Today, Helter Skelter Productions (distributed & marketed by Regain Records) announces April 11th as the international release date for Neromega’s striking debut mini-album, Nero Omega, on CD and 12” vinyl formats.
Neromega is a gathering of Italian musicians from Rome who have been active for over 25 years in different bands and musical contexts, yet knew each other since the mid ‘90s and always shared a passion for a certain kind of musical vibe/themes and high-quality songwriting.
Neromega’s debut mini-album, Nero Omega, was initially released in October 2020 on cassette tape in limited quantities, and now Helter Skelter are releasing it on a worldwide scale. And for good reason: Neromega meet at the crossroads of early Black Sabbath, Italian doom, and progressive/psychedelic rock of old. Yet, they find their own unique path by being more than a sum of their elements, their sound equally reeking of doom, Italian giallo/noir/horror morbidity, and Covid-19. With Nero Omega will one find three original songs and a cover of Balletto di Bronzo’s “Un posto,” all of it wrapped in the dulcet tones of their native tongue. The 25 minutes of Nero Omega are but a taste of Neromega’s forthcoming debut album.
In the meantime, stream Neromega in its entirety here:
cover and tracklisting as follows:
Tracklisting for Neromega’s Nero Omega 1. Solitudine [8:02] 2. Pugnale Adore [6:36] 3. Morte Nella Fede [4:31] 4. Un Posto [4:52]
Today, Iron Bonehead Productions sets November 6th as the international release date for Bloodsoaked Necrovoid‘s highly anticipated debut album, Expelled into the Unknown Depths of the Unfathomable, on CD and vinyl LP formats.
Hailing from Costa Rica, Bloodsoaked Necrovoidformed in 2018 and quickly set to work on their first recordings. Two demos followed that year, which were later compiled onto vinyl format as Apocryphal Paths Of The Ancient 8th Vitriolic Transcendence via Iron Bonehead in early 2019. Later that year came a limited promo/rehearsal recording a split tape with Ratlord. Through all these suffocating recordings, the duo built a smokestack of charred DEATH so impossibly bleak as to be unbearable. And now, they eclipse that feat with their long-awaited, literally-massive debut album…
Aptly fucking titled, Expelled into the Unknown Depths of the Unfathomable is the no-hope/no-fun churn of sepulchral doom-death turned completely inside out. More crushingly suffocating than previous recordings and yet somehow emitting a massive sense of space that punctures through the veil of complete atmosphere, Bloodsoaked Necrovoid here drag the listener kicking & screaming (slooowwwly) through the caverns below the caverns of the mind/subconscious/spirit and then spit blood and bile across the putrid pile. It’s a six-song/41-minute experience that seems to last for infinity but just as effortlessly retains a sulfurous urgency seemingly at odds with its guttural slo-motion grind, surprisingly kicking into gutsfucking gallops that sound like bestial metal dragged through tar. Unknown and unfathomable are their ways, and expelled you most certainly will be!
Bloodsoaked Necrovoid will ruin your day, again and again and again, and there’s no sweet succor when one’s Expelled into the Unknown Depths of the Unfathomable.
