Dancer" was recorded at Temple Studios (Malta) and was the band's first experience with the famed local producer David Vella. "Moon Dancer" highlighted the band's penchant for emotive lyrical themes and was also Forsaken's contribution to the first all-Maltese underground CD compilation "The Storm Has Begun" released on June 24th, 1995 on Storm Productions. In February 1997 the band released its long-awaited debut CD entitled "Evermore" on Storm Records. This CD release, featuring tracks such as "Madrigal", "Season's End" and "The Healer" received favourable reviews in a number of established underground zines, including the notable Metallian Mag (France). On the 4th January, 2001, Daniel Magri, the band's longest serving guitarist, passed away after a long and courageous battle against Cancer. Daniel's contribution to the band was indeed outstanding. He had helped to re-orient the band's sound after his recruitment in 1992 and had been instrumental in the composition of several of Forsaken's most memorable tracks, including "Confessing My Desolation", "Sufferance", "The Healer", "Season's End" and "Rubicon". Despite his illness, Daniel was still highly active in the band, and was central in capturing the band's sound on "Neon Knights" - a cover version of the monumental Sabbath track off "Heaven and Hell", which the band contributed to a Mk II Black Sabbath trubute entitled "Dehumanised Witch" released on MidWest Metal Production (USA) in 2000. Daniel, however, will not be remembered only for his artistic ingenuity. Apart from being a highly resourceful musician, Daniel was moreover a great friend and his companionship shall leave an indelible mark on the band. In Feb 2002 Forsaken opened a new chapter in their eventful history with the release of a three-track demo simply titled Demo 2002. The demo features a re-worked version of the perennial Where Angels Have Fallen, Via Crucis (The Way of the Cross) and A Martyr's Prayer. The demo is aimed to showcase the band's contemporary musical direction. This sees Forsaken entering into unchartered territory whilst consolidating their progressive, doom metal roots. Shortly after despatching the demo to various labels, the band was approached by Golden Lake Productions (Scotland, UK) with a concrete offer for a new record deal. Taking into account the label's enterprising status in the UK underground metal scene and its strong and concrete interest in the band, Forsaken felt no hesitation to forge a new partnership with Golden Lake Productions. The band's record deal with Golden Lake saw the band release a MCD entitled "Iconoclast" toward late summer 2002. The MCD featured four tracks;"Where Angels Have Fallen", "Via Crucis (The Way Of the Cross), "A Martyr's Prayer" and "Wither the Hour" for a total running time of 35 minutes. This was soon followed in 2004 by the full length release "Anima Mundi" on Golden Lake Productions. Both this album and the MCD have received an incredible response throughout the world from fans and media alike and have catapulted the band to the forefront of the doom metal scene. The next release on Golden Lake was the re-release of the "Evermore" CD, which was re-mastered and includes the "Neon Knight" cover recorded in 2000. This was released in January 2005 and is limited to 1000 copies only, they are a few left.... November 2005 sees the release of the brand new Forsaken album "Dominaeon" where the band have taken their brand of music to new heights! The Masters of Doom return with a crushing masterpiece of dark and heavy doom metal. Each track is a classic, filled with hauntingly dark and heavy riffs and soaring vocals from Leo Stivala. Two tracks also feature a full male choir to add even more of a grandiose aura. An awesome blend of heaviness, melody and headbanging metal. Fans of doom must get this album. Track List: The Abscondant God (intro), Dominaeon, Paradigm Of Chaos, Obsidian Dreams, The Celestial Alchemist, Daylight Dies, Blood Of The Son (instrumental), Kenosis, Wretched Of The Earth, Resurgam.

Band Members

Leo Stivala (Vocals)

Albert Bell (Bass)

Simeon Gatt (Drums)

Sean Vukovic (Guitars)

Discography

Requiem Demo, 1991
Virtues of Sanctity EP, 1993
Evermore Full-length, 1996
Iconoclast EP, 2002
Demo 2002 Demo, 2002
Anima Mundi Full-length, 2004
Dominaeon Full-length, 2005

Litany

2009-01-15T11:23:00.000-08:00

LITANY were formed in a dead flowery night of April of 2000 by Panagiotis Drivas ( guitar ) and Nick Varsamis ( vocals ) in order to bring forth powerful and passionate music in the sign of Doom Metal. Almost a year and a half later, Alex Tsantilas ( guitar ) joined the band and soon after followed Chris Moustakakis ( drums ). Chris could not keep up the pace with the others so he left, but soon afterwards Jim Ikonomou replaced him in September of 2002. The band rehearsed for about 8 months without a bassist, but hopefully in October of 2002 George Koumparoulis ( bass ) came up to fill the line-up. So up to now the current line-up is: PANAGIOTIS DRIVAS: GUITAR ALEX TSANTILAS: GUITAR NICK VARSAMIS: VOCALS GEORGE KOUMPAROULIS: BASS JIM IKONOMOU: DRUMS The band has already share the stage with well-known National/Greek acts like SOLITUDE AETURNUS, BROCAS HELM, REVEREND BIZARRE, DOOMSWORD, BATTLE RAM, MARAUDER, RAGING STORM, CLAIRVOYANT, SORROWFUL WINDS, DREAM WEAVER, VICE HUMAN and others, where the band has shown its true potential. The music influence of the band derives from bands like SOLITUDE AETURNUS and CANDLEMASS mainly, but we also give credit to many bands of 80's and 90's. Our purpose is to breathe heavy-cum-doom music into life. We will keep pursuing this in a true and emotional way. The band's debut album 'Aphesis: The sapience of dying' was released by E.M.R. on May 16th.

Band Members

PANAYIOTIS DRIVAS: GUITAR

ALEX TSANTILAS: GUITAR

NICK VARSAMIS: VOCALS

GEORGE KOUMPAROULIS: BASS

JIM EKONOMOU: DRUMS

Discography

Rehearsal 2003

1.Solemn 05:57
2.Demon's Lament 05:27
3.Plunder Thy Gods 05:29
4.666 05:26
5.Litany 05:44

Total playing time 28:03

Litany 2004

1.Plunder Thy Sons 5:25
2.Solemn 06:00

Total playing time 11:25

Aphesis:The Sapience Of Dying Full-length, 2008

1. Solemn 05:52
2. Obituary 05:35
3. Demons Lament 05:29
4. Plunder Thy Sons 04:46
5. Fly On Redemption's Winds 08:53
6. Dawn 05:45
7. New Born Dark (666) 05:17
8. Litany 05:45
9. Thanatopsis 12:36

Total playing time 59:58

http://www.myspace.com/litanydoom

While Heaven Wept

2009-01-14T14:19:00.000-08:00

In late November 1989, guitarist Chris Galvan and I decided to start a new project of heavy, progressive, all-original metal. We’d both spent a portion of the previous year in a power metal band called Polaris (do keep in mind, that at this time “power metal” referred to bands like Metal Church, or the sound of the first Anthrax and Overkill albums, NOT the happy Euro metal of today), that fell apart one member at a time after a single low-budget demo.

We wanted to pursue a heavier and more diverse direction than Polaris, having been strongly influenced by the thrash movement, early death metal, doom, and progressive metal (Polaris essentially sounded like Maiden/Priest on steroids; fairly straight ahead NWOBHM influenced metal), and right away we started on our first song called “The Mourning”.

We thought it was pretty clever to start off by giving everyone the impression it was going to be a total thrasher, but it was pretty clear by the second riff (which Chris nicked from Stravinsky!) that this wasn’t going to be the standard affair. I rounded out the rest of the song with some slow galloping riffs influenced by Candlemass. The songwriting was far from polished or mature, but it definitely provided us with a launching point.

Initially, we christened the project Dream Wytch, and brought in Chris’ younger brother Brendan in on vocals, who at the time had a voice that was a strange hybrid of Geoff Tate and David Bowie! We tried out a few local drummers, but nothing really panned out in those first few months, so we just kept writing.

1990-1992

Midway into 1990, Chris left to prepare for the Berklee College Of Music, intent on pursuing a jazz career, but another ex-Polaris member stepped in on drums: Jim Chappell, and it was then that the songs really started to take shape. We worked up several songs in addition to “The Mourning,” including “Necrospectral Exile” (I think I boosted part of that name from a demo I came across!), “Woman Of Shadows,” and “Night Unbroken,” most of which remain unrecorded/unreleased to this day.

Later on, I met bassist Chad Peevy randomly whilst causing some trouble in the neighborhood, and we hit it off immediately! After finding we had similar influences, Chad came on board, completing the first proper line-up of the band.

The Dream Wytch moniker didn't stick, so for a while we went under the name Penance (until I discovered the Pittsburgh band of ex-Dream Death members!), and then Mass Cremation, neither of which lasted for long (fortunately!).

In October, my personal life fell apart; I broke up with my estranged girlfriend, whom I cared deeply about, I was constantly at odds with my parents, school became a chore, and I got deeper into drugs and alcohol. I was doing my best to medicate the existence that I felt had shattered, but in the long run, this only resulted in even bigger problems.

Needless to say, in light of all this, the music I was writing took a much darker and more personal turn; newer songs like “Bound By Depression” and “Dying” were bleak, suicidal compositions that were bereft of any other early influences besides doom. My lost love became my muse (much to her chagrin), and the distinct, emotional sound that we’re known for today developed at this time.

