Wednesday 22 May 2013

May 22nd - OLD MAN GLOOM makes me happy about the apocalypse

This post's artist (OLD MAN GLOOM) is from the April 2013 Mix, this is track #3.

Have you heard OLD MAN GLOOM? No? Do you like metal/doom/sludge/hardcore and the apocalypse? Yes? Then why the fuck aren't you listening to OMG right now? Seriously, this super-group is one of the most underrated and mind-blowing bands of all time. Did I say super-group? Am I asking way too many fucking questions?

Yes, I said super-group. OLD MAN GLOOM consists of the following members and their current/past side projects:
Aaron Turner - IsisGreymachine, The Hollomen, JodisLotus Eaters, Mamiffer, Split Cranium,
                         TwilightUnionsuit
Santos Montano - Zozobra, Forensics
Caleb Scofield - Cave In, Zozobra
Nate Newton - Jesuit, Doomriders, Converge (and some band called Channel)
They have also employed some 'noise' artists on past releases.

Okay, let's talk about their sound. Punishing. Very punishing. Absolutely and utterly devastating. That about sums up their sound. Think Black Sabbath meets Converge and you're on the right track. Their 'Seminar' and 'Christmas' albums are much more mathy and dare I say, softer. The first and last album literally sound like the apocalypse. The three stringed-musicians share vocal duties, but all of them generally scream/yell their throats raw, so there isn't a lot of vocal variety - but that doesn't matter to me because I love the thickness and emotion that all three guys pour into their songs.

Lastly, all of the full length albums (with the exception of 'No') jump back and forth from an actual song to atmospheric/noise interludes and then back to a song, etc. 'No' incorporates these noise elements directly into the songs, as opposed to having a separate track for each of them.
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2000 - Meditations in B cd/12"LP (this is all Santos and Aaron, as Caleb and Nate joined after this album, standout tracks include, 'Afraid of', 'Sonic Wave of Bees' and the 'Flood' songs)

2001 - Seminar II: The Holy Rites of Primitivism Regressionism cd/12"LP (probably the strongest overall album, plus it has a lot of tracks, 'Rape Athena', 'Branch Breaker' and 'Hot Salvation' are classics) (PURCHASE HERE)

2001 - Seminar III: Zozobra cd/12"LP (one 27 minute track that dabbles in metal, doom, atmospherics, noise and movie clips, a taxing overall listen, but cool nontheless) (PURCHASE HERE)

2004 - Christmas Eve I + II 3"cd/2x7"EP (the precursor to the 'Christmas' album, their weakest outing - but it's just an EP so I'm not judging - plus 'Skull of Geronimo is fantastic) (PURCHASE HERE)

2004 - Christmas cd/2x12"LP (okay, this is at least as good as Seminar II, perhaps even better, with standout tracks being 'Gift', 'Skullstorm' and the epic 'The Volcano', plus the liner notes are absolutely hilarious, for example, they have a list of 27 Things That Would Make Their Lives Better: if I could cum cheese whiz, if boobs had slurpee in them, laser eyes, a middle finger that can be seen from space, a hypercolor tuxedo, if clouds rained peepee, etc.) (PURCHASE HERE)

2005 - Christmas Eve I + II + NYC live 12"LP (compiles the 3"cd with a live show)

2012 - No (the new and punishing record that basically sounds like the apocalypse) (PURCHASE HERE)

2013 - Japanese reissues include new packaging (zero plastic), remastered tracks and bonus live songs. I bought all 5 and it set me back $150. Was it worth it? Yes. And 'No'. The bonus tracks are included in (brackets):
               *'Meditations in B' cd (Zozobra)
               *'Seminar II: The Holy Rites of Primitivism Regressionism' cd (Afraid of, Flood 1,
                  Sleeping With Snakes)
               *'Seminar III: Zozobra' cd (Gift, Common Species, Regain/Rejoin)
               *'Christmas/Christmas Eve I + II + NYC' live 2xcd
               *'No' 2xcd (complete live set at Brownies NYC, one track that includes Zozobra
                 -excerpt1, Skullstorm, Branch Breaker, Sonic Wave of Bees, Rape Athena, Flood 2,
                 Afraid of, Hot Salvation, Jaws of the Lion, Zozobra-excerpt1)

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OLD MAN GLOOM - Vipers (link to audio on youtube) from 'Seminar I'

OLD MAN GLOOM - Rape Athena (link to audio on youtube) from 'Seminar II'

OLD MAN GLOOM - The Volcano (link to audio on youtube) from 'Christmas'

OLD MAN GLOOM - The Forking Path (link to audio on youtube) from 'No'


OLD MAN GLOOM (full set link to live video on youtube)

3 comments:

  1. I definitely suggest giving each song a few listens...they're hard and sludgy, but they'll grow on you!

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    Replies
    1. Agreed, Lisa. Meditations in B was hard for me to get in to.

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  2. Hello. I stumble upon your blog and now I have a question. Does the No Japanese version's Disc 2, includes the live concert as a single track, or comes in separate tracks?

    ReplyDelete