Static Altars, Upwell, KLAW, Greenriver Thrillers @ The Funhouse -- 06/04/2016

Photos & Article By Jesse Huminski

The best part about being a fan of any sort of musical genre is a live concert. Concerts are a place to mingle with fellow fans who share your passion for a band as well as permit you to experience musical emotion in real time. Whilst I do thoroughly appreciate shows from big name bands, it's the smaller local shows that I enjoy a little more. Large venues don't give off an intimate vibe and usually, after a band is done, you won't often see them roaming around the venue drinking a beer, chatting up with fans, and enjoying the music of other local artists in the scene. These are the types of shows that keep our beloved genres alive. Without them, the bands of today won't be able to become the big names of tomorrow.

I'm new to the Pacific Northwest. Having barely been here for two years, I had no idea where to look for shows such as the one that occurred on June 4th at The Funhouse in Seattle. To be quite honest, I'm not even sure where I saw the tour poster above. I checked out the a few bands on the bill and immediately felt as if I needed to be there. I've been following the Doomed & Stoned blog for quite sometime and felt compelled to finally become apart of the local scene here in Washington. I grabbed my camera (well, my girlfriend's anyway) and headed down to Seattle, knowing very well that the next day I would probably regret staying up so late as I had to be up for work early in the morning.

But, the lack of sleep and ensuing grouchiness of having to be at work was well worth it.

Album Review: Engraved Darkness- Diabolical Scriptures

by Sam Werts

     When Engraved Darkness isn't beating you down with their crunchy riffs, they're, well... Beating you down with more crunchy riffs! This 4-piece death/black metal band is from Dayton, Ohio and sure show what Dayton metal is all about. Whether it's singer/guitarist Johnnie Wallace's nasty vocals, Colin Glover's beefy bass tone, Jimmy Rose's crazy guitar solos or Andy Hall's tasty drum fills, this band is a treat for those who love bands such as Belphegor or Morbid Angel.

     Diabolical Scriptures is their first release to date, and it's nothing short of brutal. The album opens with a beautiful piano intro, then starts right off with "Darkened Grave." Guitarist Rose really shines here with his epic solo, which only makes an awesome beginning track all the better! The next track, "Fate Divine," features an amazing call and response from Wallace and Glover, whose vocals fit very well together. A few more tracks in, you get to a personal favorite of mine, "The Purity of Evil." Its just shy of 8 minutes long, and it's worth every second. The album runs about 40 minutes long, and is 9 tracks of destructive metal.

     Fans of old school death metal will no doubt love this album, as well as any other release this band puts out. Links to listen and for the band's pages are below.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EngravedDarkness/
Bandcamp: http://engraveddarkness.bandcamp.com/album/diabolical-scriptures

Fear The KLAW

By Kaila Alford

“Hero 2 Zero” the first track off last year’s self-titled debut from KLAW  quickly gives off the impression that the band is about nothing and everything all at the same time. Throughout the album they try on a Tool-esque ambiance that admittedly threw me for a loop. Well consider it fuel for the sonic assault they deliver on “Lost Cosmonaut”. Guitarist  Justin Williams speed  and intensity make mince meat out of you until he kicks back into a stoner rock groove on “Parole” to take us out with.   Dominant drums and punk tinged rage from vocalist Casey Cunningham establish KLAW as a group difficult to categorize.  Well your fucking metal shouldn’t resemble a floral arrangement in terms of orderly cohesiveness.  KLAW cannot be simply classified by a your average rock or metal fan which is okay because formality and fury will never go hand in hand. Fury is all I felt when they  tore through a fierce set (That was as amazing as it was short due to a set time debacle.) on Saturday at Funhouse. Cunningham’s truly impressive vocal range is something to behold and the band’s dynamic energy really did  liven up the place. They struck me as the type who’d probably bring all the beer to a party but then end up breaking every single piece of patio furniture you own, the sorta party most Doom and Black metal fans could use.  They’ve been teasing live crowds with some new material, so you best go familiarize yourself with their awesome debut now.  They have a show coming up on the 23rd at Substation and another in July.  Go out, support local music and most importantly know what it means to fear the fucking KLAW.