With the evolution of this sound came a new moniker, the one that has lasted to this day: While Heaven Wept. The story behind the name is simple; I received a letter from my girlfriend one bright autumn day that also happened to be our anniversary. Although I probably should’ve anticipated the contents considering she had moved to another city, I just didn’t want to accept things were over, however there was no mistaking the sentiment behind the words “I’ve just given up” and “I’m not the only one in this world.” I was gutted. I fell to my knees, unable to breathe, weeping uncontrollably, asking the useless question of “why”. The air chilled around me, the sky turned black, and sky opened up as if empathetic to my anguish – heaven wept with my sorrow.

At that point, I was more lost than I’d ever been, and if it weren’t for a few very close friends, I probably wouldn’t be here today. Things had happened that I didn’t understand, and I suppose it would be safe to say that any shred of innocence that had survived up to that point was crushed. As I continued spiraling downward, I sought answers in philosophy, religion, pharmaceuticals, science, and still came up with nothing. That was when I realized the answer was in front of me the whole time: music. There were answers or at least empathy in the music of my heroes. If nothing else, I could express myself in ways I could not put into words…I’d have a solace there.

Thus, WHW became my mission, my religion, and the whole of my existence. Gone were the aspirations of “stardom” and musical innovation; I just needed to say the things I didn’t have the words for and release the overwhelming emotions that were suffocating me. My goal was simple: to record the “Sorrow Of The Angels” album as an epitaph, and then die. Pretty bleak huh? It’s the truth unfortunately.

Songs like “Into The Wells Of Sorrow” and “In Aeturnum” originated during this time, and were 100% autobiographical, focusing on the actual events leading up to the demise of the aforementioned relationship, as well as my emotional state in the immediate aftermath.

All this stuff was probably a bit too “heavy” for Jim, and he wanted to pick up the bass anyway, so he left the group to form a band more in tune with his own influences like the English Dogs. Brendan also jumped ship to Fifth Season, the progressive metal band formed by my high school “arch rival” Chris Ladd. Chad stuck around a bit longer, and as for myself, I had a mission.

Enter James Whorton, a maniacal drummer I went to school with; he was the first guy I knew that could actually play blast beats as well as Neil Peart’s drum solo (by 1992, we’d spent the previous 4 years getting deeper into bands like Xecutioner/Obituary, Sepultura, Morbid Angel, Napalm Death, Nihilist/Entombed, despite playing a more melodic variant)! He was always the practical joker, who provided us with endless hours of laughter, despite my perpetually bleak mood. We did have a lot of fun jamming the WHW songs and various covers that year.

Meanwhile, with Brendan’s departure, we needed someone to handle the vocals, and through some friends we hooked up with Kenny Thomas, who also played guitar as well. He’d graduated some years before us, had his own house, and was very enthusiastic about jamming with us. This configuration lasted most of my senior year, with the exception of Jason Stone stepping in on bass for a period. I’d moved into the house after my parents kicked me out, so we jammed a lot, and partied even more.

Once Kenny had become distracted with his own personal matters, and my drinking had caused some problems (like flipping my first car), I ended up moving out of that house and back to my parents’ place (which of course was another mistake), where I kept jamming with James and Chad on the WHW material.

There are probably over 100 rehearsal recordings from the 1989-1992 time period in existence, featuring countless unreleased songs and long-lost riffs, but the vast majority of this material will probably never see the light of day; I consider just about everything WHW did before “Of Empires Forlorn” to be “developmental material” akin to the work of a group of students (however gifted). The only notable exception being “Thus With A Kiss I Die,” but more on that later…

1992-1996

The summer of 1992 we graduated from high school, had a nice share of legal problems, and it marked the last time we played with James, who left the band to get married and start a family. WHW was on hiatus, although I managed to write “La Mort D’Amour” that year.

In the fall of 1992, I started taking classes at the local community college, and I kept seeing this guy walking around campus with a Carcass shirt (and believe me, we stood out amongst the jocks, preps, and faux-hippies), so I eventually we got to talking and it turned out that he played drums in a death metal band from the other side of town called Parasitic Infestation. His name was Jon Paquin.

As it turned out, their other guitarist had just left and since WHW wasn’t really doing anything at the time, I got together and jammed with them. I think we had one rehearsal before I joined them onstage later that same week. I remember being blown away by Paquin’s drumming, and its possible that even at that time I intended to get him involved with WHW (as I was accused of plotting all along haha).

I brought Chad in on bass, and along with guitarist Ricardo Garcia and vocalist Shane Privette, we started tearing up the local scene with chaotic, absurdly loud, brutal gigs and numerous keg parties (which we were infamous for, and they were the most enjoyable performances I was ever a part of). We even included “The Mourning” in our sets, which stood out like a sore thumb, but it kept WHW alive in essence (not that I’d personally even come close to normalcy, or giving up on the mission).

Internal tensions, power struggles, and musical differences lead to my departure from the band in late 1992, but not before I’d met a friend of PI at one of our keg parties, bassist Gabe Funston (from the band Punishment), and convinced Paquin to give me a hand with WHW. (I did however reconcile with PI, and we reformed under the 3.14 moniker, recorded a still-released album, and then fell apart completely for the trivia freaks out there!).

With the dawning of 1993, the new WHW began rehearsing songs for the “Sorrow Of The Angels” album. We didn’t bother with the earliest material apart from “The Mourning” and a revamped version of Jim Chappell’s “Gothic” (now entitled “Shores Of Desolation”), and focusing primarily on the songs I’d written in late 1991/1992.

In 1994, we went into Neptune Studios with an album’s worth of songs: “The Mourning,” “Into The Wells Of Sorrow,” “In Aeturnum,” “Shores Of Desolation,” “On Earth It Is Done,” “La Mort D’Amour,” “Sailing Within,” and the recently completed “Sorrow Of The Angels.” We also did a demo for a song called “Lost (In Retrospect)” that I put together with Paquin in 1993.

Early on that year, a pre-mix version of “The Mourning” appeared on Shane Privette’s “Scenecubator” cassette-only compilation alongside other local stalwarts PI, Open Defiance, and Autism. Positive reactions to our track encouraged us to finish up the rest of the material we were working on in the studio, but ultimately I wasn’t completely satisfied with the results; This wasn’t sounding like what I heard in my head, so the plans changed midway through the process.

After one particularly frustrating day in the studio, I decided to vent over a few songs by screaming out the lyrics in a death metal fashion, which we recorded, not thinking anything of it (after Kenny split, and I decided to take over vocal duties, I tried the death metal approach for a few months, then quickly opted for the clean vocals this band started with, as the death growls obscured the true emotion in the lyrics). Listening to the playback someone had the “bright” idea (probably myself) of releasing these versions for our friends that had been waiting 5 years for something to listen to at home.

Thus, the “Into The Wells Of Sorrow” 7” came out later that year again on Shane Privette’s Open Eye Records (I co-financed this particular release) in a limited edition of 500 copies. We gained more attention from this release in the underground despite not promoting it whatsoever. In hindsight, it probably wasn’t the smartest move to misrepresent ourselves before we’d even established our real identity to the world, but we were hungry to get a “proper” release out, but I can’t say I totally regret it. If naught else, it’s a rare item for our longtime fans and friends to covet.

By the fall of 1994, we’d decided to release an EP with what we felt were the best songs from those sessions and market it as the first “real” release from WHW. We pressed up 50 copies of “Lovesongs Of The Forsaken” as a promotional cassette and sent it out to various zines and other bands we were in contact with/aware of (yes, we were still tape-trading at that time!). The response was overwhelmingly positive, and we decided to touch up a few things and then release it ourselves on CD in 1995.

I’d been working at Tower Records for a couple years by then and met the editors of two zines there, Sargatanas and Sinistrari. We decided to form a small label for our own bands and those that we liked, and thus Sinistrari Records was born (although there had already been a couple cassette-only releases prior to this). We pressed up 1000 copies of “Lovesongs” on CD and sent out copies to anyone who would listen which lead to our first interviews and worldwide exposure in the underground.

Our dark and atmospheric sound was well-received, probably due to the fact that there was a very small doom scene at the time, melodic/atmospheric black metal was on the rise, and slow death metal bands like Paradise Lost had already begun carving their niche as well. We then began building our network of connections, many of which still are intact today.

What I can say about the Funston/Paquin/Phillips line-up was that we inevitably became 100% emotionally aligned as we were all reeling from recent break-ups and personal problems, so the anguish captured on “Lovesongs” was genuine. Unfortunately, Gabe simply became too depressed if you can believe that, so much so that he could hardly function without an extreme emotional response. We probably should’ve stood by him, but frankly Paquin and I just felt drained after the last few practices with him. The last thing I worked with Gabe on was the brand new intro to a song called “Thus With A Kiss I Die,” before we parted ways. From what I understand now, he’s doing a lot better after a radical career change, and I’m glad to know that.

Needless to say we needed to assemble a new line-up so, shortly after Gabe’s departure, I asked the Daniel Ingerson and Kevin Hufnagal from the avant-garde duo Grey Division Blue to join us on bass and guitar respectively in April of 1995. Kevin had also been a member of our old rivals Fifth Season, and was as much of a Fates Warning fan as I was. We started rehearsing together almost immediately, and they really help to push WHW towards a higher level of musical ability.

The four of us returned to Neptune Studios in the fall of 1995, intent on finally recording the “Sorrow Of The Angels” album properly. Along with many of the songs we’d recorded the first time around, we also recorded tracks for a newer composition entitled “To Grieve Forever,” which has been an “inside” favorite for many years now.

