A couple of dudes in Portland named Ben
noodling their way through the end times.

Today, I want to introduce you to a band I’m especially excited about, SEMUTA from Portland, Oregon. I’ve been following the heavy music landscape for the better part of three decades and have seen a lot of ebbs and flows in the City of Roses, with a lion share of great talent – from Yob to Witch Mountain to a band called Burials, which many of acolytes of the scene will recognize.

Their debut is the near 40-minute spin Glacial Erratic, and it so deftly weaves post-metal and progressive stylings with sludge that you could even call it beautiful. Not that there isn’t plenty of aggression here, as you would expect from the guitarist vocalist Benjamin Caragol, brilliant guitar play and melancholy, nihilistic lyrics. Words are concerned less about He is joined by whirlwind drummer Ben Stoller, who has been in a chain of area bands as well.

The album jumps to a start with swirling riffs on the order of an Elder for “Toeing the Line.”. Drums resound deep while a maze of guitar carries us from guttural lows to screeching highs. What floats to the surface over the winding, buzzing fray are melodic verses leading up to melancholy harmonies in the chorus. Easily one of my favorite tracks from the record. Watch the paint dry, stagnant like a light. Bathe in the dying dust, let the bodies rust. There is a wistful middle section that bleeds very nicely into the song’s rousing finish.

“A Distant Light” demonstrates the same complex drumming as before, with a nice bouncy beat, mathy rhythms, and some post-jazz touches. Again the vocals are a key ingredient in making this duo work so effectively. Anything grittier might spoil the contrast between bruising low-end and crunchy riffage. The singing is at an ideal range for the style. It just works.

“Glacial Erratic” is, of course, the title track, and the beat says it all with an enticing shuffle between drums and gentle thrusting cymbals. I like that the percussion is not ear-splitting. A great job from all involved in the production. Things intensify with rapid fire poly-rhythms in both instruments, intersected by crystalline intonations. Fans of proggy guitar will appreciate that Caragol doesn’t stay in his lane and a nice squak now and again.

I appreciate that the songs on the record have a certain distinction from one another, while remaining true to the band’s core sound. “Selective Memory” dashes about like waves against the rocks, with some amazing, perpetual motion guitar play and crashing drumming. Words contemplate the fall of humanity to its continued mistakes, as we forget the past from generation to generation.

As you can tell, there’s a lot at play here from concept to execution. “Wounds of Storm” is the closer and the first few minutes are like being frozen in time, floating in dreams. I couldn’t help but think of the haunting last track on Mad Season’s Above. But that petrays me as a ‘90s kid. The piece is well constructed and takes its time building. The drums have a booming resonance here, while meeting out a brilliant start-stop rhythm that platforms the verses ideally. The vocals really shine on this one.

Semuta’s Glacial Erratic releases this weekend get it here.

Give ear…

SOME BUZZ

Semuta is the duo of guitarist/vocalist Benjamin Caragol and drummer Ben Stoller, former members of noted Rose City bands Burials, Dark Numbers, and more. Together as Semuta, the two summon a mournful strain of sludgy post-metal, marked by enthralling songcraft and passionate execution. Mixed by Scott Evans at Antisleep Audio (Kowloon Walled City, Great Falls) and mastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege (Portrayal of Guilt, Torche), debut full-length Glacial Erratic depicts an ocean of melancholy, punctuated by triumphant swells.

Its five songs unfold over the course of 37 minutes, with Caragol’s rich, clean vocals soaring over icy lulls and metallic eruptions. Navigating gentle interludes, tense buildups peppered with odd time signatures, and heroic climaxes, Stoller delivers rock-solid beatings in the Bonham tradition and Caragol unfurls a spectrum of six-string magic, all in service of the songs’ momentum.

Caragol states: “When I was a kid all I really cared about was metal, but around the time I was 15 or 16 I started to branch out. A big moment for me was seeing Radiohead for the first time. I had never seen a group of musicians so willing to dispense with conventions, and explore such a wide array of sounds. After that I was drawn to heavy bands that experimented with sonics, odd times, and emotive melodies; bands like Neurosis, Converge, Godspeed… I really appreciate music that pushes boundaries while maintaining a lot of feeling. I want the music we make to be ambitious, but I also want it to resonate with people emotionally.”

Caragol’s goal, to create music that challenges the mind whilst stirring the soul, has been realized with Glacial Erratic, an album likely to hook the ears of any fan of progressive heavy music, from Russian Circles to Cave In and beyond.

Revealing the themes at play behind the new album, Caragol states: “Most of our songs are about the ways in which human systems are failing us. Governments waging endless war. Corporations hoarding wealth and exploiting natural resources at the cost of an inhabitable planet. The abandonment and persecution of our most vulnerable populations. It’s hard to look at our civilization and not see a gaping wound. And most people bury their heads in the gutter of social media and vapid entertainment; a desperate attempt to hold onto fleeting moments of joy as the world around us falls apart.”