KLAW Bandcamp: https://klawseattle.bandcamp.com/releases
KLAW Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/feartheklaw/

Clouds Taste Satanic - Your Doom Has Come album review

Clouds Taste Satanic - Your Doom Has Come

We've been told never to judge a book by its cover since we were children. But, with album art like that, how can one not insinuate that Brooklyn, NY based doom-metal band Clouds Taste Satanic's Your Doom Has Come isn't going to be anything less than spec-fucking-tacular? Let's all be real here, you first see this album cover and expect it to be a great fucking album; I know I sure did the moment I saw it on Bandcamp. And, even more so as I ripped open the packaging of the vinyl the band sent to me last week. And, allow me to inform you with the utmost confidence that your implication of greatness would be right on the money.

Your Doom Has Come released on September 1st 2015 and follows up their lengthy two-track 2014 debut, To Sleep Beyond the Earth. It features six instrumental tracks that incorporate fuzzy, sludgy filled guitar riffs, bass lines that make you groove and drumming that pummels your eardrums into oblivion. This quartet's approach on the genre is one for the record books, setting the bar well out of reach of imitators. A thunderous album that rears its head at its listeners, forcing multiple spins in order to fully comprehend the silent story taking place within its grooves.

Clouds Taste Satanic immediately toss you to the demons with the opening chord to the first track, "Ten Kings," an eight-and-a-half minute expedition that traverses the nine planes of Hell. Merging hazy guitar tones with some mild-mannered, thunderous drumming, "Ten Kings" is all one can ask for in a Doom Metal track. The ambient, almost atmospheric lead guitar places you in a state of hypnosis, allowing your body to sway and move with every beat. An amazing opener, it puts you in the mood for how the rest of the album is going to unfold within your ears.

Your Doom Has Come is a fantastic record for those interested in exploring a genre where vocals and lyrics seem to reign supreme. Considering the fact that it is entirely instrumental, you need to piece together the story in your own words and imagination. Clouds Taste Satanic have done an exceptional job laying the groundwork for their extremely promising musical future with this album. Don't allow the lack of lyrics to hinder your enjoyment of what is an extraordinarily captivating musical venture. Imagination is needed for this album, close your eyes and allow Clouds Taste Satanic to overtake your mind's eye, spitting you deep into a world where angels battle demons, countries inflict war upon each other, or Autobots battle Decepticons.

With Your Doom Has Come, the story is entirely up to you. This album just provides a captivating soundtrack for the backdrop.

Clouds Taste Satanic have been booked on the first annual Doomed & Stoned Festival occurring November 18th & 19th at the 5th Quarter Lounge in Indianapolis, IN.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CloudsTasteSatanic/
Bandcamp: https://cloudstastesatanic.bandcamp.com/

Interview with Matt Moss from Slugdge

The genre of metal contains a great variety of lyrical topics. Black metal tends to focus on darker stuff, such as death, Satan, winter, Satan, human sacrifice, and Satan. Death metal has lots of focus on gore, ripping people asunder, using their opened torsos as latrines and so on. But what do you do when you when you don’t want to write about any of that? What if every damn topic has been done before? Well, then you write about... slugs.  

At first look, you may think this is some sort of a fucking joke. “How the hell can anyone write music about slugs? This is going to be shit.” I know, because I was saying the same thing when I was first introduced to Slugdge, a blackened sludge metal band from Lancashire, England. But, Slugdge is anything but a gimmick. Conceived in 2012, Slugdge is the work of two guys, Kev Pearson (guitars) & Matt Moss (Vocals), who worked together in Tower of Wankers & Call to Arms prior to create the maniacal story of cosmic slugs invading the Earth and making all of mankind their collective bitches.

Yes, Slugdge makes it clear from the first notes of their debut album, ‘Born of Slime’, that these gastropods mean business. With a refreshing, thick and aggressive style of extreme metal, the invasion and twisted lore of Mollusca’s following slithers in your mind with the intention to linger. Characterized by complex riffs and pounding, poly rhythmic drumming, the band immediately showcase their own unique brand of extreme metal. Violent and ominous guitars impose with a wall of sonorous force, backed by heavy torrents of blast beats. They provide the perfect backdrop for the-Lovecraftian lyrics about slugs, conducted through Matt’s foreboding growls, screams and clean singing. Yes, the slugs are here, and here to stay.

Review: Sylvaine - Wistful

Have you ever felt Nostalgia? Of course, who doesn’t? But how about a feeling similar to nostalgia, a longing for something remote and far away that doesn't have to be in the past. A forlorn yearning to something you perhaps cannot even identify. The feeling something is amiss, and empty, that rears up in the depths of night and keeps you up until morning comes.