Begin expulsion with the brand-new track “Viciously Consumed by the Unfolding Unknown” here:
Tracklisting for Bloodsoaked Necrovoid’s Expelled into the Unknown Depths of the Unfathomable 1. Dispossessed in an Asphyxiating Endless Darkness 2. Perverted Astral Intoxication for a Death Incarnation 3. Viciously Consumed by the Unfolding Unknown 4. Inescapable Transferance of Profane Malignity 5. Existential Dismemberment by a Transcendental Nothingness 6. Traversing the Threshold of a Treacherous Depraved Absolute
Today, black/death/doom titans Vassafor stream the entirety of their highly anticipated third album, To the Death. Set for international release on August 7th via Iron Bonehead Productions, hear Vassafor‘s To the Death in its entirety here:
Vassafor should need no introduction. For the past decade and a half, since the band’s reactivation with their Demo II in 2005, this New Zealand cult have patiently plied their idiosyncratic craft, pushing the boundaries of black and death metal ever further whilst driving deep into each’s collective core. Although some will argue that they reached their apotheosis with 2012’s debut album, Obsidian Complex – a true, two-disc double album – Vassafor played their most daring hand with respective split LPs with comrades Sinistrous Diabolus and Temple Nightside (both released by Iron Bonehead in 2014 and 2015, respectively). In miniature, these works amplified the simultaneously world-eating/ethereal textures that lay at the heart of the Vassafor aesthetic. After an intense two years in the shadows, their grandest work so far was revealed: Malediction, released in October 2017 on vinyl and cassette via Iron Bonehead. Vassafor continued to cement their legend…
Vassafor are not ones for half-measures. For them, their spirituality is Satanic and absolute: no compromise, no quarter. Thus, with the aptly titled To the Death do Vassafor render their most direct statement yet, yet one also imbued with a lurking strangeness that’s entirely their own. At once submerging into the murkiest depths of the underground from whence they sprang, in other senses smothering those senses with a serpentine flow that’s stultifying to behold, the seven sonic incantations comprising the 66-minute To the Death prove that the duo indeed are ever able to conjure horrifying new shapes stitched from the fabric of the ancients. Not for nothing is this third full-length titled as such: To the Death bespeaks Vassafor‘s own path – theirs, and theirs literally ALONE – that is verily “Archaic Black Metal that exists outside time.” Any band would kill to write songs as mesmerizing ‘n’ monolithic as the opening 12-minute title track, or the ten-minute self-explanatory “Eyrie,” or especially the 17-minute, likewise self-explanatory closer “Singularity”…and that’s barely half the album.
Vassafor exist on their own terms, and we can only help but bear witness to their black magick. To the Death is a statement of intent, a world unto itself, and so much more: bow, enter, die.
Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Vassafor’s To the Death 1. To the Death [12:03] 2. Egregore Rising [7:36] 3. Eyrie [10:35] 4. Black Talon [2:13] 5. The Burning íthyr [9:17] 6. Emanations from the Abyss [6:13] 7. Singularity [17:56]
This week we spoke with Spanish Doom/ Death veterans Evadne – read on
First of congrats on the new album – anyone who has been in a band knows how hard it is to keep it going you guys have been going for nearly 20 years now – what is your secret?
PASSION, I THINK THERE IS NO MORE SECRETS IN THIS WORLD.
I love the artwork for Dethroned Of Our Souls who came up with that? What’s the story behind the art?
WE WANTED TO MIX THE ART COVER OF OUR FIRST DEMO WITH ART COVER OF THE E.P “DETHRONED OF LIGHT”, THE ARTISTIC RESULT WAS FROM THE COVER DESIGNER (VLADIMIR PROKOFIEV). IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL RESULT
Lyrically what inspires your guys?
EVERY THING. NOT JUST ANY KIND OF ARTISTIC EXPRESSION. ALSO FEELINGS, LANDSCAPES, PERSONAL SITUATIONS. IN ART EVERYTHING IS VALID
How did you guys get into heavy music were you death metal fans before becoming doom metal fans? What were the bands that lead you on this journey?
OF COURSE, WHEN WE START LISTENING METAL MUSIC THE DOOM METAL STYLE DIDN’T HAVE THE SOUND THAT HAS INFLUENCED US. AT THE BEGINNING OF THE 90’S SOME BANDS START TO DO A NEW MUSIC THAT REALLY HYPNOTIZES US. BANDS LIKE ANATHEMA, PARADISE LOST, MY DYING BRIDE, KATATONIA, THEY ARE RESPONSIBLE AND A GREAT SOURCE OF INSPIRATION FOR US.
I imagine the Spanish scene as being more death and black metal bands than doom – how are you guys received in Spain?
HERE THE THINGS ARE COMPLICATED, ALTHOUGT FOR THE BLACK AND DEATH METAL BANDS. HERE THE PEOPLE PREFER TO LISTEN HEAVY, ROCK FOLK METAL AND OTHER TYPES OF METAL
Is Spain your best place to play or are you better received in other European territories? If so which ones?
IN THE CENTER –WEST EUROPE THERE ARE MORE CULTURE OF EXTREME MUSIC, WE PREFER TO PLAY THERE. IN THIS PLACES THE PEOPLE GO TO CONCERTS OF DOOM METAL, IT’S A FACT.
