Doomed & Stoned has pure ferocity on display this week, as Baton Rogue sludge pummelers THOU (now in their 20th year) take on Kentucky audiences at the Portal venue in Louisville. Bryan Funck (vocals), Andy Gibbs (guitar), Matthew Thudium (guitar), Mitch Wells (bass), and Tyler Coburn (drums) were snapped earlier this month by the lens of longtime contributor Johnny Hubbard. The doomers have been touring in support of their sixth original full-length album, 'Umbilical’ (2024).

“This record is for the radicals, the crackpots, the exiles who have escaped the wasteland of capitulation,” says the band. “This record is for the militants and zealots refusing to surrender to comforts, to practicalities, to thirty pieces of silver. And this record is most especially for the weaklings and malingerers, burdened by capricious indulgence, hunched by the deep wounds of compromise, shuffling in limp approximation, desperately reaching back towards integrity and conviction.”

At last, as we plunge into the abscess, blighted spirits so bereft. Shameful weeping, voices echo from the bottom of a well. Can you hear the cries of worn out phrases from listless gazes, pretentious lingering in childish phases, the heartless hand and empty gestures, the pitiful searching for hollow pleasures. Lost in a palace of mirrors, staring at infinite reflections gazing back, too near to see the mark of shame. Lost in empty dialectics, the art of building up and tearing down, of discussing all things and accomplishing nothing. Of compromised ideals, friendships abandoned, our works substandard, principles meandering. So speak our names as a warning, as a curse, as a failure. At last, it’s time to die. So die.

Everything you’ve ever done, everything you’ve ever said, everything you’ve ever felt is a dagger on my belt. And I’m going to stab it till you’re dead to me. Everything I’ve ever done, everything I’ve ever said, everything I’ve ever felt is a chain around my neck. And you’re going to drag it till I’m dead to me. I thought nothing could come between us, two dreamers. But our mistakes are etched in stone till the end of our lives, till the end of time. And we’re being crushed beneath the weight.

When the shrieking eye turns inward to the prison without locks, weakness laid bare. The artifice peeled back. The true face is revealed. To see the walls of limitation, grey skinned and impure, that righteous incoherence. When the shrieking eye turns inward, weakness is laid bare.

Unclench those fists and release that white knuckled grip, a resolution to fruitless searching, a renouncement of sentimental frailty. Farewell, age’ed stalwarts. Farewell, stagnant corruption. Arise from our deathbed. Return to life and walk away. Life used to be so hard, now everything is easy. Turn back the page with my friend, with my friend from so far away. We’ve seen how love can grow, now we see how it dies. Peace has finally come upon me, and it leaves me weak. Farewell, age’ed stalwarts. Farewell, ancient corruption. Arise from our deathbed. Return to life and walk away. And I’m not coming back.

Yes, There Was a Sludge Convention
               …This is What it Looked Like

It happened in the last days of May, right on the cusp of summer. The fandom of filthy, distorted riffs converged upon Moscow to celebrate the riff. This was the third such meeting, held at China Town Cafe, many of the bands representing the finest this new generation of Russians have to offer.

We’ve sung the praises of bands like Pressor, ИЛ, Remote, Roswell Surgery, Crypt Jaintor, and of course Without God on Doomed & Stoned before - and I was excited to discover the new names among the rotten lot. Here is a taste of the bands that were featured at Sludge Convention III.

DAY ONE

Buzzliner

Explore the music of Buzzliner here.

C.X.

Explore the music of C.X. here.

Illegal Ones

Explore the music of Illegal Ones here.

Red River Hog

Explore the music of Red River Hog here.

609 (BOG) 60g

Explore the music of 609 (BOG) 60g here.

Stone Tree

Explore the music of Stone Tree here.

Without God

Film by Darkiya

Explore the music of Without God here.

DAY TWO

Burning Loss

Explore the music of Burning Loss here.

Crypt Jaintor

Explore the music of Crypt Jaintor here.

Dronegoola Machine

Explore the music of Dronegoola Machine here.

ИЛ

Explore the music of ИЛ here.

Montezuma’s Revenge

Explore the music of Montezuma’s Revenge here.

Pressor

Explore the music of Pressor here.

Remote

Explore the music of Remote here.

About That Poster….

For the last three years, Kastyan Kastyanych (of the band C.X.) has been drawing that Sludge Dude you see on the festival poster. Over the years, the Sludge Dude has become symbolic of the Russian doom-sludge metal and stoner-psychedelic rock scene. The Sludge Convention is a veritable family reunion of fans and bands who come together to celebrate all things heavy!