I’m not really sure what happened in the studio during those sessions, but the mood and atmosphere turned pretty negative. I didn’t feel like we were playing our best, there was a lot of infighting, and it soured the whole experience for me. Despite the fact that we tracked the basics for the entire album, I aborted this project before the end of 1995, unhappy with the uncomfortable nature of this particular recording process (my theory is that the studio should be a relaxed, creative, and positive experience, even with the inherent pressures). To this day, the recordings done during those sessions remain unheard, sitting on reels in my closet. I don’t even really remember what they sound like now! I’m sure there are some things worth salvaging on those reels, and perhaps someday we’ll all find out!

I felt like I needed a break after that harrowing studio experience, so WHW went on a brief hiatus while I worked with Twisted Tower Dire and Solstice (the details of which I’ll document some other time), and the rest of the band went off to their colleges. Kevin also began work on a solo project as well.

While I really hoped these side ventures would live up to their great potential, the fact is my drinking was out of control, I was spreading myself too thin, and my heart ultimately resided with WHW. The most productive things to come out of that 6-8 month period were the completion of “Thus With A Kiss I Die” (which was a hybrid of the ancient songs “Bound By Depression” and “Dying” plus the massive bridge section I developed while I was in the UK), “Unplenitude” and “September".

Towards the end of 1996, I made efforts to regroup the band to take another stab at recording “Sorrow Of The Angels” (with an updated tracklist), but everyone was pretty involved with school, so the sessions kept getting postponed. It appeared nothing was going to happen until the following year.

1997-2000

In the meantime, I assembled the liner notes and master for our contribution to a split 7” with California’s Cold Mourning, which came out in early 1997 on Game Two Records. We included an alternate version of “The Mourning” from the 1994 sessions as an exclusive track, primarily to offer a sign of life after an ever-growing period of silence. From what I understand, this single sold pretty well considering doom wasn’t exactly popular at the time, and these days it’s a rarity, fetching absurd prices on Ebay.

Once we finally made it back into Neptune to start tracking “Sorrow Of The Angels” (for the third time!), we were a three piece again. I can’t exactly remember why Kevin wasn’t involved this time, but I’m sure it had something to do with the fact that he was in Philadelphia going to school and working on various projects.

At any rate, things went a lot more smoothly this time around, and we managed to capture some magical moments on tape (or rather ADAT) like Daniel’s improvised bass solos and counterpoint lines, some inspired playing from Paquin, and probably my most emotive vocalizations ever (as usual, I was having some complicated relationship problems, so despite the fact I was singing about the past, the pain was in fact very much in the present).

We tracked seven songs for the album: “Thus With A Kiss I Die,” “Into The Wells Of Sorrow,” “The Death Of Love” (the electric version of “La Mort D’Amour), “September,” “Unplenitude,” “To Grieve Forever,” and “Cantique De Jean Racine.” The latter of which was a failed attempt to modernize the Faure composition, with Daniel on viola, a guest pianist, and chamber choir; I’m sure we could’ve salvaged it with today’s technology and more time, but it seemed pretty clear that it wasn’t turning out how I envisioned, so we elected to shelve it.

As a matter of fact, we also shelved “Unplenitude” and “To Grieve Forever” as well – the former because I was sick of every other band having that “one odd” song on their albums (it seemed to be the trend at the time), and the latter…well, I have no idea! It was probably just a moment of stupidity to be honest! Needless to say, some later reviews of the album labeled it as one-dimensional (which wouldn’t have been the case if we hadn’t cut the aforementioned songs), and my response to that is simply: “You’re damn right it is…one dimension of pure, unadulterated epic doom metal, permeated with a very real sadness.” That was the whole fucking point, but I digress…

We ended up spending the better part of a year in the studio, and when it came time for mixing in early 1998, the financial resources were drying up (or I should say “drunken up”), and basically we just wanted to get the album out for once and all. I remember various people telling me that we had to compromise or it would never be completed, and while there probably was some truth to that, if I hadn’t heeded that “advice,” I would have avoided one of the biggest mistakes I’ve ever made in my life.

Aside from the fact that Neptune was limited in terms of capabilities (in terms of gear) at that time, aside from the fact we brought in a second engineer before mixing (who did as good a job as anyone could have), the bottom line is after all this rehearsing, tracking, and heartache, we rushed the album to the finish line, feeling pressured by time and dwindling finances. It was a decision that I’ve regretted ever since.

It was a horrible feeling walking out of the studio with an album that meant so much, that we’d worked so hard on, that didn’t sound even close to what I had envisioned since the beginning. Mauro from Eibon Records assured me that it was brilliant, and for years, people all over the world have called me insane for being unhappy with it, but my answer to everyone is this: just wait to hear (more on that later).

Upon completion of the mixing, we decided that we needed to assemble a new, local line-up to promote the album in a live setting (Daniel had long since returned to Philadelphia to finish his education), so I asked Scott Waldrop and Jimmy Murad from Twisted Tower Dire if they would help us out (after all, I did help form TTD and sing on their first demo!), and they agreed.

This line-up was short-lived, but we managed to stay sober enough to perform one set at a party alongside TTD. The bottom line was we were all way out of control, and at the time I don’t think Scott and Jimmy took the music as serious as Jon and I…it really wasn’t in their nature to begin with. In the end, it was clear that we were better off partying together than being in a band together, so it was on to yet another line-up by mid 1998.

In the autumn, “Sorrow Of The Angels” was finally released on Italy’s Eibon Records in a beautiful, luxury digipak (minus the cover art I’d originally intended to use for legal/tax reasons) with much acclaim worldwide. The reactions were simply…amazing. Adoring letters poured in and extremely flattering reviews kept popping up in magazines all over the world. It was a strange feeling being championed for an expression of pain, and certainly bittersweet considering the mix wasn’t even close to what I heard in my head. Still, “Thus With A Kiss I Die” remains one of the defining moments of WHW, and I do consider it to be my first “masterwork” (for lack of a better word).

With the release of the album, Paquin and I set out to assemble another line-up to continue performing live in support of the album and ironically, as one Scott/Jimmy team was on their way out, a new Scott/Jimmy due came in!

I met bassist Jim Hunter while we were both taking classes and the NOVA Annandale campus. Again, it was like when I met Paquin years before; Jim had a Candlemass shirt on one day, and I approached him because of that (we were, of course, still surrounded by the same damn jocks, preps, and faux-hippies). I know he thought to himself “Who the fuck is THIS guy?” (He told me that later haha), but once we found out that we both played in doom metal bands, things just kind of developed from there. I was pretty blown away by the fact that he was in THE Revelation, and he seemed to appreciate what we were trying to do with WHW as well.

So years later, in 1998, once I found out Revelation were on hold, Jim was the first person I approached about playing bass for WHW, and thankfully he accepted (despite having just recently become involved with October 31 as well). I cannot even begin to explain how important of an addition he has been to the WHW legacy, but I suppose it would be sufficient to say that he’s still my right hand man in the band today.

As for guitarist Scott Loose, he wasn’t really a stranger to WHW since he’d jammed with us previously during the early 90’s in one of many incarnations of WHW that I haven’t covered here (*see footnote below*). In fact, for a brief period of time he was an early student of mine, and years later, hearing him again I was pretty impressed.

He’d formed a couple bands with other mutual friends from high school, and the most recent of which, Arise From Thorns definitely caught my ear. It was uncanny how similar our guitar and writing styles were, so it was a clear and natural decision to invite him back into the fold. Plus, his sister Michelle also played keyboards, so we told him “you should bring her along too!”

With everyone on board, the new 5-piece WHW began rehearsing regularly, alternating practices with AFT at their rehearsal space. It was an odd blend of personalities at that house, but we generally had a great time despite various personal issues and visits from the police complaining about the noise.

In early 1999, we started lining up gigs and we made our debut live performance with this line-up at the (sadly) now-defunct Phantasmagoria in Wheaton, Maryland alongside AFT and Pale Divine. The first gig was definitely the best that year, because we were 100% prepared, and despite the crowd consisting primarily of friends and family, it was a great success.

Unfortunately, the climate within the band started changing after that one; Paquin became more and more unreliable – sometimes showing up 2 hours late for rehearsals, sometimes not showing up at all. There was more and more infighting, primarily between Paquin and myself, which was really hard for me as we were best friends and had been partners for the better part of 7 years by then.

We did two more gigs in Maryland and one in New York City (with Daniel filling in on bass at the last minute!), but none of them ever matched the magic of that first gig. In fact, I’m sure many people have heard the stories about the cursed SHOD appearance, which was dreadful, and have written me off as an asshole ever since, but the circumstances were totally fucked up, trust me. I’m not going to go on about it here, and I’ve since made peace with the organizers (who weren’t ever really at fault to begin with), so if you really want the inside story on that one, ask.

After SHOD, we pretty much went on immediate hiatus; the band was fracturing apart and we all had other plans/commitments; Jim was getting pretty busy with October 31, Scott, Michelle, and myself were jamming on new AFT material, and Paquin…well, he was becoming more and more antisocial.

Jon and I actually attempted to relocate to the west coast, but shortly after our arrival there, he had a complete and total nervous breakdown, and returned to Virginia right after that. That was the last time I talked to him for probably a year.

