Tag: doom metal

Pentagram- Doom Ages Like Fine Wine At Ventura Music Hall

Rob Shepyer February 21, 2025

Something about old age injects more gravitas into a doom metal musician’s art. Perhaps its being closer to the great beyond, that dark place from which inspiration comes from that we all join at the end of our days. Perhaps something about graying hair and wrinkled skin makes the purveyor of doom metal all the more convincing to an audience. Doom metal, is of course a genre about bleakness and sorrow. A long life devoted to that style of music must have experienced everything the world has to offer, so to come away with singing “doom to world” instead of “Joy to world” gives fans the assurance that this artist is the real deal, and they’re not just playing a character in a gimmick. Then of course, there’s pace. Doom metal is slow metal. Slowness and sloth are what some equate with growing old. Dragging your feet, letting time pass you by because it makes no difference. All these ideas are second nature to doom metal’s mournful verses and tones. Bobby Liebling and the boys in Pentagram have been around since the inception of doom metal. Playing this genre of music before it had a name. To them, it was

Godflesh at Brick by Brick by Becky DiGiglio

A Proven Experiment: Oblivion Access Festival Returns To Austin June 15th-18th

Danny Ryan June 9, 2023

Oblivion Access Festival will be returning to Austin, Texas in 2023 to host their signature celebration of experimental music and art showcases from all different walks of life, and this is not a year to be slept on. Spanning over multiple genres with darker gothic performances of Drab Majesty and TR/ST, heavier metal grooves of Godflesh and Earth, stagedive-filled hardcore sets from Drain and Drug Church, and even underground hip-hop artists like Clipping and Lil Ugly Mane; Oblivion Access Fest is sure to blow your mind no matter what your brand of the avant-garde and strange falls under. related: Austin Psych Fest 2023 – Authenticity In A Far Out Place Germany’s classic progressive rock band Faust is headlining the festival to celebrate 50 years of their mind-melting psychedelic career. Faust hasn’t graced America in 5 years with their mesmerizing grand performances, and they’re the most authentic way to experience the weirdo avant-garde roots of progressive rock live and in-person nowadays. Experiencing Faust live is a rare opportunity with how sparsely they visit the States, and their performances take you on an introspective adventure that is sure to stick in your mind just as much as an actual psychedelic experience would.

Candlemass at 1720 shot by Joshua Alvarez

Candlemass at 1720: The Church of Doom

Danny Ryan April 20, 2023

While doom metal is a metal subgenre that has come and gone in waves throughout its history, bands that enter the scene develop such a large cult following that there has never been a need for a huge influx of new artists taking on the sound. The 1980’s severely lacked newer doom metal artists with the oversaturation of hair metal and thrash at the time, but Candlemass boldly took the throne as the Kings of Doom for that era when they were needed most and have maintained their legendary status ever since. With heavier psychedelic rock and metal rising in popularity again, Candlemass have once again returned to Los Angeles for the first time in 6 years for a sold out show at 1720 Warehouse to reclaim their spot on that throne. If you’re in any way a fan of the olden days of heavy metal before blast beats and death growls, seeing Candlemass live is one of the most authentic ways to experience these roots of metal music that are rarely seen nowadays. Related: Speedy Speedy Speed Metal – Midnight at Union 1720 Warehouse has quickly grown to become one of Los Angeles’ most iconic venues with the wide

Morning Stars Over Lodge Room: King Woman’s “Celestial Blues” Release Party

Janky Smooth Central Command August 4, 2021

You’ve never heard an album more Chthonian than King Woman’s Celestial Blues What do I mean by that? I don’t mean this is the most raw, underground punk sounding album ever. What I’m saying is that with “Celestial Blues” King Woman has lent a voice and story to all the mysteries working beneath the surface layers of reality around us, be they the internal workings of the body, the mysterious processes of the Earth, the unfathomable cycles of birth and destruction in the cosmos, or the interplay of good and evil magic with everyday life. When King Woman closed out their Sunday night Celestial Blues album release party with a cover of the Stone Roses’ “I Wanna Be Adored”, I thought some kind of mind reading must’ve been at play because after seeing a full set of Kris Esfandiari’s doomy siren songs, my main takeaway was being genuinely impressed with how much she is utterly adored by her fans. They seemed to have her back unconditionally and after every song when the band let it all hang loose, the audience was there to catch them in rounds of applause, whistles and cheers. All that was missing from the evening was a