Chelsea Wolfe: Dark Goddess

Words & Photographs by Elizabeth Gore

Chelsea Wolfe and Dead Forest Index were performing their final night of the tour, coincidentally their second night at the Teragram Ballroom, but still packed as a full house.

The band traversed the stage, as a slow procession, with lights a blazing red to carry into the drone of “Demons.” Wolfe’s evocative soprano register coupled with the requested reverb was an absolutely perfect haunting mesh of genius.

Many artists know their vulnerabilities will be revealed on stage, and Wolfe is really no stranger to this concept. She was adorned in a large, black shroud of simple elegance, black flames wisping about her face. Make no mistake–this music is from another place, where twisted and unhinged emotions run free.

I only recently discovered Chelsea Wolfe, and knew I couldn’t miss this upcoming performance. Just as you would hear from ‘Abyss’ (2015) or 'The Grime and the Glow’ (2010), their compositions live are woven inside-out, no-nonsense. There is a wild and inspirational pain here that is furiously uncontained. This performance was meant to break the barrier between what holds people back in full expression. Needless to say, I cried a couple of times (those bastards), as I released all abandon and let their music assault my psyche.

From all of the members feeling through each note, each was going through their own form of catharsis: Gowrie relentlessly slamming through the wall of sound, there was this sense that the songs that affected her most were from Abyss. Wolfe occasionally beating her skull to push through anxiety rooted in the performance, compelling herself to reach her own physical and mental climax. Tulao pivoted and swayed with his moderately delayed-guitar, and would explode with movement when the composition would hit various crescendos. Chrisholm would mimic the chaos of the lights, which were at top notch Oscar Winning Performance quality to highlight the dark and ethereal mood, and would pound his bass at various intervals to spew extra fuzz.

After being beckoned back to the stage with a unanimous roar, Wolfe requested to the sound engineer, “Can we please turn down these lights? They’re killing my soul.” Calderón joined the rest of the band on stage to close the evening, starting with “Pale on Pale.” The inclusion of the violin on stage was a wonderful surprise. It always brings immense joy to my heart when “non-traditional band instruments” are incorporated into the music, and when the musician can present themselves on stage, rather than only be an accompaniment as backing tracks.

When you go see Chelsea Wolfe, understand that most of your senses will be marauded. They’re able to span between genres and reach a wider demographic, but it’s in their cultivating composition that lends to a magical and haunting experience that isn’t born out of duplication.

Be sure to imbibe in the auditory madness of 'Abyss’ (available on Sargent House Records here).

Setlist

1. Demons
2. Carrion Flowers
3. Dragged Out
4. After the Fall
5. Tracks
6. Moses
7. Movie Screen
8. Feral Love
9. House of Metal
10. Simple Death
11. Iron Moon
12. Survive
13. Pale on Pale
14. Color of Blood

A Season In The Sky: Vhöl & Sleep Join Neurosis
For Epic 30th Anniversary Show Concert Review by Guy Nelson
Photographs by Alyssa Herrman of Foto Phortress

We as humans have an intense need for marking milestones and occasions. This act of tradition dates back as far as history will show us and takes many forms. With the pace of life today, these occasions are often planned and organized down to the smallest factor, making it take on a life or existence when the marked point in time has not even transpired yet. This practice often leads to the organizers and attendees losing the ability to actually enjoy the sacred moment that was being put on such an important pedestal.

In rare instances there are still moments in time that are planned, anticipated and executed to a fabulous result and March 4th, 2016 was the start of one of these lucky Milestones. The 30th year anniversary of NEUROSIS existing as a band was the purpose of this great gathering. The event would be a 3-day residency at The Regency Ballroom in San Francisco, California with support from an amazing array of bands. March 4th’s line-up with Vhöl and Sleep has to be one of the most epic and complimenting bills that has ever been put together.

VHÖL’s frantic pace and high energy jolted the evening to life. Vhöl has a masterful way of mixing punk, hardcore and traditional metal that reminds me of my earliest sparked interest in heavy music, but with a gritty texture all its own.

Most bands pulling from these influences are usually seen as clever nods to the past, painting the same pictures with different colors. However, Vhöl have managed to take these traditional building blocks and create unique music that can stand alone, yet stand in the halls of legends as legitimate contributors.