I know you guys have done a decent amount of touring over the years – what’s been your best and worst gig so far and why?
THE BEST IS COMPLICATED TO DECIDE, WE HAVE PLAYED IN GREAT FESTIVALS LIKE:
FROM DUSK TILL DOOM IN BELGIUM, MADRID IS THE DARK (SPAIN), DUTCH DOOM DAYS (HOLLAND), MALTA DOOM FESTIVAL, HARD ROCK LAAGER (ESTONIA), AUTUMN SOULS OF SOFIA (BULGARIA), DARK SESSIONS IN ROMANIA, DOOM HEART FEST (ITALY), AND MANY MORE. WE CAN’T CHOOSE CAUSE THERE ARE ALWAYS FUNNY AND FUN EXPERIENCES. SOME DIFFICULT EXPERIENCE BUT NOTHING TOO BAD…SOMETIMES WE HAVE LOST FLIGHTS, THE LONG HOURS OF TRAVELING ON THE ROAD ARE THE WORST PART BUT WE ARE FUN PEOPLE AND WE HAD A GOOD TIME.
Have you played any American concerts to date? If not any plans to tour the USA?
NOT FOR THE MOMENT, WE WERE CLOSE TO GO BUT AT THE END WAS NOT POSSIBLE, HOPE WE CAN GO SOON AND MEET ALL OUR AMERICAN FRIENDS.
Has any of the band members ever visited the USA if so what did you think of it?
NOT FOR THE MOMENT. WE HOPE TO DO IT.
What can we expect from the band in 2020?
WE ARE IMMERSED IN THE CREATION OF NEW SONGS FOR THE NEXT ALBUM AND WE HAVE SOME GIGS FOR THE SECOND PART OF OUR IBERIAN TOUR (SPAIN)
Any final words?
THANK YOU FOR THE INTERVIEW AND THANK YOU TO THE READERS WHO TAKE THEIR TIME TO READ IT. STAY DOOM!
Today, American black-doom magickians Worm stream the entirety of their highly anticipated second album, Gloomlord. Set for international release on January 24th via Iron Bonehead Productions, hear Worm‘s Gloomlord in its entirety here:
Hailing from the swampy recesses of Florida, originally as the work of one mysterious Fantomslaughter, Worm released two demos – The Deep Dark Earth Underlines All (2014) and Nights in Hell (2016) – before expanding to a duo alongside one Equimanthorn and releasing their debut album, Evocation of the Black Marsh, through Iron Bonehead in 2017. Fully distilling their foul ‘n’ fetid aesthetic, Worm‘s first full-length reaped a bounty of unsettling atmosphere and ancient-style songwriting, presenting a clanging, blown-out appropriation of early Goatlord and Mortuary Drape but with a screws-loose personality that hails unorthodoxy endlessly.
While those influences undoubtedly remain, Worm strike back with a bolder assertion of their own, now-unique identity with Gloomlord. Ever aptly titled, Gloomlord is an altogether more solemn and stately descent into the swamps, both spiritually and physically. With five epic songs spread across an impossibly vast 42 minutes, Worm‘s second album pounds forward with ominous intent, but slowly-evaporating melodies rise from the muck ‘n’ mildew and bewitch the listener with devastation and doom. Indeed, it’s the lattermost element – DOOM – where the duo expand the Worm aesthetic, dynamically exploring the crevasse between light and shade, in a sense evoking the early ’90s canon of classic UK doom-death as well as funeral doom progenitors Unholy, Thergothon, and especially Disembowelment; in fact, the lattermost-named band held the biggest influence on the stylistic shift across Gloomlord. Elsewhere, surprising twists of speed indeed twist the knife more cruelly, only to pull it back out – slowly – as that eerily reverberating melodicism takes center stage. The sum effect is drowning in that very same swamp, over and over but horrifically different from the last, ad infinitum and hypnotically so. Or, as the band themselves coin it, “Floridian Funeral Doom,” and that sum effect is indeed unique, and uniquely Floridian.
Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Worm (USA)’s
Gloomlord 1. Putrefying
Swamp Mists at Dusk (Intro) 2. Rotting Spheres of Sentient Black 3.