We refer to that feeling as wistfulness, and this appears to be premise of Norwegian artist Sylvaine’s second full length: Wistful. Released two years after her debut, ‘Silent Chamber, Noisy Heart’, the album continues where its predecessor left off; gentle atmospheric post-metal with emphasis on atmosphere, haunting melodies and mostly cleanly sung vocals. Lush layers of keyboards and shimmering guitars constantly weave a dense ambiance and serve as the perfect backdrop to showcase her angelic, often soothing voice in a familiar Alcestian way yet clearly distinct.

Opener ‘Delusions’ is a perfect example of the above and really sets the tone well for the remainder of the album. Soft vocals lure the listener in into a sonorous landscape that takes time to fully appreciate. At first, the instruments seem to blend together into one impenetrable entity, and multiple playthroughs are required to fully separate the individual instruments and marvel at their melodies. In fact, this album requests your undivided attention in a soft and polite way, quite alike a faded photograph of your youth that draws you in and takes you out of the here and now. Like with the photograph, this music invokes all sorts of memories, and not all them pleasant.

With that I lead into why I experienced difficulty listening to this all day, the music is outright sad. The lyrics, poetic and heartwrenching, dig into the mind of the listener and linger there, long after the final note fades away. After four consecutive listens I found my mood dropping quite far below median, and I simply had to do something else. No, this is not what I would listen to all day, but savour for when the time, setting and mood align into a perfect melancholy that can only be accentuated properly by Sylvaine’s haunting voice.

A detail that immediately sprung out to me in two of the tracks is the use of screams, again reminiscent of Alcest. They are good, well executed and in my opinion, that of a seasoned black metal veteran, only add to the mood. However, I could see that some listeners coming from a post-rock climate might find them distracting or overpowering.

Wistful isn't easy listening, neither emotionally nor musically, but it is something that must be experienced nonetheless. If you don’t mind melancholy and the occasional Myrkur-vibe, I highly recommend giving this a few spins. Sylvaine said she poured very personal moments into her music, and it’s conveyed well, exactly what art should be all about. When the times are calling for it, I shall definitely return to this throughout the year and beyond, and I hope you will too.   

'Wistful' was released through Season Of Mist on May 13th. 

Purchase link EU: http://shop.season-of-mist.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=sylvaine

Purchase link USA: http://shopusa.season-of-mist.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=sylvaine

Bandcamp: https://sylvainemusic.bandcamp.com

Youtube playlist: https://youtu.be/Lky6KocRb3Y…

  

Oak Pantheon - In Pieces -- Album Review

Oak Pantheon - In Pieces

If you’re like me, you use music as a soundtrack; an opportunity to express yourself in a poetic way. It’s a means to convey your feelings audibly without ever having to say a word. With the internet, you have the ultimate library of sentiment right in your home allowing you to demonstrate your inner-most passions and reflecting them unto the world.

Oak Pantheon, a post-black metal band from Minneapolis, MN paint a sense of bleak desolation with In Pieces, the band’s second full-length album and first recorded material since Elemental Nightmares - I -- a split with Kess'khtak, Wildernessking & Liber Necris in 2014. An emotionally encumbering album devoid of any sense of delight, In Pieces is the perfect album for a day filled with grey skies and a dreary heart.

“Dawn of a New Day” opens the album with a swift force. A captivating track that encompasses an anguish so fierce, you will contemplate it long after having heard it. Incorporating harsh vocal tones with black metal-esque riffs, this is a song that entrances you, formulating a chemistry inside of you that is inspiring, yet disheartening.

In Pieces is a lyrical masterpiece. It tugs at your emotions as you face an onslaught of melancholic tracks meant to inspire a sense of apathy towards the outer world. A philosophical maelstrom that faces themes of distress, heart-ache and loss, this album emanates an gloomy aura all around. 

Oak Pantheon will bring you on an exciting ride as you ascend the summit of In Pieces. A journey of malevolent dissonance awaits you, causing an everlasting high that ensnares you, inflicting you with an addiction that cannot be emulated. It permits dejection and grief to spiral in conjunction with one another, creating a vicious energy within you that you’ve been lusting for ages to obtain. A formidable contender in my already lengthy  list for year’s best record.

Oak Pantheon is:

Sami Sati (All Instruments)

Tanner Swenson (All instruments)

The album can be streamed below and purchased on the band’s Bandcamp page. In Pieces was released on May 16th, 2016 independently.