In contrast to the grave messaging, the official music video for the album’s title track sports a lighthearted, B-movie tone. Directed by renowned documentarian of Portland’s metal and punk scenes, Shelby Kray, the video sees a party at a backyard skateboard ramp devolve into hallucinatory horror. Making cameos are a bevy of Semuta’s hometown friends, including members of Usnea, Dark Castle, Armed for Apocalypse, Stoneburner, Nasalrod, and more. “Portland has a pretty thriving music scene,” says Caragol, in regards to the video casting. “There’s a wide variety of bands, and the music community is pretty close knit.”

The Glacial Erratic album artwork was created by Ashleigh Caragol, with design and layout by Justin Cory. The album follows one self-titled EP, released by the band in 2020.

Semuta on Tour

May 31 - Portland, OR @ The High Water Mark (w/ Yellfire)
June 1 - Bellingham, WA @ Make Shift (w/ Melancholia)
June 2 - Seattle, WA @ The Sunset Tavern (w/ Heiress)
June 8 - Santa Rosa, CA @ Shady Oak (w/ Ex Everything)
June 9 - Oakland, CA @ The Stork Club (w/ Ex Everything)

One of the defining moments in my musical life is the moment I first heard the 2007 demo of Dutch outfit The Devil’s Blood. At the risk of sounding overly Dutch, I nearly fell off my bike when I first heard those four songs. The band, named after a Watain song, mixed classic rock sounds with the kind of messages one would expect from a black metal band. The demo was performed and recorded entirely by TDB mastermind Selim Lemouchi in his home, with his sister Farida performing the vocal duties from a closet. Listening to that demo still gives me the same chills that it gave 17 year old me, all those years ago.

I don’t think I have to delve too deep in the colorful, yet dark history of The Devil’s Blood. I wasn’t the only one who was impressed by the then anonymous band and after their debut show at the 2008 edition of Roadburn, the band took the world by storm. In the years after, the band released two records and several EP’s, supporting countless shows of a ritualistic nature, with the band members always covered in pig’s blood. While many a band would consider this a gimmick, for The Devil’s Blood it was a serious business. This is underlined by the fact that Selim refused to use fake blood but remained using the real deal for every show.

As suddenly as the band appeared, The Devil’s Blood ceased to exist. While in preparation of their third album, ‘III: Tabula Rasa Or Death And The Seven Pillars’ (Ván, 2013), Lemouchi decided to disband the band. The record, consisting mostly of demo’s, was released nevertheless, but The Devil’s Blood was no more. Selim released another EP and another record under the moniker of Selim Lemouchi and His Enemies. Lemouchi was a troubled soul, struggling with alcohol, drugs and depression for the biggest part of his life. He believed that every day lived after deciding your life is complete is a waste. He was always open about his issues and wanting to commit suicide when the time was there. That time came in March of 2014, a month or so after the release of his last record, 'Earth Air Spirit Water Fire.’

These days, occult rock is quite common and there are many bands playing the type of music The Devil’s Blood introduced me to, but none are quite like the Eindhoven band. During its lifetime, The Devil’s Blood’s lineup was quite the revolving door and many of its members popped up in bands like GOLD, Dool, RRRags and Death Alley since. The influence of TDB is clearly present in these bands, but none reach the heights of their common ancestor.

All that changed when Roadburn announced Molasses for the 2019 edition of their festival. The commissioned project, named after the last song of 'Earth Air Spirit Water Fire’, promised to bring new music, composed by former The Devil’s Blood members. Farida Lemouchi (vocals), Job van de Zande (bass), Oeds Beydals and Ron van Herpen (both on guitar), were supported by Matthijs Stronks (Donnerwetter) on keyboards and Birth of Joy drummer Bob Hogenelst to bring an original composition to life. The band delivered with their memorable live show of brand new music, sans pig’s blood. The show was supported by the double single 'Mourning Haze/Drops Of Sunlight’ (Ván, 2019). It was clear that this wasn’t going to be a one off and now, a year and a half later, Molasses (the band added another S to their name) released their debut 'Through the Hollow’ on Seasons of Mist.

I was afraid that my hopes were way too high for this release and that I might be disappointed, but the first minutes of the opening title track proved me wrong. The record starts with some strange, somewhat disorienting, almost proggy guitar work, but once the full band kicks in, you’re sucked into a dark maelstrom of musical goodness. The heavy psychedelic rock feels new but has a familiar touch in it. Not very surprising when four of the six members played in another band together. Although “Through The Hollow” is the longest track on the record, it maintains your focus by performing interesting twists and turns at exactly the right moment.