Apparitions of Gloom 4. Melting in the Necrosphere 5. Abysmal
Dimensions
Today, Blood Harvest Records sets February 28th, 2020 as the international release date for Blood Spore‘s striking debut EP, Fungal Warfare Upon All Life, on CD, 12″ vinyl, and cassette tape formats.
Blood Spore are a four-piece extreme metal act that spawned in Philadelphia in the human year 2018. The band came together under the unifying vision of the ancient, immortal, conscious fungal mass that is hellbent on consuming and repurposing all life that roosts upon the Earth.
With almost preternatural ease, Blood Spore combine pummeling death metal with somatic doom, chaotic black metal, and malevolently more to create a highly dynamic, ever-evil sound to stomp on rotted skulls to. In just one year, the band made several vicious offerings upon the stage supporting their initially self-released debut EP Fungal Warfare Upon All Life. So impressed by that EP, Blood Harvest simply had to release it on a worldwide scale.
Now aligning forces with Blood Harvest – seemingly, a match made in Hell – Blood Spore will release their imminent debut album through the label in the coming year. In the meantime, they continue to lure swaths of humans to the fungal altar with an alluring trance soaked in death. Pulling influence from science fiction and mycology, Blood Spore paint horrifying images of the impending assault on the living with poisonous tendrils dripping with infected blood. Fungal Warfare Upon All Life is just the start – beware!
In the meantime, hear the track “Hostile Fruiting Bodies” here:
Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Blood Spore’s Fungal Warfare Upon All Life 1. Hostile Fruiting Bodies 2. Cede to the Saprophyte 3. Apex Colony
Today, Dunkelheit Produktionen sets July 25th as the international release date for Shades of Deep Water‘s highly anticipated second album, Death’s Threshold, on CD and vinyl LP format.
A cult fixture in the funeral doom scene, Shades of Deep Water began its exploration of the abyss in 2006. The sole creation of one J.H., the band’s ascent/descent has been as steady as his music is slow. From 2007 to 2009, three demos were released in succession and then the Constant Pressure EP in 2012, all before the debut album, Waterways, in 2013. Aptly titled, Waterways suggested the aquatic, abyssal themes Shades of Deep Water would henceforth explore. From there, J.H. hit a creative streak, with two more EPs following as well as two compilations, such was the demand for his music among ultra-doom aficionados.
Now, at long last, arrives Shades of Deep Water‘s magnum opus, Death’s Threshold. Likewise aptly titled, Death’s Threshold is a veritable exploration (and celebration) of his native Finland’s rich history in funeral doom and doom-death. Comprising four utterly epic, stretched-across-the-abyss tracks in a vast-yet-focused 41 minutes, here do Shades of Deep Water drown the listener in physically/spiritually crushing atmosphere, dragging that listener down/down/DOWN under, far below the depths and never to return; the effect is hauntingly hypnotic, and almost comfortingly so. But, as this is strictly (and unapologetically) within the funeral doom pantheon, rest assured that there is no light, no hope, wherever the album roams.
Where will you chose to roam? Allow Shades of Deep Water to take you to Death’s Threshold. Take the first step there with the new track “Death’s Threshold – Part 1” here:
Cover art, by Sv Bell, and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Shades of Deep Water’s Death’s
Threshold 1. Death’s
Threshold – Part 1 [8:53] 2. Death’s Threshold – Part 2 [11:15] 3. Death’s
Threshold – Part 3 [8:53] 4. Death’s Threshold – Part 4
[12:01]
Today, Ektro Records sets April 5th as the international release date for a special new compilation from Hebosagil, titled Fortuna/Kevät.
The light is finally shining down on Hebosagil. Hailing from the northerly climes of Oulu, Finland, this hard-assed yet cerebral crew first assembled in 2003, as a sludgy but decidedly left-field doom metal act. The resulting din grew leaner, sharper, and punkier over time, gradually shedding its youthful blackness and evolving into a sinewy and scalding take on noise rock. For its fourth album, 2016’s Lohtu (“Solace”), the band cushioned that approach with unprecedented nuance and restraint; faint sunbeams began to stream through tiny cracks in the sound’s previously impenetrable surface. Now the foundation of the music itself has been shaken.
