Showing posts with label Lord Dying. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lord Dying. Show all posts

Digital review: Crowbar – Equilibrium

Digital Review: Crowbar – Equilibrium
eOne Music
All Access Rating: A-

Crowbar - Equilibrium 2015
Anybody who can turn Gary Wright's mid-'70s starry-eyed, soft-rock smash "Dreamweaver" into an epic, sludge-metal space odyssey – where even the hard of hearing can make out Kirk Windstein's hoary, all-encompassing screams as clear as day – deserves sainthood.

So does Equilibrium, the sixth album from Crowbar, and the last with original bassist Todd Strange. A game-changer for the NOLA heavyweights originally released 15 years ago, the jaw-dropping Equilibrium is now available digitally for the first time from eOne Music and begging to be reassessed. Back in the spring of 2000, it served notice that Crowbar's dark ambitions were becoming fully realized.

Tunneling its way deep inside some interstellar vortex of sound, Crowbar's swarming, cinematic cover of "Dreamweaver" is a mesmerizing aural experience, and it may just be the band's crowning achievement. Those bearing witness to the minor-key ruins of "To Touch the Hand of God," with its expansive, choral-like vocal arrangements, rainy intro and lonely, doom-laden piano plunking, might disagree, however.

Obviously, Equilibrium is ponderously heavy, its massive bulk breaking any scale that would attempt to measure the sheer tonnage of lugubrious, bulldozing title track and its slowly churning, ever-widening cousin "Command of Myself," precursors to the trudging, exploding punishment of "Eurphoria Minus One" and an even more vigorously combustible "Things You Can't Understand."

Sammy Pierre Duet joined Windstein on guitar, with Sid Montz on drums, for Equilibrium, the low-tuned, six-string devastation throughout retaining the hairy edge of Crowbar's hardcore punk roots –manifested in the raging, faster-paced "Uncovering." Where the band's last album, Symmetry in Black, unhinged its jaws and devoured everything in its path, Equilibrium is tougher, it hits harder and the payoffs are more immediate. Hopefully Crowbar will play a good portion of these tracks on its upcoming "Summer of Doom" tour with Lord Dying and Battlecross. Welcome to the 21st century, Equilibrium.
– Peter Lindblad

CD Review: Lord Dying – Poisoned Altars

CD Review: Lord Dying – Poisoned Altars
Relapse Records
All Access Rating: A-

Lord Dying - Poisoned Altars 2015
There's plenty of sludge to crawl through on Lord Dying's roiling, action-packed sophomore LP for Relapse Records, Poisoned Altars, although it's not an arduous march.

Unlike other bands of their grim ilk, the doom-laden Portland outfit, creators of 2013's highly acclaimed Summon The Faithless album, don't just creep along stuck in low gear all day. Their paralyzing breakdowns result in unexpected tempo shifts, the epic, almost cinematic closer "Darkness Remains" expanding and changing course at will, as Lord Dying engages in push-pull dynamics that are compelling, to say the least.

And while "Suckling at the Teat of a She-Beast" is a frenzied charge of barely controlled thrash, the title track, "The Clearing at the End of the Path" and "(All Hopes of a New Day) ... Extinguished" are monolithic, chugging surges of iron-clad riffs powered by brutally heavy churn-and-burn machinery and caught in stormy sonic seas, tossed about along with mighty hooks, muscular grooves and growling vocals. Feel the hot breath of sinister blackened death-metal expelled in "Offering Pain (and an Open-Minded Center)." Get sucked into the infectious vortex of "A Wound Outside of Time." When it's all over, lay a sacrifice at these Poisoned Altars. For Lord Dying has wrought aural devastation on a biblical level, much as Crowbar and High On Fire have, and somehow, nobody got killed.
– Peter Lindblad

Lord Dying: Worshipping at 'Poisoned Altars'

Portland sludge-metal outfit issues sophomore LP
By Peter Lindblad

Lord Dying 2015 (Photos courtesy of
Danger Ehren Photography)
Lord Dying built up quite a head of steam going into 2015.

Adored by critics, their 2013 album Summon The Faithless was a beastly, monolithic horror that blotted out the sun, its writhing, skull-crushing riffs trawling through acres of sludge to bring ill tidings of death and despair to its hollow-eyed parishioners.

In the aftermath, they toured for 18 months, supporting such like-minded comrades as Red Fang and Black Tusk, among others, and in the spring of 2014, Lord Dying hunkered down in the studio with Toxic Holocaust's evil genius Joel Grind to record new audio devastation.

Due out Jan. 27 on Relapse Records, Lord Dying's sophomore effort, Poisoned Altars, builds off the promise of Summon The Faithless, prophesying an even heavier and more brutal sound, with giant hooks, catastrophic breakdowns, battle-scarred rhythms and roaring vocals that only High On Fire could love.