The band maintains its firm grip on your mind during “Get Out From Under” and “Formless Hands”. The combination of late 60’s, early 70’s psychedelic rock with occult influences and an almost operatic sense of grandeur captivates me now as well as it did during last year’s show at Roadburn. It takes me to that astral plane where so few bands manage to take me.

“Corpse of Mind” eases the record’s grip on me, although just a little. The track is somewhat of an acoustic reflection on the first part of the record, laced with Roky Erickson vibes. The band doesn’t allow the listener too much rest though, because “The Maze of Stagnant Time” swallows you right back in for the second half of the record. The track is a strange opposite of the previous track, in the sense that it’s outspokenly dark, but at the same time jazzy.

The second half is very dark in general, with the tracks “I Am No Longer”, “Death Is” and the instrumental “Tunnel” tapping into the darkest corners of your mind. It makes for a strangely therapeutic trip of your soul. The tracks are shorter than the ones on the first half and more focused, but the mystical veil remains present throughout the experience.

It’s clear that Molasses is very much aware of the legacy it carries, but the band certainly isn’t copying Selim’s style of writing. It is its own entity. That is, until “The Devil Lives.” Everything in the track, from the title, to the lyrics and even the guitar riffs references The Devil’s Blood. And it is glorious. This track would have fit in perfectly on early The Devil’s Blood records like 'Come, Reap’ and 'The Time of No Time Evermore.’ The track starts off as a hard rocking track, but moves to a hypnotizing, almost ambient dirge halfway through, to be followed by captivating guitar work. It’s the same combination of elements that makes 'The Time of No Time Evermore’ one of my all time favorite records. It is magic. It is a testament to the idea that , even though he left this world years ago, Selim’s influence is still very much alive. It’s a loving tribute to a man whose music has had an impact on many lives, mine included.

I know that I’ll probably never find music that will have an impact on me like those four songs that I put on my mp3 player, back in 2007 and I’m completely fine with that. The Devil’s Blood has been long gone and will never come back, but there are still bands that carry its legacy. 'Through The Hollow’ is the proof that Molasses is the band to lead them. It started out as a tribute, but has proven to be much, much more than that. The devil lives and it lives in Molasses.

The 2016 self-titled debut of LA doomers Old Blood (often styled as OLD BLOOD) manages to find its way to my turntable on a regular basis. The well-balanced mix of doom, stoner rock, and jazzy psychedelia pushes all the right buttons and Feather’s vocals makes it a product that is both hard hitting and sensual. The record’s cover, depicting a half naked and face painted Feather on a Ford Ranchero in the Californian desert, shows exactly what you’re going to get.

After that debut, we had to wait almost two years for new music, the almost erotic “Enjoy. The Devil” single. Then last year, Old Blood announced their split with Feather. Many bands might have called it quits after that, but the Los Angeles collective proved to have another ace up its sleeve in the form of Lynx.

The new front woman was introduced one year ago this month, when Doomed & Stoned hosted the worldwide premiere of the most excellent “Bloody Feathers” music video. Lynx proved to have high potential, with even more power and soul in her voice than Feather. Now, almost a year later, Old Blood is presenting us their sophomore record, ‘Acid Doom’ (2020), releasing in various formats via Metal Assault and DHU Records. Once again, the band delivers an honest, transparent performance, brimming with potential.

Acid Doom opens with “Lake Bottom,” an organ-driven psychedelic doom track, reminiscent of bands like Windhand, Mount Salem, and early Jess and the Ancient Ones. The following “Bridge to Nowhere” shows a different, more playful and experimental side of the band. It’s clear the band has grown quite a bit since their debut. Lynx’s full bodied and soulful voice is pulling the rest of the band in a heavier direction, fully embracing the doom aspect of their sound.

The first single of the record, “Veinscraper,” is a good example of that. It starts off as a more traditional slab of doom, with its slow pace and heavy organ sounds, but transitions into more dynamic territory, only to build up again to a suffocating wall of heaviness, with an entrancing solo to boot.

The band keeps up this dynamic of organ driven doom and grandiose psychedelic outings on “Heavy Water” before providing us with a jazzy intermezzo in the form of “Formosa Lodge.” This breath of air is only there to prepare us for the almighty “Slothgod.” This track is big, heavy, slow, and drenched in blues, all the characteristics of the only deity I could ever worship. Lynx seems to be giving her everything on this track, wavering between hypnotizing chants and soulful screams. This track is a personal favorite of mine. Honestly, how could it not be, with a title like that?

The band takes quite a turn on “Orbit,” the second single off of this record. I’m normally not big on power ballads, but if you doom it up like Old Blood does, I’ll happily make an exception. It took me a couple of listens to get into the track, but I’ve fully embraced it now.