Doom in Paradise: Psycho Smokeout at Catch One

Dillon Vaughn May 11, 2019

Nearly two years ago Psycho Entertainment began teasing the return of Psycho California – the fest that ran its initial three years proving itself and building its reputation in Orange County before being taken away from us by Sin City. Despite the slight name change, the fresh presentation of the inaugural Psycho Smokeout lived up to the reputation of its predecessor with a streamlined experience and highly curated lineup of Psycho alumni and first timers alike. related content: Catch One Hell Of A Night With Integrity And Pageninetynine Presented By Psycho Entertainment With a lineup filled with Janky favorites it’s hard to decide where to begin. The stacked scheduling fueled a rush through the maze-like floorplan of Union granting access to rooms and passageways I’d never even known existed. Each twist and turn through black painted halls seemed to bring me to another section of the club where something insane was happening: three separate rooms with live music (one of which included pole dancers), a smaller room with burlesque shows, live glass blowing outside, walls of merch, and a corner devoted to Painkiller Kim DJing next to an (unfortunately out of order) Icee machine. (Apparently the Icee guy never arrived

Prophets of Doom: Yob and Acid King at Teragram

Rob Shepyer September 14, 2018

In times of social decay, metalheads thirst for one specific strain of heavy music to level their peeking frustrations and fears simply by crushing them equal to all other feelings. Call it masochistic but with all the suffering in the world, being enveloped by riffs so heavy that your teeth tremble in your gums, actually treats the pain. So, give us heavy, crushing guitars. Give us slow riffs that stretch longer than life lines. Give us drums that crash like thunder in storms too thick to see through. Give us doom, impending, loud, and full of sorrow. Doom is the sonic version of the abyss we stare into and see our reflections in. No American doom band today is quite as powerful live as Yob. Not since Saint Vitus has this subgenre seen such soul within it. I take plenty of bands into account when I make this bold verdict and if you disagree then leave me with my opinions to a solitary death and purple satin upholstered casket. related content: Pallbearer & Gatecreeper Stop At Echoplex Reminds Us- Guitar Solos Matter Doom lyrics in reviews aside, Church of the 8th Day booked another monstrous show with Yob, Acid Bath,

How to Trip Off Volume: Elder at The Roxy

Rob Shepyer August 23, 2018

How do you get high? Flower? Shrooms? Synthetics? Running? There are many ways. Some of them led me to this style of stoner/doom metal in the first place but once I had first began frequenting those concerts and stood among other trippers before a stage where a high was induced through music, I realized not every method can be found on erowid.com. Volume can get you high. Walls of sound can break you through sobriety’s ceiling and beyond that threshold is an especially consciousness-shaking altered state. Few bands build walls of sound so high and holy as the ones featured at The Roxy at this show with progressive doom virtuosos Elder. related content: Earthless Liquified My Face At Teragram With Third Circle Visuals behind the projector’s eye, shooting liquid light on stage as if spitting venom like a Dilophosaurus on LSD, the stage was set for Los Angeles’ best kept stoner secret Yidhra to take the stage. Combining heavy, vibrating doom riffs with hallowed, commanding growls, and a theremin’s whirling alien essence, Yidhra’s sound is original and soul-stirring. Like if Sleep slept with Kenneth Anger’s Technicolor skull, this is dark-side of your trip black light metal to the bone. This

Live Desolation: Khemmis at the Echoplex

Dillon Vaughn July 10, 2018

Performing an album in it’s entirety is generally reserved for bands with monumental releases; devoting a night to a single release shows confidence in the structure and integrity of the album as a whole and seemingly elevates the title and importance of the gig from a show to an “event.” Doubling down on the critical success of their previous releases, Khemmis performed their new album Desolation in full recently at the Echoplex for the first night of a very short run of intimate album release shows in LA, Chicago, and Denver. related content: Los Angeles Strikefest At The Regent: By Die-Hards, For Die-Hards Desolation was something I avoided listening to before the show as I wanted my first experience to be in a live setting. I had only seen Khemmis once before – at last year’s Psycho Las Vegas – and while a late afternoon festival set time doesn’t generally lend as well to showcasing a bands strength as a headlining set does, their performance was still something that cemented me as a fan and remains a highlight of the weekend. That being said, the LA event did not disappoint. Beginning the night with a powerful performance of Hunted’s title