I decided to hang out in the Pacific Northwest for a while, waiting to see if AFT were going to come out there like we discussed, talking to Don of Sculptured about forming a new line-up of WHW there for a bit, and then ultimately resolving to come home once AFT bailed on the aforementioned plans.

During this time I got caught up in several matters of a legal nature (among other things) and life was pretty chaotic for a while. Upon my return, I hooked up with AFT again, and started writing music with them. Once I became a permanent member AFT evolved into Brave, and we spent the rest of 2000 writing, recording, and gigging as much as possible.

WHW activity was limited to a few jams with Trevor Schrotz (of Brave) on drums, then we tried to reconnect with Paquin, but it was to no avail. Brave pretty much became the focal point for the time being.

Towards the end of 2000, my whole world was falling apart; more relationship trauma, I was in debt up to my arse with legal fees and fines, my drinking was the most out of control it had ever been, and a massive rift was opening up between the other members of Brave and myself.

In early 2001 things reached a breaking point; by then I was pretty much abandoned, isolated, and dejected. I parted ways with Brave on very hostile terms, and woke up one day realizing everything I once cared about was gone, and mostly because of my own actions (or inactions). The strange thing was, that instead of brooding like in the past, I was enraged, and the need for WHW came back en force. I had a lot to prove to myself and everyone else.

2001-2004

First though, I had to re-assemble the band once again. Jim and Paquin came on board immediately, and Scott miraculously stayed on despite the acrimony between myself and other Brave members. We started rehearsing in this configuration more or less immediately, but it became clear pretty damn quickly that Paquin just “wasn’t there” anymore. He confessed that he just couldn’t handle the emotional heaviness and intensity that is WHW anymore, so after 9 years of collaboration, it came to an end.

Jon’s drumming was such an integral and defining part of the “WHW sound,” that we were dumbfounded at first, even though we knew we needed someone whose heart was totally in it. We needed a drummer badly.

Like I said, we had tried jamming some of the WHW material with Trevor prior to hooking up with Jon again, but considering the void between myself and the rest of Brave, he wasn’t an option at the time, so we looked elsewhere. For a few months we jammed with Phil Bloxam of Hellion fame, but he was really more intent on playing jazz than metal, so that didn’t pan out either.

Eventually, we came to the conclusion that an old roommate, Jason Gray would be the ideal candidate considering his tenure with the defunct Maryland death/doom band Forty Days Longing, and the fact that we already had a good repoire with him. His style is very different from Paquin’s; instead of flash and finesse, he was a solid pounder, and we figured that there was no replacing Paquin, so why bother trying? What we needed was someone that had the heart and the power to bring the songs to life. Jason was our man, and we started rehearsing immediately.

The catch was that we only had two and a half months to learn everything before the studio dates we’d booked long before were upon us. There wasn’t time to orchestrate any complicated drum parts, so we focused on honing a basic, thunderous barrage, even though I think we all would’ve liked a bit more adventurousness; it just wasn’t feasible – we had about 10 songs of material to learn, and zero time for fucking about. All things considered, Jason not only didn’t let us down, but he came through with flying colors in the end.

We entered Assembly Line studios in early 2002 to begin tracking the “Of Empires Forlorn” album. This time there would be no short-cuts, compromises, hasty decisions – and we knew from past experience with Brave that Kevin 131 was going to get us the sound we wanted. But it was far from easy…

Just days into the drum tracking, Jason and I both fell extremely ill. I had a fever and was hallucinating, while Jason was fatigued from the grueling schedule and a cold. By the 4th day, he could barely walk, let alone play double bass. It looked like it would be another disaster, but somehow we managed to get everything done that we’d set out to do in that first session.

On and off for the rest of 2002, we all gradually went in to layer our parts, and things went much more smoothly for the rest of the tracking. That is, until it was time for the vocal parts.

I have never been very confident in, nor a fan of my own vocals, and this session was no exception. Am I hypercritical? Are my ideals too high? Probably both, but the bottom line always was: since I was singing about my own experiences, who better to express them properly, even if not technically perfect?

Nevertheless, there came a point where I was so disheartened by my vocal performances, that I nearly shelved the whole project. Fortunately, Jim and the rest of the guys talked some sense into me this time, and once I calmed down the sessions, while still grueling, went more smoothly. Then that weird magic happened again… none of us could really believe what was coming through on the playbacks. My voice sounded different than it had in the past, most likely because of the range that I was singing in, and man, it was wild. At one point Jim sat up exclaiming, “That shit sounds like Styx meets Celtic Frost” (we had more timpani, brass, and such on the early mixes if you’re wondering where the CF thing came from).

Due to another artist having booked the studio for most of the summer of 2002, we were forced to take a break before we could finish the rest of the vocals, solos, and nuances. Knowing this break was inevitable, we elected to do a couple of early mixes and release them as a limited edition 7" via our good friend Mike Pritchard's Maniacal Records.

Just prior to the release of “The Drowning Years” single, a limited edition 2LP Anthology called “Chapter One: 1989-1999” came out on Germany’s Metal Supremacy Records (thanks to the efforts and suggestions of Sir Richard Walker), containing all of the material WHW had released during our first decade of existence. It was a fine collection (despite the annoying breaks in continuity on sides 2 and 3, which was my oversight), and I knew it would be the last time that those old recordings would ever be available again.

The one-two punch of “Chapter One” and “The Drowning Years” really set a lot of things in motion; the buzz about WHW was reaching deafening proportions, and our audience was largely accepting of how we’d evolved. That was definitely a much-needed inspiration to finish the rest of the “Empires” album.

When we returned to Assembly Line in the late fall of 2002, the album really started to take on a life of its own. The vocal harmonies, solos, and nuances really seemed to flow out like magic – the album started to have this aura…I really can't explain it, but we all felt it, and we were stoked about it.

We finished mixing and mastering right before Christmas Eve, and sent out advance copies to several of our longtime friends in bands all over the world. By mid-January, it was like this slow tidal wave of unbelievable reactions, starting in the UK, and making its way across the rest of Europe.

"Of Empires Forlorn" was released once again via Eibon Records from Italy in early 2003, in the usual amazing Eibon-style digipak…and Mauro really outdid himself this time graphically. For the first time ever, I was actually pleased with how a recording of mine turned out. Well, almost (haha)…

You can read the reviews yourself in that section of our website, but they were indeed overwhelmingly positive, and in some cases completely insane. However, there were some small issues I had with the recording that I was intent on resolving, plus we left a couple tracks unfinished as well, so we went back into Assembly Line to finish “In Aeturnum” and shelve off those annoying, crackling frequencies in the guitars among other things, and subsequently re-mastered the entire album (with the masterful Bill Wolf again for the record).

Somewhere in the middle of all this, Duncan from the UK label Rage Of Achilles approached us, originally wanting to re-release “The Drowning Years” single. Since we didn’t want to screw Mike from Maniacal Records, nor our fans who already bought the 7”, we politely declined that offer, but suggested that he might consider releasing the re-mastered/re-sequenced album in Europe and North America.

Needless to say, once he heard the album, he quickly upgraded his original offer, and after a few months of deliberation and negotiation, we signed with Rage Of Achilles for the release of “Empires” in the aforementioned regions and in mid-October 2003, ROA released “Empires” in the standard jewel-case packaging in the UK and North America (followed by releases in mainland Europe in February 2004). I must say that while I prefer the “flow” of the Eibon version personally, there’s no mistaking the sonic quality of the ROA pressing is superior.

Through the ROA release, we started breaking into the mainstream press for the first time properly, and “Empires” eventually went on to make several high profile year end lists that year. Again, my suggestion is to listen to the mp3’s or read the reviews; I’m not going to say anything more than we’re still proud of that album, and there’s absolutely nothing more gratifying than the fact that all these years, we’ve paid for all of these recordings with our own money (and ok, a couple loans from friends and family). That’s right, a DIY band actually achieved international, mainstream attention – without major press campaigns, videos, radio, high-profile gigs. It still blows me away, and I’m infinitely grateful for our fans and supporters all these years. We couldn’t have made it as far as we have without you.

Ah, but the story doesn’t end there does it? Of course not!

We played a couple gigs in 2003 with the “Empires” line-up (plus Michelle once again on keyboards) including the “Born Too Late” festival in Rochester, NY and one Baltimore gig as well. Both were mediocre performances in my opinion, but it’s probably that curse of the first SOTA gig looming still.

At some point in 2003, discussions began with the organizers of the Doom Shall Rise festival in Germany, and we started planning our first-ever, long overdue European tour. Everything seemed to be going along smoothly (we were preparing far in advance), until Scott and Michelle (after months of deliberation) informed us they couldn't do the tour, which was a serious blow to our morale.

We tried jamming with some local substitutes, but after a couple months it became clear that schedule conflicts were going to doom that idea, and things started looking rather bleak as far as touring in support of the album that put us on the map, that we were so proud of.

We were getting pretty desperate and started talking to friends from other bands about coming out on the road with us. Hell, we even talked to some vague acquaintances from bands we previously never had contact with! At one point, it looked like Dennis from Revelation was coming out to help on guitar, but then he landed the Place Of Skulls gig, so of course that wasn’t going to happen (I mean, wouldn’t you opt to play in a band with Victor Griffin?), but our longtime friend Angelo Tringali from Cold Mourning on the other hand was like “Fuck yeah I’ll do it!”

That was definitely reassuring for me – I knew he had the skills, was a brother, and that it was a shame CM weren’t active at the time, so it was like calling in the extended family. Only trouble was he lived 3000 miles away in California!