The quintet reverts to their psyched out bulldozer doom for “Pentahead” with its almost joyous organ and trumpet sections. As good as the track is, it gets blown into oblivion by the killer “429.” The track moves from doom into stoner rock territory without feeling out of place. It’s one of those songs that will wander into your head, pitch a tent and refuse to leave for days on end. With that, it’s the perfect closer for Acid Doom.

Just like its predecessor, Acid Doom is a highly flammable mix of blues-infused doom, stoner, and psychedelic rock. Only this time, the band turned everything up a notch and gave J.F. Stone’s keys a more prominent role. As much as I enjoyed Feather fronting the band, Lynx proves to be a most worthy replacement. Gunner’s guitar work is more varied and the rhythm section, consisting of bass player Octopus and drummer Diesel, is as tight and heavy as you could hope for.

I’m sure Acid Doom will become as much a regular as Old Blood’s debut and I can only hope that we will not have to wait another four years for a follow up. This band is destined for doom greatness and Acid Doom might well be the vessel that gets them there.

HAYVANLAR ALEMI may be a new name to Doomed & Stoned readers, but the Turkish psychedelic rockers are well known in Ankara, where they’ve been doing their thing since 1999. The band’s current roster includes longtime guitarist Özüm İtez, bassist Hazar Mutgan, and drummer Işık Sarıhan. Together, they have developed an eclectic style that’s become quite recognizable to discerning ears.

Drawing inspiration from the rich musical heritage of the region’s long and storied history, Hayvanlar Alemni continue to innovate traditional and popular mediums. For example, they have been known to blend the rhythms and harmonic scales of Asia, Africa, South America, and the Middle East with surf, dub, stoner rock, and free-flying psychedelic improv.

It’s been three years since Hayvanlar Alemi whisked away to a recording studio in a sleepy little Italian town and locked themselves up to record material for their future releases. ‘Psychedelia in Times of Turbulence’ (2020) is a product of that concentrated multi-day jam sesh.

The new record includes a number of hefty numbers that mark an important milestone in the band’s 20-year evolution. These slower, progressive compositions borrow elements of stoner rock, doom, and even drone, while subtly preserving the overtones of the band’s globally-informed psychedelic folk rock.

Psychedelia in Times of Turbulence is out on Subsound Records and today’s Doomed & Stoned is giving you a listen with the music video “Thundercloud Museum,” created by Onur Ceritoğlu with footage shot in Fikirtepe, İstanbul for the art project “Yıkçık.”

Give ear…

In my head, death doom metal is almost hardwired to Russia and other parts of the former Soviet Union. I’ve got the impressive Solitude Productions catalogue to thank for that. With this, and the Finnish funeral masers like Thergothon and Skepticism, it’s easy to forget that my home country of the Netherlands also had a very vivid death doom scene in the late 80’s and early 90’s. Very few of the bands from that scene released more than one full length record, but their influence can be heard in death and doom metal releases to this day. Asphyx is probably the best known band, with an honorable mention for The Gathering, who started out as a death doom band, as proven by their debut record, “Always…” Sadly, there’s very little doom left in their current work.

One of the most influential bands from that era is Officium Triste, who celebrated their 25th birthday last year. This was celebrated with the release of the impressive Born To Lose - Doomed To Die compilation, on which befriended bands such as Majestic Downfall, Marche Funèbre and Illimitable Dolor covered songs from the band’s vast back catalogue, completed by versions of Editor’s “Weight of the World” and Anathema’s “Sleepless”, performed by Officium Triste themselves. As if that wasn’t enough of a treat, the band ended the year by releasing their long awaited follow up to 2013’s Mors Viri:  ‘The Death of Gaia’ (2019) through Transcending Obscurity Records.

And boy, was it worth the wait. The Rotterdam, or Rotterdoom as they dubbed it, band delivered something special here. I will not beat around the bush, this is the best death doom record you will hear all year. It has been on heavy rotation since I was obliterated by the band during Eindhoven Metal Meeting, some three weeks before I wrote this.

I think Officium Triste’s sixth is a record that should be experienced, rather than read about, but I will guide you through this opus of beauty and misery.

The record opens with a lush, melancholic orchestrated section on “The End is Nigh.” Just when you’re ascending onto a higher plane, the full band kicks in, with a starring role for Pim Blankenstein’s guttural vocals. What follows is a dynamic rollercoaster riding the border between depression and melancholy, driven by the perfect balance between heavy riffing, well defined string arrangements and grunts that touch your soul.

On “World in Flames” the band takes it up a notch by adding some clean guitar parts and some piano for good measure. The sound is even grander than on the opener. What’s also worth mentioning is that up to this point, the tempo has been relatively high for a doom metal band.