Compiling the contents of Fortuna (“Fortuna”) and Kevät (“Spring”), two digital-only EPs recorded during the last couple of years, Hebosagil‘s latest vinyl offering is an incandescent leap forward that unapologetically embraces lush beauty and symphonic warmth. The bones of the extended compositions remain heavier than plutonium millstones, but thickset pop hooks, uplifting chord progressions, and crystalline female vocals define the mood as much as radioactive distortion and body-checking rhythms. Hymnal melodies and understated recitations provide an emotional counterbalance to singer Tatu Junno’s raw-throated gargle and disturbing lyrical imagery. Currently operating as an expanded three-guitar sextet, Hebosagil has masterfully sussed out the elusive nexus between brute force and luminous grace. (text by Jordan N. Mamone).
In the meantime, hear the new track “Metsätie” here:
Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Hebosagil’s
Fortuna/Kevät 1. Oi
Fortuna 2. Auta 3. Metsätie 4. Joki
Today, Ordo MCM sets February 15th, 2019 as the international release date for Ross‘ Sing, Guslar! on black vinyl and limited blood-red LP formats. Otherwise known as Pocc, Ross is the short-lived yet important precursor to Russia’s cult Scald. Maintaining a similar poignancy and raw honesty, Ross created a small clutch of songs that brimmed with triumph and tragedy. Rough-hewn they may be, but such were the times in Soviet-era Russia; nevertheless, the roots of Scald‘s masterful ‘n’ majestic pagan doom were planted with Ross‘ nine-song repertoire. Now they’re being presented for their first time ever in one place, remastered from the original source audio, on Sing, Guslar!
In 1988 in Yaroslavl (then USSR), three friends – Maxim Andrianov, Anatoly Dmitriev, and Eugene “Jack” Baranov – decided to start a rock band. They had neither experience nor skill, but their desire to play so-called “Russian rock,” with lyrics that explore social issues, was very strong. Maxim became the vocalist and guitarist of this newly formed band, Anatoly started to play bass, and Eugene became the drummer. The guys came up with a catchy (in their opinion) name for the band: 220 Volt. With this lineup, they wrote and recorded several songs; the recordings were made at the same place where they used to rehearse. But in 1989-1990, some changes took place: it was time for Eugene to fulfill his military duties, so he had to leave the band. Other, more experienced musicians joined the band: Aleksandr Kudryashov (drums) and Sergey Topolenko (guitar). Since that moment, vocals became the only responsibility of Maxim, even though he still played guitar while recording the songs.
During this period, Maksim discovered the music of Manowar, which proved to be very inspirational, and he also watched the movie The Primordial Rus, dedicated to the life and beliefs of the pagan Slavs in 5th century A.D. A tribe called Ross was, among other things, mentioned in that movie and caught his attention. All this made him rethink the direction his band was taking: he suggested the new name for it – Ross. He also decided that they would play powerful heavy metal in the vein of Manowar, with lyrics glorifying ancient Slavic culture.
In those years any materials to work with in lyrics writing were hard to come by, so often some scenes from various Soviet movies about Russian history were used. Thus, the song “Pogrebalniy Koster” was inspired by the aforementioned movie The Primordial Rus, and “Poy, Guslyar!” was based on the movie Alexandr Nevsky. At the same time, Maxim started working on his vocals, trying to make it perfect and modeling himself after Eric Adams of Manowar.
By 1991, Ross had enough songs to play for an hour. Unfortunately, in those years, bands like Ross had almost no chance of performing live in Yaroslalvl. However, they managed to participate in two or three festivals and record their songs live and in the studio – the only “professional” studio in Yaroslavl back then.
After the Soviet Union collapsed, the public’s interest in history increased considerably and many new books were being published, including those on medieval Russia and its relations with Scandinavia. Under the influence of such books, Maxim decided to make Scandinavian mythology a part of his lyrics. At the same time, the guitarist Sergey Topolenko was greatly inspired by Bathory’s Hammerheart and decided to use folk elements in his music. But soon after that, it was Maksim’s turn to fulfill his military duties, so he was gone for a year and the band was on hold during that time. After his return, coinciding with Eugene also being back from the army, the band (now consisting of five members) started working on the new material.