Still, Jim, Jason, and myself knew how important it was to go out and reach our fans personally after all these years, so we brainstormed and soldiered on despite the fact that it felt like half of a band at that point.

More bizarre was hooking up with Fred the keyboard player from Holland’s Whispering Gallery, who didn’t even know we existed before the random email I sent him! I’m sure he thought I was nuts, but fortunately his drummer Pascal was a fan and friend, thus I’m sure he made sense out of my ramblings haha! Inevitably, Fred agreed to help us out, and with his acceptance, we at least had all the instruments covered.

This whole tour ended up being some insane, crash-course/experiment, to see if we could actually pull off the near impossible: to try making a band just a couple days before the tour, and doing it successfully. What were we thinking? Were we even thinking?

Regardless of all that, before we even left the US, the cracks were beginning to show…all of us had gotten sick, all of us were nerve wracked, and all of us were still reeling from the shattered solidarity of the “real” band, but there was no way we were canceling the tour at this point. Whatever was to happen was going to happen, period.

I'm not going to go into every detail of the tour here (I did that on the old website), but I will sum it up like this: we had some of the absolute best WHW gigs ever during the tour (Munich in particular) and some absolute worst (Aalen, Gent). The emotional roller coaster was out of control on that tour; nervous breakdowns, suicidal thoughts, madness and hysteria, conflicts with tourmates and promoters, everyone was way too drunk, relationships fragmenting both within the band and at home. The good shows were amazing highs, whereas those which were shite, still haunt us to this day. Oh, and let's not forget the thoroughly gutting experience of my baby, my main guitar falling over onstage and being broken at the neck.

But, did we pull off the experiment despite all this? Almost…at least in a few instances; we definitely became a better facsimile of a band by the end of the road; Fred and Angelo both did a damn fine job considering all this insanity, and I daresay that some nights we did sound like WHW proper. Yet, the grimmest reality was that I knew the core of the band was falling apart, and there was nothing that I could do.

Upon our return to the States, the atmosphere was moribund at best. It became readily apparent that there were some irreconcilable differences between Jason and Jim and myself. It was an extremely tense and emotional situation, with no easy solution or happy ending in sight. We originally planned to have him involved with the long overdue re-recording of SOTA, but personal issues aside, we couldn’t resolve some serious business matters. We parted ways with Jason within weeks of returning home, and things were emotional and unpleasant for quite some time, but thankfully I can report that it’s all water under the bridge now.

However, there was one thing that rang through as clear as day: this was NOT the end of WHW by a long damn shot.

2004-2006

I was more determined than ever to rebuild WHW, and press forward; we had already written a fair amount of new material before we even recorded “Empires,” and there was no way I was going to let our friends and fans down with one tour of varied quality. Sounds like I’ve come a long way since the beginnings of WHW huh? I most certainly have.

In July of 2004, long after resolving things with the Brave folks, I asked Trevor if he’d step in to help us record the next album. He’s the most technically proficient drummer out of all of those we’ve had in our ranks, and I knew that he could pull off the increasingly diverse material we were writing. Once he agreed, we started rehearsing immediately.

Unlike the last 8 or so years, when we would practice together as a full band, this time it was more like it was in the beginning: just Trevor and myself working out the songs’ arrangements, jamming several times every single week. I think the whole band was only ever in the same room to rehearse a total of 4 times since 2004!

We’ve made quite a bit of use of music composition software and the Internet to send mp3’s and files back and forth too, which is a totally new thing for us, but probably inevitable considering we’re spread out over 3-4 States now. So everyone pretty much had a lot of “homework” to do to prepare for the new album.

After demoing a couple tracks at different studios, we ended up settling on Salamone’s Studio for a plethora of reasons (the least of which being the recommendation of a mutual friend), and the actual tracking sessions for the album began in April 2005. We’d prepared some 10 songs of material for “Vast Oceans Lachrymose” but after learning how meticulously Chris Salamone approached major recordings, we ended up cutting the album in half (Chris and I are both perfectionists, so it’s a very slow process, not to mention the fact that I’m financing the entire thing out of my own pocket).

At the time of this writing, we’ve completed 85% of the tracking for the “VOL” album, and we anticipate finishing it by the end of 2006. It features our first large-scale work since “Thus…” – another 17+ minute epic entitled “The Furthest Shore.”

“VOL” is the most diverse recording WHW has ever done so far, and it in many ways is a return to the very beginnings of the band; it’s not one-dimensional musically or atmospherically, and it definitely is music without a genre.

The History Of Doom Metal

2009-01-14T13:13:00.000-08:00

LET THERE BE DOOM

It was a rainy and painful day for the whole mankind. From the very first track the essence of doom was spread throughout the history leaving helpless virgins yell alone. Tony Iomi’s crushingly heavy guitar combined with Bill Ward’s slowly proceeding beat, Geezer Butler’s merciless 4-string slaying and Ozzy’s desperate wails which are the most imitated formula in the history of doom metal compose the first sample of traditional doom metal.

Although the roots of todays doom music can be traced back in the dark heavy rock/ proto metal bands of the early 70’s. Both Black Sabbath and Blue Cheer are probably the most influential forefathers of the would-be doom metal genre which began their crusades by distancing themselves from the light-hearted flower power contemporaries. For instance Blue Cheer’s nihilistically lifeless performances and heavy sounds were quite different to the message of universal peace and love the hippie generation was famous for.

Black Sabbath contributed not only to the sound of doom metal alone but also to the doomed atmosphere by the Christian symbolism of the cross. As a consequence the cross became the ultimate icon of doom metal.

As the years passed by, the Sabbathian sound and imagery was shamelessly utilized by the band’s followers all around the western world. Witchfinder General, Saint Vitus, Count Raven, Pentagram, Trouble, and a band from Sweden which managed to force this formula down the throats of the general heavy metal public

MORE TALES OF CREATION

Some people claim that there was no doom metal prior to Candlemass’ debut “Epicus Doomicus Metallicus”, (1986), an album generally considered to have coined the term in the first place. But this album did not really give a name to doom metal in general-only to epic doom metal, just as the title itself suggests. The more traditional vein of doom had thrived in the metal underground long before Candlemass finally made it widely public, as bands like Pentagram, Trouble, The Obsessed Witchfinder General and Saint Vitus already had a strong following by the time Epicus Doomicus Metallicus took the metal crowds by a storm. A style nowadays known as doom metal, then, flourished in the tradition kept alive by a number of bands, regardless of whether or not it was considered a separately named subgenre of heavy metal. Also according to my knowledge, Witchfinder General had been described as doom metal already in the beginning of the 80’s, in an early issue of the heavy metal magazine Kerrang!.Very soon the label was given to e.g. Pentagram and Saint Vitus and thus a recognizable doom metal genre was born.

Sorrows Path

2009-01-13T15:20:00.000-08:00

Sorrows Path were founded by Takis Drakopoulos (bass), Kostas Salomidis (guitar), in November 1993 after the separation of a previous band. The two guys were inspired by their favorite bands: Memento Mori, Solitude Aeturnus and Candlemass. After several changes of the band's line-up, Angelos Ioannidis (vocals) and Kostas Farmakis (drums) joined Sorrows Path.

On January 1995 the band released their debut demo "Sorrow's Path". During 1994 and 1995 Sorrows Path performed live for several times in Athens (2 lives at An Club, etc).In the autumn of 1995 Kostas Farmakis (drums) decided to leave the band and Sorrows Path were in search of a new drummer. On November 1995 fate struck the band. The band's founder Takis Drakopoulos died because of a serious brain disease.

Angelos and Kostas decided to continue and at the end of 1995 Stavros Giannakos (bass) and Gregory Vlachos (drums) joined Sorrows Path. On May 1996 Sorrows Path released "promo '96", a promo tape for record labels. During 1996 and 1997 Sorrows Path were in touch with record labels to record a full album and performed live again for several times in Athens (Qualisound Festival, Rainbow Club, etc). In 1997 they also made a handy recording of some new songs, but they never released it. From 1998 and then all the members of the band had military engagements, so they decided to stop all activities for 2 years.

In the new millennium fate struck again. The other band's founder Kostas Salomidis was almost completely paralyzed because of a neck problem which was caused in the past after a serious motorcycle accident...

After 5 years (!) of courage, effort, medical help, and the help of God or fate, of course, Kostas managed to regain some of the power of his hands, so he was able to make some noise on his guitar again. The members of the band were enthusiastic about the idea to jam again after 7 years (!!!) and they did on May 2005.

At the end of 2005, the band started to work on their old songs, trying to refresh their memory and they had in view to work on some new songs in the near future. They also decided to release the remastered version of their demo tape from 1995 and their promo tape from 1996 on CD.

In the meantime, some personal problems forced Gregory Vlachos (drums) to leave the band and on December of 2005 Fotis Mountouris replaced him. In the same month, after some contacts with record labels, Sorrows Path agreed with Eat Metal Records to release the remaster.

On April of 2006 Sorrows Path had their first live performance after 9 whole years. They played, as one of the support bands, just before the headliners Solitude Aeturnus at Underworld Club in Athens. On the next day, Eat Metal Records released their first album, titled "Resurrection".

From that time and then, the band was back in full action...