This changes on “Shackles,” which slows down to funereal levels. At first glance, the song might appear somewhat sluggish and repetitive, but it contains just the right accents to keep you focussed until the oh so heavy climax. It is at this point that we finally hear Pim’s emotive clean vocals.

“A House in a Field in the Eye of the Storm” is an aptly named little interlude to prepare us for the second half of this record. That second half starts off big with “The Guilt.” The song is as dark as the title suggests, but is given some air by the guest vocals of Mariska van der Krul and some tasteful violin work by Elianne Anemaat. Van der Krul might not be the best singer out there, but the emotion she puts in her lines fully make up for that. Add the guitar work with the emotional qualities one expects from My Dying Bride and you have a song that can leave a man in tears.

“Just Smoke and Mirrors” is a highly contrasting song, with it’s reassuring message. I was going to say uplifting, but no matter how optimistic the song sounds, there’s always that shimmer of darkness, looming there, waiting to grab you.

All that optimism is completely gone on “Like a Flower in the Desert.” This is the most headbangable song of the record, with it’s mighty uptempo guitar riff. This does not mean the song is uptempo. No, there’s more than enough slow misery, with some of the heaviest drumming on the record and Blankenstein’s most emotional, at some points bordering fragile, vocals.

The entire album seems like a build up for “Losing Ground,” the ten-minute closing of the record. For ten minutes, you’re thrown in every corner of the house of emotions the band has built up during the previous seven songs. It goes from brooding and dark to downright depressing, and I mean that in the best way possible. The middle section is a great example of how one can create greatness with simplicity. Before you know it, the band is back in full swing and they drag you to the finish line, or flatline, in this case, yearning for more.

Something as impressive as the musicianship displayed here, is the quality with which it’s presented. The music may be as old school as it gets, with clear references to the Peaceville Three, but the production is very clear and modern, with room for all elements without losing its punch. Add the beautiful artwork by Chris Smith and you’ve got something really special.

With The Death of Gaia, Officium Triste deliver the best record of their career so far, lifting their brand of death doom to a new level. And with the record being pay what you want on Bandcamp all through January, there’s no excuse not to own this masterpiece of misery and melancholy.

Name a handful of bands with that big, blow you off your feet kind of doom sound and you’re likely to count Conan, Slomatics, Yob, and VOKONIS among their number. The Swedish trio has gone through something of a transformation in recent years, preferring less bombast and more patience to contemplate the journey. This is evident from the material they’ve teased out leading up to their latest release.

Don’t read me wrong, it’s still quite recognizably Vokonis (you can’t miss Simon Ohlsson’s voice), but the songwriting is more expansive, layered, and intricate, weaving progressive and post-metal textures into the tapestry. Beyond that, we experience much more emotion from the band than perhaps we’ve felt before.

The result of this windy creative road is ‘Grasping Time’ (2019), the band’s magnificent third album, releasing appropriately on a native label, The Sign Records, which has quite the rip-roaring rocker roster, but also treats us to proggy sounds like Hallas, MaidaVale, and now Vokonis.

Watch for Grasping Time on September 6th (pre-order here) and check out the latest single/music video to emerge from the record. A hail of thunderous fury opens the song, as the scene alternates between Swedish forests and the foggy stage where Vokonis spins the yarn of the “AntlerQueen.”

Give ear…

Some Buzz

The heavy prog metal trio Vokonis is here to daze you with a sludge vibe that’s both furious and melodic. Drenched in blasting distortion, melody, and menace, Vokonis is ready to fully blossom as the progressive beast they’ve been morphing into since 2015. With a style that ranges from the heavy riffage and vocals of bands such as Baroness to utterly clean Pink Floyd-ish soundscapes, they aim to immerse listeners in a thrilling psychedelic journey.

Vokonis’s third album 'Grasping’ Time will be released in the autumn of 2019 on The Sign Records. Guitarist/vocalist Simon said of the process,“We’re practically living in our practice space, so it’s no wonder we’ve been productive. I always wanted for us to write our own Crack The Skye. This might be it.” Simon, bassist Jonte, and new drummer Peter keep creativity in high gear. While Vokonis has released two records and were featured in The Planet of Doom animated movie, the band isn’t stepping down in tempo. With a new sound, the trio is ready to launch themselves into the stratosphere.

Playing shows and putting a bigger focus on touring, Vokonis have shared stages with bands such as Monolord, Skraeckoedlan, and Bombus. Playing on the road has been instrumental in the evolution of the band. In contrast to the punk vibe to their live shows, they have drawn out a newfound strength in the studio. Laying down heaviness in new forms with “I Hear the Siren” and “Sunless Hymnal,” they also feel comfortable taking the feel down a notch. With a dynamic range the size of Sunn O)))’s backline, Vokonis show that their love for warm sound and melody is not lost on anyone.