Around this time, Maxim discovered Candlemass and was fascinated with doom metal; he was also influenced by Messiah Marcolin’s vocals. Two songs – “Kanun Ragnaradi” and “Pogrebalniy Koster” – were composed and recorded during rehearsals. Maksim started thinking about changing the band’s name into Scald. But in summer, 1992 Sergey Topolenko, Anatoly Dmitriev, and Eugene Baranov joined an Evangelical cult, in consequence of what they refused to play any music which was not praising Christ. Maxim and Aleksandr, on the other hand, wanted to pursue the chosen direction – namely, pagan Rus and Scandinavia. Thus, the band split up and Ross ceased to exist.
But Maxim Andrianov and Aleksand Kudryashov didn’t want to give up that easily, so they found new young musicians to continue the band with. They were Ivan Sergeev (guitar) and Ilia Timashev (bass). Together, the four of them formed a new band – Scald – and, as Maxim suggested, adopted proper nicknames (Maxim became Agyl, Aleksandr was now called Ottar, Ivan’s choice was Harald, and Ilia was given the name Velingor) and started to write their lyrics in English. Later on, a second guitarist joined the band: Vladimir Ryzhkovsky AKA Karry. But this is a different story – the story of Scald…
In the meantime, hear a live version of Ross‘ “Falcon” here:
Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for
Ross (Pocc)’s Sing,
Guslar! Side A: 1.
Конвоир [Prison Guard] (demo ’91) 2. ККК [KKK] (demo ’91) 3. Русский воин
[Russian Warrior] (demo ’91) 4. Пой, гусляр [Sing, Guslar!] (demo ’91) 5.
Кудесник [Wizard] (live ’91)
Side B: 1. Сокол [Falcon] (live
’91) 2. Россия [Russia] (live ’91) 3. Чёрный Замок [Black Castle] (live
’91) 4. О походах Викингов [Of Vikings’ Trips] (live ’91)
After a lot of back and forth – I finally had a chance to talk to the guys in Loss this week – in case you do not know these guys pretty much made the “doom album of the year” with “Horizonless” now go read this interview and learn something new
* First off guys congrats on the new album , what was it like to work with Billy Anderson?
Tim Lewis- Thank you and I can say with Billy you will witness a lot of caffeine consumption.
That mixed along-side of making a slow record actually turned out incredibly well. Overall, we knew we were writing a more dynamic record this time around and Billy helped accentuate various dynamic moments throughout the record. He allowed our creative flow to take the reins, to be honest. It was by far the most productive and sane experience for us in the studio. He is a great producer to work alongside of and has a “one liner” for every sentence spoken in the room.
Billy took one look at the gear list and was sold on moving
forward
* How did Billy take to Nashville – if I am not mistaken doesn’t he have his own studio in the Pacific Northwest? What was the decision on bringing him there as opposed to you guys recording at his home base?
TL- Yes, Billy’s studio is located in Portland, OR.
We recorded the album at Welcome to 1979 here in Nashville and the name says it all when it comes to the gear at the studio. Billy took one look at the gear list and was sold on moving forward with doing the album here.
* Billy is known for recording bands live – is this how you guys prefer to record or is it something you guys were totally comfortable with?
John Anderson- All of our songs are written, arranged, and repeatedly performed in our
rehearsal space live, so recording them live is a natural step. That said, hearing everybody that’s standing around you in headphones, while their amps are isolated in various locations throughout the building, can take some adjustment, but we’d done it before.
The live scene has exploded here lately
* Nashville isn’t really known for its metal scene – is there even one there these days?
JA- Nashville, as a whole, is growing at an alarming rate these days, so every scene is growing right now, along with the population. We’ve become the “It City,” according to various publications, so the live scene has exploded here lately, with almost too many options on a daily basis. And, yes, that has brought us some metal shows and tours that would never have happened here five years ago.
* The band has been going for about 12-13 years now right? What’s the trick for longevity? Especially when most bands don’t last 5 years?
TL- First I would say it’s not a trick at all. It’s honoring what this band stands for. We have
always said that “if any member of LOSS were to leave for whatever reason, LOSS would be finished”. The course in which we compose and arrange these songs helps reflect the musical aesthetic of our very different personalities. We are true to what LOSS is. LOSS is four men telling various truths of what we see in ourselves and the world around us.