Members

Stavros Giannakos: Bass
Angelos Ioannidis: Vocals
Fotis Mountouris: Drums
Kostas Salomidis: Guitar
Giannis Tsiligkakis: Guitar

Discography

Demo 1994

1. Flower
2. Prince Of The Night
3. True Hope
4. Land Of Illusions (Chopar)
5. Sorrow's Path

Resurrection (2005)

1. No Possibility 07:22
2. Flower 07:02
3. Prince Of The Night 06:14
4. True Hope 06:08
5. Land Of Illusions (CHOPAR) 09:31
6. Sorrow's Path 03:44

SORROWS PATH-prince of the night

http://www.myspace.com/sorrowspathmusic

Funeral Planet

2009-01-11T05:12:00.000-08:00

Seeds of Funeral Planet was planted at 2003. Two frustrated doomheads decided to form their kind of band. Mika Hankaniemi and Mika Pajula, whom both had played several years together, started to seek fresh blood around Seinäjoki area. After many alcohol-fueled bar nights, their old friend Jani Härkönen was ready to take a shot. Jani worked out some guitar demos in Tampere and from there, the band started to take form. A lot more work had to be done to find the drummer. Finally Teemu Alho showed his interest and besides his many other commitments, he was more than willing to join.

In April 2004 the foursome started to rehearsing. The band gathered at Teuva based Gömmel studio every fortnight to jam, make new songs and worship the Elders. As the band began to shape, they thought that the name Funeral Planet would best describe their music and style. In August, the doomsters decided to put a few finished songs onto tape. Their first three-song demo "Born In Black" emerged in following month.

Drummer Teemu Alho decided to leave in January 2005 to spend more time on his other musical projects and he was soon replaced by Juha Pohto, whom the guys were already familiar with many years. But drummer's seat proved to be windy one. In June, Pohto left to pursue his career with other aspects of life and from there, main core of the band started to search more stable line-up. Funeral Planet became five-piece band in August, when drummer Tomi Kauhajärvi replaced Pohto and guitarist Juha Köykkä joined as additional guitarist. Band started to write new material and working on their second demo at Tomi's rehearsal loft in Kauhajoki.

First gigs with the new line-up and new songs were booked in the beginning 2006. Recordings of new demo "Planetary Rites" started in April at legendary SKIN LIFT Studios. "Planetary Rites" will be released in June 23th. The newest material can be heard on "The Chosen Ones" demo which came out 09/2007.

Members
M. Henrik II Hankaniemi - Vocals
Jani Härkönen - Guitar
Juha Köykkä - Guitar
Mika Pajula - Bass
Tomi Kauhajärvi - Drums

Discography
Born in Black Demo, 2004

1.Do It Tomorrow (If Not Today)
2.Exile
3.Sleep

Planetary Rites Demo, 2006

1. The Return 08:57
2. Children of the Moon 09:35
3. Ascendant Mars 09:29

The Chosen Ones Demo, 2007

1. The Chosen Ones
2. Invocation of Tyana
3. Judgement

Funeral Planet-The return

http://www.funeralplanet.net

Lord Vicar

2009-01-10T17:50:00.001-08:00

Lord Vicar

As the final nails were hammered to the coffin of Reverend Bizarre (1995-2007, R.I.P.), guitar player Peter Vicar started to follow his vision of a new True Doom Metal band. He felt forced to fulfill his need to compose and play this most arcane form of metal in the way it was meant to be, full of intensity, cruelty, heaviness, and force. Still firmly walking in the footsteps of Saint Vitus, Trouble, Witchfinder General and Pentagram, this new band brings together an international lineup of four devoted metalheads.

The first release was a 7” EP The Demon of Freedom, released by heavier than life Swedish label I Hate Records (http://www.ihate.se/). The EP was based on an old werewolf legend from the island of Hiiumaa, as narrated by Finnish author Aino Kallas (1878-1956) in her novel Sudenmorsian (The Wolf’s Bride, 1928). The EP contains three songs, “Hiiumaa”, “Becoming One With the Spirit of the Forest”, and “Running Into a Burning House”, recorded in London, Stockholm, North Carolina and Turku respectively.

Stranger passing by, hear my advice… Look forward to the new offerings for the Elder Gods, and then remain on your knees until the first Lord Vicar full-length albums Fear No Pain and Signs of Osiris are revealed to this world. For the first of these, the time has come.

Members

Chritus (Count Raven, Saint Vitus, Terra Firma) on vocals

Gareth Millsted (Centurions Ghost, End of Level Boss) on drums

Peter Inverted (Reverend Bizarre, Orne) on guitars.

Jussi "Iron Hammer" Myllykoski on bass

Discography

The Demon Of Freedom

1. Hiiumaa (01:31)
2. Becoming One With The Spirit Of The Forest (05:57)
3. Running Into A Burning House (07:30)

Fear No Pain

1. Down the Nails (08:00)
2. Pillars Under Water (05:06)
3. Born of a Jackal (07:21)
4. The Last of the Templars (08:51)
5. The Spartan (10:36)
6. A Man Called Horse (10:04)
7. The Funeral Pyre (14:25)

http://www.myspace.com/lordvicar

The Wandering Midget

2009-01-10T03:38:00.000-08:00

The Wandering Midget

It happened at the last days of year 2005 that the Wandering Midget was torn out of Mother Jackal's womb to roam the obscure paths of doom metal, following the trails left by the old masters of this particular artform. The appropriate ceremonies were held by Samuel Wormius and Jonathan Sprenger, devoted men of science who had taken their time to learn the preservation of vital powders of flora & fauna and knew well their usage in incarnative purposes. After rumours started to spread, another promising young scientist, namely Thomas Grenier, became highly convinced about the studies of these two, and therefore offered them his help regarding the planetary low-frequency pulses and their negative effects on living human tissue. This area of investigation had been the weakest link in the studies of Samuel and Jonathan, and they were more than happy to accept Thomas' help.

At summer of 2006 the group published their first self-financed study, which carried the name "First Encounter". This epoch was sold out at autumn of 2007, yet is to be re-released at november of 2007 under the title "I Am The Gate". This release will also include two newer psalms called "I Am The Gate" and "Wasteland Shrine".

Members

Samuel Wormius - Vocals, Guitar & FX
Thomas Grenier - Bass & Backing vocals
Jonathan Sprenger - Drums & Leslie shovel

Discography

First Encounter

1. Inquisition Arrives
2. Urk The Conqueror
3. Black Figure Follows The
Burial Company
4. Wolfslayer
5. The Wandering Midget
6. Pactum Diaboli (Outro)

I Am the Gate

1. Inquisition Arrives
2. Urk The Conqueror
3. Black Figure Follows The Burial Company
4. Wolfslayer
5. The Wandering Midget
6. I Am The Gate
7. Wasteland Shrine

The Serpent Coven

1.Pillars Of Sapiris
2.Taynia
3.Family Curse
4.The Thing From The Black Reef
5.Bring Forth The Accused
6.The Serpent Coven

http://www.the-wandering-midget.tk

Mirror Of Deception

2009-01-07T03:54:00.000-08:00

Formed in 1990, MIRROR OF DECEPTION are one of Europe..s longest running Doom Metal bands. Initially, the band was inspired by the forefathers of the genre such as SABBATH, CANDLEMASS, ST. VITUS, TROUBLE etc., but over the years they have created their own niche, shaping their own unmistakable style. Channelling grass roots HEAVINESS through dark winter melancholy and despair, MIRROR OF DECEPTION write their own rules far away from clichés often (and falsely) associated with classic Doom Metal such as one dimensional tempos and recycled SABBATH lyrics. The band has released several demos, EPs, an album entitled "Mirrorsoil" (The Miskatonic Foundation) and the second full-length "Foregone" (Final Chapter Rec.) has been released in September 2004.

The third album, "Shards" is available since October 2006 on Cyclone Empire.

Band Members

Michael S. (vocals, guitar)
Jochen F. (guitar)
Andreas T. (bass)
Jochen M. (drums, vocals)

Discography

"Mirror of Deception" / 1993 (Rehearsal Demo)
1. Mirror of Deception
2. Lost
3. Within my Dreams

"Word unspoken" / 1994 (Studio Demo)
1. Chapter X
2. Words Unspoken
3. Mysterious
4. Mirror of Deception

"Veil of lead" / 1996 (Studio Rehearsal Demo)
1. Pale
2. Veil of Lead
3. Emptiness
4. Decisions

"Cease" / 1996 (Studio rehearsal, unveröffentlicht)
1. Wish
2. Cease
3. To be kept in Supsense

"Veil of lead" / 1997 (Mini-CD, Sub Zero Records)

1. Der Weg...
2. To be kep in suspense
3. Emptiness
4. Asylum
5. ...Ewigkeit?

"The Float Sessions" / 1997 (Studio rehearsal, unveröffentlicht)

1. Weiss
2. Sole
3. Dreams of Misery
4. Float

"August 2000" Demo
(Unveröffentlicht, aber verschiedene Songs sind auf Compilations)

1. Mirrorsoil
2. Yearn
3. Leaves
4. One Mind (Saint Vitus cover)

"Mirrorsoil" / 2001 (CD, The Miskatonic Foundation)

1. Asylum
2. Veil of lead
3. Weiss
4. Sole
5. To be kept in suspense
6. Dreams of misery
7. Cease
8. Float

"Past & Present" Demo Recordings 1993 - 2000 (CD-R, derzeit nicht erhältlich)