Taking steps forward from their previous album The Sunken Djinn (2017), a heavy endeavor focusing on raw power and how far one can take fuzzed out riffs, Vokonis now sets out towards a new musical goal. Inspired by nature and the universe around us, they’ve deepened their sound immensely. Drawing inspiration from the shared vocals of Mastodon and a love for all things progressive, Vokonis has evolved into the usage of dual vocals. Now sharing lead vocals, Jonte’s melodic voice complements the fierce bark of guitarist Simon. “As we toyed around with the idea of sharing vocals we found out just how much more stuff Simon could do with the guitar. Playing leads or more complex riffs while I’m singing was something we only dreamed of before,” Jonte said of the trio’s new sound.

Overall, Vokonis is ready to take the next step. With a new dynamic sound and a goal set for the domination of the heavy underground, they’re coming for your ears. Get ready.

While Massachusetts outfit ELDER would go on to expand their sound on subsequent releases ‘Lore’ (2015) and 'Reflections of a Floating World’ (2017), it is 2011’s Dead Roots Stirring that really does it for me. Riffs. Grooves. Jams. This release has 'em. I get the urge to pick up my guitar listening to these songs. Pop in the disc (yes, I still buy CDs), hear the flick of the switch on the amp, and we get right to it with “Gemini.”

Nick DiSalvo creates a groove from a single note on his guitar before the bass (Jack Donovan) and drums (Matt Couto) come in to play right along. Each song is its own journey (the chorus in Gemini “I’m coming home/It’s been so long.”) This album is great for a roadie. The long spaced-out instrumentals are beautifully picked by DiSalvo, and give time for reflection on your own thoughts before the riffage returns to remind you that you are listening to a kick-ass song. And the guitar solos; glorious.

If you are not sold on this band by the end of track one…I cannot fathom a conclusion to that thought, as I am overcome with the fuzzed-out bass to begin track two.

Shortly thereafter, I find myself fully enveloped in DiSalvo’s guitar playing again. The hook in the title track is captivating, building up to a hefty verse riff. Continued variation propels the listener through this song, and onto “III.”

The wind blows and an acoustic melody is picked, as we feel lost on our road trip. Suddenly, we plug back in. Wrapped in the fuzz once more, we continue driving through this instrumental to reach “The End.” The beginning of “The End” is gracious before bursting into the main riff and a tantalizing fill/solo (one of several in this song alone).

Thankfully, The End is not the end of this album, as there is one more song to get us home. Aptly named “Knot,” the final track ties it all together. The fuzzed-out riffs along with the majestic passages we have enjoyed thus far culminate into one epic track, and we have found our way home.

OLDD WVRMS. It feels like they’ve been eating away at my flesh and swimming in my bloodstream for a very long time, so much so that I forget to talk about how they’ve infected me. I was halfway through a review of their last effort when life swept me away to other places, then it was already time for a new release from the Belgian band. No, scratch that – two new releases!

This month, the doomed instrumentalists revealed a split with Liège devotional math-prog threesome Ilydaen, just months after the release of the February five-tracker ‘Codex Tenebris’ (2019 - Cursed Monk Records). That’s now two long-plays, two extended-plays, a compilation album, and the aforementioned split to the band’s name.

OLDD WVRMS is a band that seems continually tinkering and experimenting. I mean, you really have to if you’re going to cross the coveted five-year mark as a band, a milestone that seems to be key long-term viability. “There is the beautiful, spacious atmosphere of Agalloch,” I wrote of their last record 'Ignobilis’ (2016). “All this is good news if you long for the cold, crisp air of winter, forests filled with unspeakable darkness, whispering tales of bravery, misunderstanding, and tragedy. The emotion is especially palpable and will haunt my memory for quite some time.”

I also noted at the time that Ignobilis represented “a massive turn to clean singing over previous releases.” In contrast, Codex Tenebris is a reconnects with works like 'Mater Serpentium’ (2015) and NØT (2015), which are also sans voix. Stylistically, you’ll find OLDD WVRMS painting from a similar tonal palate as Enslaved, even dabbling in the technical terrain of Psycroptic, though in much slower compositions.

OLDD WVRMS occupies the space between shadows, where slow, patient, penetrating riffs dwell and dark words are uttered. “La vallée des tombes” is one of the gems of the record, striking a strange balance between meditative bleakness and pounding discord. I’ve long been a fan of dissonant harmonies since I realized it was “okay” to play them as a pianist delving into the oeuvre of Franz Liszt and Alexander Scriabin. Like those composers, OLDD WVRMS utilizes dissonance no merely to jar the listener, but as a critical tactic for establishing bleak moods and a sense of the sinister. Codex Tenebris is available on Cursed Monk Records right here.