Sonic Punishment: Primitive Man and Celeste at Union

Janky Smooth Central Command June 13, 2018

The variety of soundscapes in metal are an interesting thing; even the untrained ear can notice a vast difference between acts like Cough (who also performed at Union in May) and Primitive Man – two bands that share the label of “doom” but approach their craft with entirely different methods and goals. With a stacked lineup including Primitive Man, Celeste, Infernal Coil, and Pendulous, this evening was an interesting exercise of the flexibility in sound and tone within those parameters for significantly different sub-genres and a fine example of just how well some of those combinations can work. related content: Crushed At Communion: Cough And Grime At Union Pendulous play a fine brand of funeral doom packed with the two most essential qualities any group in this sub-genre needs: depression and introspection. Each song (while relentlessly crushing) seemingly drifts through space as an agonized ghost: endless suffering, longing, and helplessness riddling a soul cursed to an eternity attempting to grasp a line of comfort always just out of reach. Easily the most captivating performer of the evening, vocalist Eric Rezsõ Mendoza delivers each line as if he’s crawling through miles of broken glass and gives the band the emotional strength

Crushed at Communion: Cough and Grime at Union

Dillon Vaughn May 25, 2018

Union is a weird venue (and I say that entirely with love.) The range of genres and performers you can see there within any given three day period is unparalleled; multiple rooms and the willingness to take risks and work with promoters and musicians from vastly different scenes gives many acts a proper home beyond DIYs and dives – often juxtaposing seemingly alien niches on a single patio on the busiest nights. This lack of pretension has allowed some of the most intimate and (truly) stacked metal lineups to flourish here over the month of May – all beginning with Cough and Grime. related content: Satyricon’s Final Los Angeles Show At The Regent: A Night Too Blackened To Forget A quick glance at Midnite Collective’s past events reveals a finely curated selection of some of the most forward thinking and refined artists in doom and sludge – bands more than capable of exceeding the expectations set by the buzz and hype surrounding them: Cough and Grime being no exception to the standard. The night began with support from Midnight Collective favorites Trapped Within Burning Machinery and -(16)-, each delivering charged performances that set the tone perfectly. -(16)- has grown on

Warning At Alex’s Bar: In the Front Row “Watching From a Distance”

Rob Shepyer October 23, 2017

The rise of doom metal’s popularity after the 2000’s had generated numerous doom and stoner bands that have saturated the scene with a lot of the same old sounds. Some bands take doom places that aren’t even metal I’d argue, like Australia’s Divide and Dissolve. One of the second wave doom bands that were able to leave a mark on the genre and get people to reconsider the possibilities of playing slow and heavy is the United Kingdom’s Warning. Their 2006 album Watching From A Distance was the most sensitive and gut-wrenching metal I had ever heard up to that point- it was doom-poetry. Oddly, it may be the case that Warning take more influence from folk than traditional doom bands like Candlemass or Saint Vitus or even Black Sabbath. Doom is simply the musical vehicle the band needs to perform the message. Warning planned to tour Watching From A Distance in its entirety earlier in the year, with Sound And Fury promoting their first Los Angeles show in years, unfortunately for Warning, the reign of president Donald Trump plagued them with visa issues and stopped them from entering the country. My hopes of checking the band off my bucket

Chelsea Wolfe: She-God of Luciferian Witches And Other Soul Harvesters At The Regent

Rob Shepyer October 1, 2017

Chelsea Wolfe dresses in black. The color simply knows how to fall correctly upon her body. She feels comfortable in black and black feels comfortable on her. With her pale skin and thousand mile cold-detached stare, I don’t ever think I’ve seen a closer resemblance to a mythical siren grace a stage. And I certainly never figured sirens could play a mean doom guitar. Chelsea’s latest album, Hiss Spun is a beautifully grueling venture into the darkness of down tuned metal guitar and noisy wall of sound electronics to make what is best described as doom blues, as opposed to doom metal. I’ve never heard doom sound as rhythmical or groovy as I did beholding Chelsea and her band at the Regent. Her drums and guitars can thrash at intense speeds and make you dance while never departing out of the doom realm. It requires some kind of forbidden alchemy and golden arithmetic to achieve that balance. I see a lot of artists trying to create a similar image to hers, trying to introduce a certain level of “evil” into a mainstream bluesy sound. I don’t think anyone pulls it off quite as well though, the others seem like caricatures,