1. Mirrorsoil (2000)
2. Yearn (2000)
3. Leaves (2000)
4. Wish (1997)
5. Weiss (1997)
6. Pale (1996)
7. Veil of lead (1996)
8. Emptiness (1996)
9. Chapter X (1994)
10. Words unspoken (1994)
11. Mysterious (1994)
12. Mirror of Deception (1994)
13. Mirror of Deception (1993)

"Conversion" / 2003 (MCD, The Miskatonic Foundation)
1. Intro
2. Distant
3. Entgleiten
4. Conversion
5. Vanished
6. Outro

"Worldsend Session" / 2004 Demo
(unveröffentlicht, "Katharis" wird auf einer anstehenden Split-EP zu finden sein)

1. Katharsis
2. Foregone Way
3. Deception Island

"Foregone" / 2004 (CD + LP, Final Chapter + COTD Records)

1. Foregone Way
2. Inscrutable
3. Bleak (on LP "Metamorphosis")
4. The Ship of Fools
5. Deception Island
6. Mirthless
7. Metamorphosis (on LP "Bleak")
8. Descended
9. Where the Juniper Grows

"Shards" / 2006 (CD, Cyclone Empire)

1. Haunted
2. Ghost
3. Swamped
4. The Eruption
5. Insomnia
6. Dead Pledge
7. The Capital New
8. Pyre
9. Frozen fortune
10. Enigma

Mirror Of Deception-Vanished live at DSR

http://www.mirrorofdeception.de

Hooded Priest

2009-01-06T18:26:00.000-08:00

Hooded Priest was founded in the spring of 2006 as a doomed collaboration pact between members of Dutch and Belgian metal-outfits Witchsmeller Pursuivant, Zwartketterij, Grimm and Wapenspraak & Drinkgelag. These musicians had been in contact with eachother since the mid-nineties through the honourable and highly esteemed Committee of Metalheads with an Unbelievably Low Sense of Humour (abbreviation in Dutch: CMOLH) and were now seeking to create the ultimate bizarre fusion between screaming blackened hardrock-guitars and doomed rock ‘n roll. The band started out as a classic heavy metal four-piece, yet soon recruited contrabass-player Otto Von Zelst to add to the dynamics of the compositions with a deep darkened bass-pulse and psychotic percussion-picks. Now, at the end of 2007, the band has created a considerable number of songs and is ready to record its first demo-tape, which will be called “Death and deliverance”. Subsequently, many a stage will sink under the weight of its doom in the course of 2008!

Band Members

Luther 'Finlay' Veldmark :
Vocals

Niklas 'Miroslav' Szàtan:
Lead and Rhythm Guitars

Otto Von Zelst :
Double bass

Hal 'Stormer' Grenwis :
Drums

Joe Mazurewicz :
Rhythm Guitar

Hooded Priest Live Video

Doom Shall Rise Festival

2009-01-04T06:24:00.000-08:00

Doom Shall Rise is the world’s biggest festival exclusively dedicated to Doom Metal.

The first festival took place in February 2003 in Crailsheim, Germany. Surprised and overwhelmed by the amazing responses from fans, bands and the media the organizers Frank Hellweg (Well of Souls) and Jochen Fopp (Mirror of Deception) had to move to a bigger location the year after. The Chapel, a former US military church in Göppingen has been the location since then.

Apart from giving bands of this often overlooked and neglected musical genre and their fans a platform and a reason for an annual gathering the focus is also introducing newcomers as well as featuring more established bands and bringing some to Europe for the first time.

After 5 successful editions the festival will take a break in 2008. Doom Shall Rise VI will continue in April 2009 at the Chapel!

The following bands will play on April 17 and 18 2009:

Warning have cancelled their performance at Doom Shall Rise as they have decided to disband. German doom veterans Voodooshock will step in.

Black Shape of Nexus (GER)
Extorian (GER)
Griftegård (SWE)
Lord of the Grave (CH)
Lord Vicar (FIN/SWE/UK)
Omega Massif (GER)
Pagan Altar (UK)
Reino Ermitaño (PE)
Revelation (USA)
Semlah (SWE)
The Lamp of Thoth (UK)
sHever (CH)
Syrach (NOR)
Tortured Spirit (GER)
Voodooshock (GER)
Wino (USA)

Ticket sales will start on January 1st 2009 at 9 PM CET here at the DSR online shop. The 2-day ticket will cost 35 Euros.

http://www.doomshallrise.de

Tortured Spirit-Interview

2009-01-03T12:16:00.000-08:00

Interview with Tortured Spirit

1. Hail guys! Let’s start this interview with a common question that you may have answered several times. How was Tortured Spirit formed?

Oddy: We formed in 2004 after Markus and my old outfit Mandark was without bass guitarist again. We were laying low for several month till I asked Michael to join.

Markus: After a trainee session at the “German-Life-Rescue-Organisation”, Oddy came to me and told me that he searches for a guy that plays the drums. I said "Why not!" and the first session started at that time with the last incarnation of Mandark. At that time the bass man started to study in Oldenburg that is far away from our town, Emsdetten.
We all knew that we could not play in this constellation, so we searched for a new bass man and found him in the “Wacken-Forum”. So Tortured Spirit was born.

MetalB: After losing my first band two years ago, I was desperately looking for some new guys. I met Oddy and after a while he told me, that he needs a bass player. Oddy was a good guy, and after some rehearsals I joined the band.

2. While listening to your album, I noticed your influences by the mighty Pentagram. By which other bands were you influenced?

Oddy: Black Sabbath for all of us I guess. I personally am influenced by old American DOOM mostly. Saint Vitus. Pentagram, Penance, Revelation, Internal Void, Obsessed/Spirit Caravan as well as Count Raven.

Markus: First of all I must say that I did not really know what DOOM was at that time. So Oddy borrowed me a lot of cds so I could listen to them. Now I can say that my favourite bands are: Pale Divine, Pentagram, Krux and Black Sabbath of course.

MetalB: I am mostly influenced by the Metal of the 80’s. First of all thrash metal and good old Heavy Metal, but Black Sabbath was always one of my faves. Before joining Tortured Spirit I had not much contact with doom metal except Candlemass. But today I am certainly influenced by bands like Vitus or Count Raven.

3. Everything started with your first demo “Broken Soul” in 2004.Then, a full length album followed in 2007.Can you please tell us a few things about the recordings and generally about what has been changed in Tortured Spirit during these 3 years?

Oddy: The demo was recorded at the homestudio/rehearsal room of a guy I knew and was kind of a snapshot as we wanted to have our song for the Knock ‘Em Down To Size Sampler ready in time! Nobody could know it was just released late 2007. The recordings for The Mentally Ill took place at our homes. Drums were recorded in Markus’ basement in the summer while we recorded the rest at my basement in September. All was done with stuff we lent from friends and we worked with former Mandark bass guitarist Robbe. When things were recorded, we sent the tracks over to John Brenner to mix it and let me tell you, he did an outstanding job and made to totally best out of the noise we sent him. I am very thankful for all his work and contribution as well as Butch’s contribution. It turned out better than we expected. As for what changed in the three years? I am not sure! Maybe we are a bit better songwriters and slight better musicians.

MetalB: The recordings for the new stuff were really a hard work. I never get a chance to work with first recordings Markus and Oddy did in 2005 and 2006, cause they dumped them completely. We really wanted to make it much better than the first time, that’s why there was much pressure in the work. And after a while we all got hasty, because we wanted to finish the stuff. But after all it was a better work than the first cd, I think.

Oddy: That is right! We already tried to record another demo twice in 2005 and 2006 but it never worked out properly. But this time it worked and so we made it a full length! To record the bass tracks really was a little hasty due to time restrictions. You know things, never work out for us the way we plan them.

4. When I saw your album, I firstly was surprised by the names of your songs, especially with “Me and my booze”.Where do you get your lyrical inspiration?

Oddy: I get my inspiration from nearly everything! Me And My Booze for example was written after I reflected some of my former actions and habits. Other inspirations come from dreams I had, more or less bad experiences with other people, sometimes women, things I see when I walk through town. Hard to tell more specifically as really everything can inspire me to write. I got lyrical fragments based on movies, a sign I saw in Baltimore and stuff like that

5. Do you, as a band, rehearse often? What are your plans and how do you act? I mean, is there one of you who writes the lyrics and composes the songs, or do you work as a team?

Oddy: Not as often as we wished we could. Michael lives quite some way away from us and we have to get our schedules together. As for a plan how the band has to work, we pretty much dumped that. We do what we think suits us. I mean, we have songs like Me And My Booze and Archetype which are totally different in style, but fuck it, we love them both so we do them both. Song writing has been a pain in the ass for me lately. I come up with the majority of the riffs, but Michael comes up with riffs as well. Everybody is responsible for what he does in a song, so Michael works out his bass stuff and Markus works out the drums and we arrange the songs together. It has not happened too often that I came with a totally finished song. Of course I have some ideas but these are never finished before we discussed them.

MetalB: Most of the leading riffs are worked out by Oddy. That’s just because he has so many riffs in his mind. But we all together form the riffs into a song by working out the arrangement and the parts we play. And sometimes I came around with some stuff. Halls of the Blind is nearly half-written by me, for example.

6. Let me guess, that apart from a Doom metal band, you are doom metal and generally heavy metal fans as well! Is that right? Which bands do you like most?