On the eve of their music video, “A l'or, aux ombres et aux abîmes,” Doomed & Stoned visited with ØW guitarist and OLDD WVRMS founder Ben in hopes of getting to know this fairly low-key and mysterious doom metal trio – rounded out by Oli and Cho on bass and drums – just a hair or two better.

What is the meaning of the band’s name OLDD WVRMS? Is their significance to the unique spelling of your name?

It’s old Germanic to “Old Worms.” There’s no particular meaning, although I’m a fan of the Dark Souls saga and it could be a reference to the primordial snakes.

I’m curious how your individual paths through life brought you three together?

We’re all from the French side of Belgium, down south. Cho and Oli have known each other for almost two decades. I was searching for bandmates to put up this new project and they were the perfect match. We all played in many bands before ØW, nothing worth naming.

Why does instrumental doom appeal to you guys so much?

We tried several singers, with expectations they couldn’t achieve. It wasn’t bad, but we felt locked in restricted areas – musically speaking, I mean. I took the mic on our previous release Ignobilis, singing just a bit, and even at that point we had the feeling that it wasn’t necessary at all, so we started writing the new album with a fully instrumental approach.

Rare is the band that can make instrumental metal stand convincingly on its own “two feet,” but OLDD WVRMS has done it. What would you say is the secret to pulling this style off successfully?

Thank you. Honestly, it’s hard to say. I guess it’s because we don’t hesitate too long on what’s good or not during the creation process. This and the fact that we blend a lot of influences from various horizons, seems to create something spontaneous. I think that’s what people like about ØW.

What instruments, amps, and gear do you find most useful in bringing your vision to life?

Cho’s setup is pretty straightforward: his beautiful DW kit with aggressive and shining cymbals – and a ferocious need to beat the shit out of it!

Oli is using an Ampeg SVT 3 pro, SWR Goliath and Megoliath cabs with a Fender Aerodyne, plugged into a pedalboard loaded with many effects, drives, octaver, delays, reverbs, etcetera, to achieve the drones parts.

I use a Marshall JCM 800 over modified by Ruthenberg, Marshall and Orange cabs, custom guitars by Denzo Custom Guitars, and a pedalboard loaded with overdrives, delays, and reverbs.

We record in my own studio, The Pale Flame, using the exact same rig live and studio.

I don’t read French, but I’m guessing the song titles are quite important in this selection of five tracks. Can you translate them to English and tell us what you intended to express with each song? Are they meant to stand independently or are they united by a concept?

Basically, all the songs originally had lyrics – and yes, they’re all linked, almost as a soundtrack. The atmosphere we wanted to translate through the songs titles were way more powerful in French, with a little something more poetic and dramatic.

The only concept about Codex Tenebris is the presence and absence of light and obscurity. The idea that the audience is not guided by lyrics and can travel between the songs with their own imagination and create their own stories while listening to our music is extremely satisfying. There’re no guidelines. The music serves your imagination.

So, the first track “Ténèbres” means “Darkness.” It starts the record in a cold, dark place, and song expresses loneliness and fear.

Second track, “A l’or, aux ombres et aux abîmes,” means “To gold, to shades, and to the abysses.” It’s my personal favorite, all about deception, anger, and melancholy.

The third one is “misère & Corde,” literally “Misery & Rope” – a song about grief and loss.

Next one, “La vallée des tombes” or “The valley of tombs,” is a psychoactive and hypnotic song about terror and despair.

“Fléau est son âme” is hard to translate, but it would be something like “scourged is his soul.” It is about letting things go, acceptance, and abnegation.

We briefly corresponded about your EP a few years ago, when I emailed you about a sample you’d selected for the final track. I heard another sample in the final track of the latest LP that intrigued me.

It’s an Egyptian monologue taken from the movie Angel of Mossad, and it’s in correlation with “Fléau est son âme.” It’s the story of The Boy Who Cried Wolf. The narration is beautiful.

What’s the area of Belgium like where you OLDD WVRMS calls home?

We all live in villages – small villages. Everything is very quiet and calm. Nothing ever happens. (laughs) Sorry, there’s just nothing much to say about it.

No worries! I’ve lived in my share of small towns, too, so I get it. What are some of the bands that you play with in your heavy music scene?

We shared the stage with badass bands like Hangman’s Chair, Primitive Man, -16-, Jucifer, the body, Grime, Ortega, and more – hopefully many more to come.

When you look into your crystal ball, do you envision yourself touring?

Yeah, we’d love to. Like everyone else, we have jobs and families, but touring once or twice a year during a few choice weeks would be awesome. Only time will tell if this will happens.

Finally, what would your ideal live performance look like, if you could spare no expense?

Small venues, crowed, with our light man Chouffe and a good sound engineer. You know, keep things simple.