Looming behind Vhöl’s gear stood a towering wall of amplification. A bass rig consisting of 5 Ampeg heads with matching 8x10 cabs and a Marshall full-stack walled off stage right while a mesmerizing Tetris stack of heads and Emperor cabs blocked off the left for guitar. Sitting on top of the guitar rig was a seldom seen Laney Klipp, which is the same amp used on an album called Master of Reality. The ideal of this amp’s tone is the platform for what makes seeing SLEEP live such a powerful experience. This insane amount of stage volume fuels the band’s energy. Witnessing Matt and Al harness this power is like watching them command the reigns of some monstrous behemoth.

There are very few instances where you can experience this power at a concert anymore as it is not common to have a band and crew who will put forth the needed effort just to even transport the gear, let alone set it all up and use it correctly. Now, you can have all the volume in the world but if you do not know what you’re doing than it is just that much worse. Sleep as a band know exactly what they are doing and have the technique and finesse needed to give this one-of-a-kind experience to the audience.

All of this requires a very tall order from drummer Jason Roeder. Sleep’s tempo falls into a range that can be uncomfortable for most drummers to keep consistent. It is much easier to push yourself to go faster than to keep solid time at a lower BPM, and obviously Jason has the chops to keep everything steady and driving while actually hitting the drums hard enough to match the power coming from the rest of the band. It should also be noted pulling double-duty as a drummer is never an easy feat but you could never guess by both performances Jason would give that night.

After watching a small army remove the amp wall, final preparations for Neurosis to take the stage were underway. I’ve stood in this same situation many times before. Anticipating another great show, contemplating what may be in the set list and how long before that drunk dude gets kicked out. This time something was different. I couldn’t help but think of the huge list of bands that have been directly influenced by Neurosis’ music and mentality. This influence is widely known and documented, I just usually think about it while listening to a band that has an obvious pull in style and or technique. But watching the crew and band buzz around the stage performing final checks had a profound effect on me. I realized at that moment what it meant to remember an occasion, or important moment. And I realized that as many people will share similar milestones as in birthdays and anniversaries of their own, Neurosis gave each listener a milestone to remember right from the start.

Every time I hear or am involved in a conversation about Neurosis or its members someone will chime in with a heartfelt regaling of the first time they heard either a particular song or album by the band. These stories are told with such joy and admiration that it is hard not to remember most, if not all of them. This rare form of inspiration from a collective group cannot be quantified or synthetically reproduced, which is why it’s able to exist.

And just as you usually do not plan for when you are going to hear your first helping of a band that will change your life, you usually cannot plan many of life’s truly great moments. March 4th was a planned great “moment” that still leaves me in an almost disbelieving state even though it did happen. Watching a room full of people feel that same energy will be a new milestone for me with Neurosis. What the bands, crew, staff, friends and family created that weekend will never happen in the same way again, which is exactly the way it is meant to be.

The set list from this performance spanned the band’s entire career. The rumors of them playing material off of Pain of Mind were buzzing around the venue all night as if the more it was thought about the more it would be true, and it was. A song from 10 of their studio albums as well as 1 song off of Sovereign (“An Offering”) took the audience on a time traveling journey through their works. Their cover of Joy Division’s ‘Day of the Lords’ was also performed making this one of the most dynamic performances the band has done. This was a truly amazing way to celebrate this momentous occasion and honor one of heavy music’s greatest bands.

Night of the Shred!

Words & Photos by Elizabeth Gore (D&S California)

Interviews by Frank Heredia (Editor at Large, D&S West)

On All Hallows Eve, a horde of doom fans arose and gathered for the annual Night of the Shred at Brick by Brick in San Diego, California, an evening made possible by Thief Presents. As a fog was poured forth, Night of the Shred, hosted by Thief Presents, would be nothing short of spectacular. With a wicked line-up of Bang!, Black Bombaim, Danava, Elder, Monolord, The Great Electric Quest, The Shrine, Windhand, and Wo Fat we were at their mercy of thundering and spell of virtuosity. Quite a few people got into the Halloween spirit, as there were plenty in costume, as well as the sponsored token of the PBR mascot prancing around the venue. Aside from the spirits and phantoms, Night of the Shred was accompanied by a projector cycling ‘Creepshow,’ ‘Night of the Living Dead,’ and other macabre favorites whilst the bands rampaged on.

AND…while you enjoy the sights, check out our special pre-show radio broadcast, featuring songs from each of the bands who attended Night of the Shred!

BANG!