Oddy: I am the biggest doomhead in the band and like everything traditional. I listen to some good old Heavy Metal as well. Stuff like NWOBHM or Manilla Road and the like and some old Death Metal and 70s Rock from time to time. And a local band called An Rinn got me into traditional Irish and Scottish Folk. I really love that stuff. See I am a traditional man! Haha

Markus: I listen to all kinds of Metal I can say. From the old 70’s Rock to the new wave of American Hardcore. But lately I spend very much time listening to Death Metal with melodic influences.

MetalB: Well, like I said before, I am mostly interested in Thrash. Old Metallica, Venom, Exodus, Kreator, Destruction and that kind of stuff. But I also like Heavy Metal and traditional Doom. These three kinds of Metal are kind of my basic. But there are single bands from other styles that I listen to as well. For example Haggard, Helrunar or Vader.

7. What are your plans for the future? Are you going to search for a label, record a second full length album or play any gigs? If so, I would be grateful if you come to Greece!

Oddy: Plans for the future? Good question. We would not say no to a good deal with a label that knows its Doom. At the moment we work on some new songs which might all follow a certain concept, but I cannot tell you if that really works out. A split vinyl release with another Doom band would be great. And we would love to play out more but it is hard for a Doom Metal band to get gigs around here. We surely would love to play Greece but our financial situation will not allow that at the moment I fear. We just take it as it comes.

Markus: We don’t really know what the future will hold for us, because I don’t’ really know if I’ll be going to America next year. And if it happens I think that Tortured Spirit will have a break for one year. And sure we hope that we can have a few more gigs in this time between.

MetalB: I am very interested in a concept-ep Oddy is thinking about. Beside that we have no real plans, we just wait what will happen. I hope, that we will play much more gigs in future

8. Let me tell you that here in Greece there are quite a few doom metal bands. How are things in Germany and what is your opinion about doom metal nowadays?

Oddy: We got some bands as well and you mentioned some already in the coming question so how is Doom Metal today? That is a tough one as we all know there are different borders for what is doom and what not for different people. But that Death Doom stuff is not mine anyway so … the traditional scene is where my heart is and I still love it though nowadays it seems like everybody has a band or project and I just hope that we do not get some kind of overkill like Death Metal had in the 90s. In Germany I think it is a regionally imbalance as regards fans I think. I mean there are Doom Fans all over Germany for sure but is seems like there are more of them in the south east than in the north west, where we come from. Though I must say I was really surprised by the amount of people that showed up at the Days of Doom in Dortmund, where we played lately.

9. Germany is famous for beers, heavy metal fans and heavy metal bands! Apart from some well know doom metal bands like Doomshine, Mirror of Deception, Voodooshock and Dawn of Winter would you like to mention any other doom metal bands from your county?

Oddy: Surely Dreaming. Their second album is cool and their performance on the last Doom Shall Rise was killer. I heard their bass guitarist Thomas has another band called Petrified going. I have not heard it yet but knowing the man, it must be good stuff. There are some cool bands like Dust, who are not traditional because of the rough vocals but I like them as well and hope to play with them soon. Grief Of Good returned as well and I still hope that the legendary Virgin Witch will finally release something. We got a couple of other cool doom releated bands like some cool Sludge Bands, Beehoover, the band of the Voodooshock rhythm section or 70s Heavy Rocker Earth Flight, with whom we played lately.

10. Ok guys! We have reached the end of our interview. I would like to thank you very much and I hope you were not tired with the whole thing. I wish to you the best and good luck with Tortured Spirit. Close this interview as you like!

Oddy: Thank you for your interest in the band, Alex. And thanks to everyone who read this. Download the album and if you like it, we’ll have the CD version out soon. TMDFOH!

http://www.myspace.com/torturedspiritdoom

Rote Mare-Interview

2009-01-03T12:11:00.000-08:00

Interview with Rote Mare

1. Hello Phil! I am very happy that we meet again, doing an interview together. First of all, let me ask you how you decided to form a doom metal band and how was Rote Mare formed?

- Thank you for getting in touch and for giving me the opportunity to answer your questions. Getting the Rote Mare project together has been a long process which I had wanted to do for a long time but I never had the recording equipment to make it happen. Previous to Rote Mare I had been in many different types of bands all of which were unsatisfying to me for both musical and personal reasons. The old style of Doom (Sabbath, Trouble etc) has always been my favourite type of music along with 70’s rock and 80’s metal so I wanted to do something in this style. Also working with others and the compromises involved was another big reason to start this project. Rote Mare was formed a couple of months before I recorded American Terrorist in 2005

2. We all know that Rote Mare is one man’s band. Do you play all the instruments alone and the drums as well, or do you use any computer programs?

- I play all the instruments, drums included and record and produce the finished product myself. I used a drum program for American Terrorist and for the original Funeral Songs but was not very happy with the end result so I bought drums and re-recorded the drums on Funeral Songs and then re-released it as Funeral Songs II. Since then I have used real drums for all recordings.

3. It is very uncommon for a doom metal band to be one man’s band. I can name a lot of one man’s black metal bands, but I can’t think any in the doom scene. Why are Rote Mare an one man’s band? Did you face any difficulties in finding musicians who were into doom metal?

- The basic reason for Rote Mare being a one man band is that I was sick of working with other people and having to write my songs a certain way to fit in with whatever band I was in at the time. To be honest I have never really looked for like minded musicians or tried to form my own band before I decided to start Rote Mare. I am not sure that I even want to expand Rote Mare into a band.

4. While reading the booklet of “American Terrorist” demo, I saw that you were inspired by the classic doom metal bands like Black Sabbath, Trouble, Cathedral and Witchfinder General but also by few stoner and sludge bands. Which are your main influences and what kinds of music do you like most?

- I think the main influences for Rote Mare are Black Sabbath, Trouble and Celtic Frost. I love bands like Cirith Ungol, Warlord and early Manowar. Sleep, Church Of Misery and Reverend Bizarre I would include in my favourites. 70’s rock (Thin Lizzy, Deep Purple, Rainbow and Led Zeppelin) is a big influence along with some Stoner rock and Sludge. I would say classic doom and 70’s rock are my favourite types of music but I enjoy listening to a wide variety of styles. I think because of this a lot of different influences creep into my music and I do not think that I would define Rote Mare itself as classic doom although that is the base.

5. Back to your demos again. Four demos, under the titles “American Terrorist”, “Funeral Songs I and II” and “Red Sea” were released. Where did you get your lyrical inspiration and what each one of these demos represents to you?

- Much of my lyrical inspiration comes from imagining myself in a situation. Much of it is about self isolation and removal of emotions. There are a number of Political songs which are mostly about greed and the destruction of the planet. The evils of organised religion and my lack of belief in gods or the supernatural is another subject that I often write about. I write the music before the lyrics. The lyrics are written to fit the music and in general I don’t really think they are very good.
American Terrorist is my first effort and it is mostly influenced by doom and 70’s rock. I didn’t think much about it. I just recorded whatever came out. With Funeral Songs it was a deliberate effort on my part to record a slow heavy record in a much doomier vein.
With Funeral Songs II i redid the drums, axed a song and shortened Altar Of Greed.
With the Red Sea I wanted to record something that sat somewhere between the first two releases. Still doomy but a bit more up-tempo. I also recorded a bonus disc for the Red Sea with two new songs and two songs re-recorded from American Terrorist (Nothing & Crossroads)

6. I am not sure, but I think you don’t belong to any labels. Is that right? What are your plans for the future? Do you aim to sign a contract with a label? I can also remember that Mark of Psychedoomelic records was at your thanklist.Tell us please a few things about that.

- No I don’t have a label and I can’t really be bothered to look for one anymore. If a label is interested of course I would look at it though. Mark was one of the few people who showed any interest when I sent out my first batch of demos. He has kept regular contact and I keep him informed of any new developments

7. As far as I am concerned, there are a few great doom metal bands in Australia just like Raven Black Night, Paranoid, Wizar’d, Paramaecium, Solemn Assembly etc.Are you familiar with these bands and how popular is doom metal in Australia?

- I haven’t heard Solemn Assembly but the others I am familiar with although not in great detail. I like Raven Black Nights old style 80’s metal. As far as I know i don’t think doom metal is very popular in Australia. I don’t really know what the sales are like for the bigger doom acts. You can buy the bigger bands cds so I guess there is some market for it.

8. One of my favorite Rote Mare’s songs, Nothing…, you say that it is a tribute to the great Trouble ballads (Run to the light, The skull and The wish). Can you please tell us a few things about this song? Is it maybe a way to express your love and influences by Trouble?

- Well I absolutely love the Trouble ballads especially The Skull. The song Nothing is definitely an expression of my love of Trouble although the lyrics are kind of opposite. The lyrics are like The Wish but without the hope of redemption through finding or believing in god. The song is basically a combination of verses from The Skull and the chorus of Run To The Light. The Skull is one of my favourite songs of all time. Of course I could never hope to write a song in that style as good as those three ballads so a tribute will have to do.

9. Well, Phil, we have reached the end of this interview. I would like to thank you for your patience and for answering my questions. I am really happy for communicating with you again and I wish the best for you and Rote Mare. Please feel free to end this interview as you wish…

- I will end with saying that I will be releasing my new double cd early in 2008. It is called In Ruins and initially I will be giving it away to anyone who is interested. Thanks again for the opportunity to talk about Rote Mare in this interview and I wish you good luck with the fanzine.

http://www.rotemaredoom.com