Gothenburg heavyweights CITIES OF MARS recently blew us away with the release of their Doom Charts ranked release, ‘Temporal Rifts’ (2017 - Argonauta Records). It’s a thrilling, hard-charging album, with plenty to keep even the most jaded doomer enthralled. Imagine a Monolord meets Mastodon by way of Monster Magnet and maybe you get close to describing this far out listening experience.

Nowhere is this better illustrated than the track “Caverns Alive!” – which Doomed & Stoned is debuting for you today. It’s a part of a thrilling sci-fi epic that follows on the heels of the band’s previous EP Celestial Mistress (also illustrated by the stunning visuals of Axel Widén). I’ll not give much away of the plot, as I’d much prefer you drift off into the wide-awake fantasy realm of these tripped-out cosmonauts.

“Lyric-wise,” the band recently shared, “we are digging deep into the origins of our saga, with Doors of Dark Matter Pt 1: Barriers being the starting point of the tale that millennia later leads to the arrival of our cosmonaut Nadia in 1971.” The music video before sets the stage for this journey through time and space as we begin our forbidden journey to the ancient Cities of Mars!

Summer is nearing it’s end and soon we’ll find ourselves in fall, what I refer to as concert season. Of course, there’s certainly no bad time for live music but fall time just brings out the best time for a good headbang. In a month in a half, midwest stoner-doom trio ARCHARUS will be headed east on their trek to Descendant of Crom festival, including bands like Brimstone Coven and Karma To Burn.

Archarus impressed us in 2015 with their debut release “Render Unto Archarus”. Continuing on to share the stage with bands like Goya and The Sword, we were hooked enough to invite them to play day one of our very first Doomed & Stoned Festival, hosted in Archarus’s town of Indianapolis.

A few months after, they released a split with blackened sludge band Thorr-Axe paying tribute to JRR Tolkien’s “The Hobbit”. After a lineup adjustment they recently went out on a small touring, borrowing Drude and Potslammer frontman Jordan Smith to cover bass guitar duties and they even played inside a Waffle House!

Tour Dates

9/22 Nashville, TN w/Sea Witch & Season of Arrows at Springwater
9/23 Athens, GA w/Crawl, Marses with Bronze Brain
9/24 Johnson City, TN at The Hideaway
9/25 Raleigh, NC w/ Squail at Slim’s Downtown
9/26 Richmond, VA w/Desert Altar at McCormick’s
9/28 Philadelphia, PA w/Holy Smoke at Centurt
9/29 Frederick, MD w/ Foghound, Red Beard Wall and Thonian Horde at Guido’s Speakeasy
9/30 Pittsburg, PA Descendant of Crom festival at Cattivo

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~Doomed & Stoned Debuts~

It’s been over a year since I last talked to ZIRAKZIGIL, when the band busted out ‘Worldbuilder’ (2015 - Prosthetic Records), which was Doomed & Stoned’s Album of the Year.   The Portland-born progressive doom trio now finds itself in the mountains of Northern California at the family compound.   Connor and Seamus are brothers, Charlie their cousin, so it’s homecoming.   The band’s digs at the moment are run entirely on solar power.   “We pretty much have to do everything during the day,” they tell me, “and prioritize our fun after dark.”

Zirakzigil hauled all their gear up the dusty roads, where they’re perfecting a half-dozen new songs for a third album (earmarked for recording this spring and release in the fall).   “We might have to bust out the generator for this one,” Connor confides.   It’s a complete DIY effort.   “After the last couple recording sessions with Fester and Billy Anderson, we’ve learned a trick or two.”

The new album is inspired by a poem that Connor wrote called, “Run For The Hunt.”   The band was psyched.   “We got intrigued by the life of wolves and decided to re-read 'White Fang’ by Jack London.   From there, things unfolded in a very natural way,” explains Charles.   “Ending up here in the mountains and snow is the best place for us to make an album about an epic wolf journey.”

The quiet Seamus chimes in, “I really like to play in odd time signatures, the crazier the better.   In this new album we have a lot of polyrhythms.   We’re really pushing the boundaries.   This is going to be one of the best things we’ve ever put out. We’re very excited.”

To tide us over while we wait for the new material, Zirakzigil have filmed something special from Worldbuilder, set in their woodland home.   In this epic nine-minute video, the band reveals: “A young girl is sent on a spiritual quest and must battle an Evil Witch, before attaining mind altering bliss!” Not surprisingly, the boys got the whole family involved. “My sister plays the witch, my niece the little girl, and my cousin is the priestess.   Our cousin Cooper did the camera work. We just all wanted to get together an do something cool.”   By God, they’re a veritable cottage industry.

Here it is, Doomed & Stoned’s premiere of the music video “Terra Pericolosa” by Zirakzigil!

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