Based in gloomy Portland, Lord Dying is comprised of lead singer/guitarist Erik Olson, bassist Don Capuano, drummer Rob Shaffer and guitarist Chris Evans. Gathering together members of Portals, Le Force, Cremains and Black Elk, Lord Dying started out sharing bills with the likes of Unsane, Yob and Valiant Thorr and other local bands, and then hammered their way through the West Coast, before allying themselves with Kelly and Erica G to record their first release, a self-titled 7-inch mauler on Powerblaster Records. More touring followed with Black Cobra, Gaza and Witch Mountain.

With Poisoned Altars, Lord Dying is poised to become one of metal's most compelling and important bands. Olson talked about the band's development in this interview.

Lord Dying - Poisoned Altars 2015
Is there any special significance to the title of the album, Poisoned Altars?
Erik Olson: Yeah, Poisoned Altars means being aware of your problems and addictions and having the courage to face them regardless of the outcome. Or more specifically, if your beliefs are wrong, which could be for any reason, you first need to realize it and then actively try to change.

What is your favorite riff on the new record and how did it come to life?
EK: My favorite riff is the verse riff on "Offering Pain." It's fast and brutal, with a strong death-metal feel. The way it was written was spontaneous at rehearsal. We were arguing about something and rather than listen to the other side I just cranked up my guitar and started blasting. This was the result. We all decided we liked the riff and wrote a song around it.

The sophomore jinx is always talked about when a band has a debut album that's really good and makes an impact. Did you get any advice from anybody on how to avoid it or what to do to make a second album that will satisfy you?
EK: Not really. We were aware of the phenomenon, but tried to not worry about it too much. We wrote the album in the same way we always do – for us first and for others later. We're all really happy with the result.

Was this album easier or harder to make than Summon The Faithless?
EK: I think it was easier, because we knew while writing it we would be releasing it on Relapse, so we wanted all the songs to have a cohesive flow to them and feel like they belonged together, while also writing something that was more brutal and had more hooks than anything we'd done in the past.

What makes Portland a great metal town?
EK: The rent is the most affordable of any of the big cities on the West Coast, but I think the weather plays a big role in style and quantity of bands. It's overcast and raining for about nine months of the year, so Portland produces a lot of dark and heavy music, but because there's not much to do other than spend your time inside, people have a lot of opportunity to hone their craft and that's why a lot of the bands are so good. 

"Darkness Remains" is a great epic for a closer to the album. Talk about the making of it and why it seemed like a perfect one to end on.
EK: It was written really fast, right before we entered the studio and the lyrics and vocal parts were written right before Joe pressed record, so I guess because it was written so late in the game it felt like a good one to end the record with. Plus it's got kind of a huge melodic scope at the end and that felt like a good way to end the album as well!

How did working with Joel Grind help in bringing about your vision for the new record?
EK: We wanted Poisoned Altars to sound really huge, and we knew that Joel would be able to get that kind of sound for us because he always did on all the Toxic Holocaust albums.

What was your reaction to seeing the cover art for Poisoned Altars the first time?
EK: We saw it for the first time when we we boarding a plane to fly to California for Scion Rock Fest, so spirits were already pretty high, but we all loved it immediately. Orion is an amazing artist, and we totally trust his vision.

Lord Dying has toured with Red Fang.
Looking back on the progress of the band from the start to where you are now, what's different? 
EK: We've gone through a few drummers. Well, things are easier as far as touring goes, but it's still a struggle to afford to do it. We hope to be making a living doing this eventually. I guess every band does. We'll still be doing it either way. This is what we love to do.

What do you remember most about your first show or your first tour?
EK: Our first tour was a West Coast tour and our van broke down before we even made it to the California border. We had to get it towed to the first three shows! It was free because our roadie had AAA, but it was really funny to promoters to see us rolling up to every show on back of a tow truck! Good times!

What songs off Poisoned Altars are you most excited to play live?
EK: I really enjoy playing "A Wound Outside of Time." It's catchy and fun to play. I also really like playing "Darkness Remains." So far it seems to be the biggest crowd pleaser.

You've toured a lot with a number of big-name acts in metal, including Red Fang. What's the most fun you've had with any of them? Was there a point in the last 18 months where you felt touring was becoming a grind?
EK: I love touring and sure you can get exhausted, but I love doing it, so it never really feels like a grind. But yeah, the most fun would definitely be the European runs we did with Red Fang. Those guys are good friends of ours, so that made it fun, but they also are huge in Europe. We were playing rooms averaging from 800-1,200 capacity that were sold out every night. I'll never forget those tours!