We feel free to ignore the rules
and allow the songs to take sharp turns
* It’s actually really hard to play so slow and still be interesting – what’s the secret to doing so?
JA- Dynamics are the key to remaining interesting, for us. Rather than adhere to any prescribed formula for what “this type of music” is supposed to sound like, we feel free to ignore the rules and allow the songs to take sharp turns, if that feels right to us. We’re actually not slow all the time, which I think helps us to stand out, or at least not bore ourselves. There is also an emphasis on melody in this band. There has to be feeling behind the slow passages, or they will lack atmosphere.
* You guys singing a lot on death and dying? What’s the closest you have come to death so far?
TL – For myself I have had my life threatened by disease and have moved forward from it, for now. Most of us in life have all had close calls or threats. How one chooses to acknowledge the weight of what death truly is, in my opinion, can define whether the mental wielding of death is actually a proven truth or simply an illusion.
* What’s was the doom band that really turned you on to the Genre? I remember buying Cathedral’s Forest of Equilibrium, so slow and so crushing. That did it for me
TL- For myself and everyone in LOSS, Black Sabbath will always be such a huge influence on the feel of what later grew into the doom genre but, the first record that I bought that really opened me up to the specific genre of “doom metal” was when I purchased Candlemass’ Nightfall on cassette at the ripe age of 16. So many people at that time hated the record because it wasn’t speed or thrash metal and I was absolutely obsessed with it. It was like listening to magic.
JA- For me, I would cite My Dying Bride as the band that first sparked my interest.
* I would imagine the “talent pool” for doom metal musicians in Nashville compared to Country musicians – how did you guys find each other?
TL – I had moved to Nashville from Dallas and met Mike through the underground metal radio show he had at the time. He was already friends with John and Jay. Mike, John and myself started discussing the possibility of a band and developing its structure through our past and current struggles. After less than a week of discussing it, they introduced me to Jay for the first time as well as asking his interest in forming this doomed assembly.
If you’re going to visit Nashville, don’t go to Broadway or 2nd Avenue
* Do you guys play much locally? Last time I was in Nashville it was a Tuesday night and all the bars downtown had world class bands playing in every bar but they were all country! Is it hard to get gigs locally?
JA- We prefer not to wear out our welcome with local shows. Playing locally every weekend, or even every month, sets a lot of bands up for diminishing returns. People get burned out, they take your appearances for granted, or they start to feel like it’s more of an obligation than an event. By all means, if your crowds keep growing, go for it, but with us, we play a very specific kind of music, made for a very specific mood. We don’t make a very good weekend party band. And, if you’re going to visit Nashville, don’t go to Broadway or 2nd Avenue unless you want to see country bands. That area is paid-for and marketed-to the tourists, who you can easily identify by their cowboy hats.
* Speaking to locals in Nashville, they said the city is rapidly transforming with so many people relocating there from all over the country. Can you see Loss staying in Nashville or has the band ever talked about relocating?
TL – I love to travel and explore so I would never say “never.”
Either to a major city or somewhere more remote?
TL – Remote
You couldn’t help but feel
everything in that room
* You guys are not one of these bands that lives on the road – but what’s been your favorite gig played to date and why?
TL- I would say in Berlin with Worship. That gig was insane and so many great people and the overall gut nature to it. Mike and Daniel (Doommonger) doing vocals together was sick.
JA- Yes, that final show of our European tour (in Berlin) sticks out for me as well, and it goes to show that the best concerts are not always the ones in the biggest venues. Everything was right in our face that night, and the place was crowded with maniacs. You couldn’t help but feel everything in that room, like there was no barrier between band and audience. That said, our show a few years ago at Maryland Death Fest was also amazing, to look out on such a vast ocean of faces.
* What more can we expect from you guys in 2017?
JA- Holy Mountain is about to issue some new shirts for us, which will be available in their web store soon. Profound Lore did a really cool longsleeve of the album artwork, and to answer a popular question, yes, there will be a short sleeve version of that same design, as well as some others that have yet to be revealed. We currently have some shows lined up for the fall, and we’re working on what will happen after that.