Do you like it when people apply the terms "doom metal" or "sludge" to what you do? If not, what would you call your music?
EK: I don't really like to label our music, but if people feel like they have to I guess sludge is okay. I just don't want put barriers on what we can do. I feel like we write a lot of death-metal riffs, but that label only gets put on bands with guttural vocals, but ... whatever.

What are you most excited for in 2015 in terms of Lord Dying or anything else that has anything to do with music? Is there anything else that you're dying to do this year?

EK: I'm just really excited to start the touring for the Poisoned Altars album cycle and hope to get to travel and play in new parts of the world I haven't been to yet. Cheers!

Best of 2013 in Hard Rock and Heavy Metal – Part 1

The number of this beast is 20, as in top 20
By Peter Lindblad

There are many questions left unanswered from the year of our Lord 2013. 

One of them being, what exactly is an "Earth Rocker" and, as a follow-up question to Clutch, how do they differ from normal, everyday rockers? Also, why Summon the Faithless, Lord Dying? Is something nefarious afoot? 

And what about Monster Magnet's Last Patrol? Should we read anything into that title? And should you engage in a transaction with a Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor, what are you actually purchasing? Zombie rodents? Would you buy such a thing from a man named Rob Zombie?

To say the least, hard rock and heavy metal had its share of scary, off-the-wall characters making ridiculously powerful music in 2013. Ozzy even sounded semi-coherent as three-fourths of the original Black Sabbath came back from the grave with a vengeance. As ill as he's been, Lemmy still barreled through Aftershock like a man possessed by demons, which is just the way Lemmy likes it. And former Hanoi Rocks frontman Michael Monroe showed everyone he's full of just as much piss and vinegar as guys half his age.

So, here we present the best metal and hard rock records of 2013 in this four-part series, counting down from 20 and headed toward No. 1. 

Amon Amarth - Deceiver of the Gods 2013
20. Amon Amarth: Deceiver of the Gods – Maybe this Norse metal thing has finally run its course with death metal Vikings Amon Amarth. Even the gods are wondering if its time Amon Amarth gave it a rest. Still, the gory Deceiver of the Gods, with its mighty blend of traditional melodic metal forms and good old fashioned thrash, is a mammoth production, a big boiling kettle of massive riffs, hairy vocal bellows and roiling rhythms that swings precariously to and fro, constantly spilling its contents over the edge. And Amon Amarth worshippers lapped up every drop.

Lord Dying - Summon the Faithless 2013
19. Lord Dying: Summon the Faithless Stirring up a sea of sludge, coating it in crusty distortion and fashioning it into menacing shapes defined by crunching riffs and hardened grooves, Lord Dying staked its claim to Black Sabbath's throne as the masters of doom metal. Made of pure evil, Summon the Faithless is that shadowy figure of an album hiding around the corner, waiting to snatch whoever happens to walk by with a myriad of rusty hooks that could give whoever hears it tetanus. Make sure you're up on all your shots.

Rob Zombie - Venomous Rat Regeneration
Vendor 2013
18. Rob Zombie: Venomous Rat Regenerator Chaos reigns supreme in the circus world of Venomous Rat Regenerator, where demented bartender Rob Zombie and partner John Five whip up a lethal cocktail of hot, grinding industrial-metal riffage, hard-hitting dance beats and complete auditory madness. If any asylum could ever be described as "fun" or having a "party-like atmosphere," this is it. The inmates are running Venomous Rat Regenerator, inviting all manner of freaks, and they are throwing the bash of the century.

Saxon - Sacrifice 2013
17. Saxon: Sacrifice Saxon sacrificed nothing on its last album. The grizzled New Wave of British Heavy Metal veterans mixed in some thrash stomp and made some of the toughest, most durable rock of their career. Wrecking-ball riffs and beautifully intertwined dual-guitar salvos each find their space on Sacrifice, which also incorporates touches of folk instrumentation on an otherwise hard-nosed, blue-collar epic that packs quite a wallop.

Vista Chino - Peace 2013
16. Vista Chino: Peace – Peace sells, and it should be bought by the truckload. Heavy and languid, with a wonderfully homegrown, hazy stoner-metal aesthetic hanging in the air, Peace could have sounded inert, stuck in a past where too many Kyuss fans choose to live. It doesn't. Rather, Vista Chino moves in mysterious and intoxicating ways. Instead, it's seductive, like an older brother daring you to smoke pot for the first time, and earthy, as if early Sabbath spent more  time in hippie communes, as opposed to graveyards. In a word, it sounds "natural," which is something that can't be said anymore for Queens of the Stone Age, that other Kyuss-related band.