Fueled by the musings of Frank and Frankie, this heavy metal trio Bang! has a wide history of influence on the doom scene. With their clear influences from 70’s doom and rock and roll, blended with their groovy and goofy melodies, they were a joyous band to observe. Both Frank’s and their drummer Mr. Leger, jammed through their older releases such as “Death of a Country,” and their self-titled album, ‘Bang’ (1971), flawlessly transporting us to a performance that would have been of original inspiration. Their instrumentation of their later works, “Return to Zero,” and “The Maze,” were also quite refreshing to hear live, and to see the audience grooving to their funky madness. For the performance Bang presented, they expressed the same energy as their peers, if not in a more whimsical way.

Doomed & Stoned is proud to bring you this exclusive interview with Bang! Frank Heredia, our editor at large on the West Coast, catches up with this classic band making their huge comeback on Night of the Shred!

BLACK BOMBAIM

You say this band came all the way from Portugal? Gadzooks! “Coming from the unexpected musically prolific small city of Barcelos,” their bio states, “Black Bombaim are three guys that grew up together exchanging records, amidst bucolic landscapes of Portuguese countryside and excessive drug experiences, playing outer-space jams, from planets yet to be discovered.” Thief Presents brought them to Brick by Brick and I think all of us were pleasantly surprised with how deftly these three jammed!

DANAVA

Frank Zappa graced the stage…no wait…that was Mr. Blackwell! Danava was the first band of the night, image-wise, to appear to be from a past era of doom, based out of Portland. They highlighted their new one, “At Midnight You Die,” which seemed like a fitting song for the theme of the night, but luckily was not a forecast for the Red Death to appear. Judging from their older material, Danava’s sound was quite different because their set did not feature synthesizers, but the material seemed to have the same depth as originally intended, infused with creative fills. Danava had a solid crowd gathered at their feet, chanting away, whilst a pit filled with parading Halloween characters carried on the frivolity of the night.

ELDER

The trio began their set in what can only be explained as a cacophony of sound. Elder slapped us right in the balls and kept on going with smooth intent with unstoppable, high-geared songs from the stunning new album 'Lore,’ as well as classic from 'Dead Roots Stirring.’ The crowd cheered them on through their occasional tuning, and it was wonderful to see that they wanted nothing but a perfect full set for the crowd to enjoy. The variety in their set was fantastic due to the revolving tempo between compositions and contrasting textures. Elder certainly isn’t afraid to venture into a more heavy metal type of jam and slam straight back into their doom influences. With the progression in their set list, we could appreciate and revel in Elder’s quest to take us on a journey through their own evolution.

THE GREAT ELECTRIC QUEST

Hailing from their hometown of San Diego, The Great Electric Quest really set the tone for night, warming up the crowd with what is the epitome of doom and shred. Dingvell and Donner left no portion of the stage untouched as these warriors were frenetic. The set was supercharged with “Madam Elbib,” “Electric Savior,” and “1901.” “Egypt” especially left a lasting presence on the audience, as we were able to appreciate the unique approach behind the literal and methodical composition of slaves of labor rallying for freedom against their oppressors. The Great Electric Quest, with their chuggy riffs, mid-tempo pace, and clean yet raw vocals lit up the house and laid the foundation for the night.

MONOLORD

Taking the stage next were Monolord to bring us the new and improved sound of Gothenburg doom. Monolord rang out into the night, and their psychedelic riffs jolted our nerves. It was as though every note played by each member was felt completely through and made to settle in-between the air molecules. The air was dense with their fuzz while they ran through their arrangements between their albums 'Empress Rising’ and 'Vænir’ (must-haves for any doom collector!). Much like when an audience watches Earth, they would agree that there is nothing lethargic about Monolord because of the atmosphere they set. I can also say I was quite impressed with the amount of head banging and swaying they were accomplishing without their headgear flying off. Quite masterful.

Check out Frank Heredia’s exclusive interview with Monolord on Night of the Shred!

THE SHRINE

Landau and Murphy were both in costume for the night. Landau was certainly the more “risqué,” of the two, wearing a dress, lips smeared with rouge; his noggin was adorned with his helmet. Not to say these warriors don’t take their music seriously, but this was obviously going to be the grand finale of the entire party. They peeled out their blistering shred and the crowd got riled up within seconds. With “Rare Breed” just making its debut, they laid down their quickest jams, whipping all around on stage, tongues out and grimaces galore. The mayhem of their well-crafted stoner doom/melodic rock & roll and punk attitude felt like it would carry on until the sun rose. Landau’s wild and wailing leads and solos, even for their older material they played from “Bless Off,” and “Primitive Blast,” are well controlled and do not give off the vibe of improvisation (don’t let them fool you!). It was also a treat to see Murray taking a part in the folly with his own eccentric expression and instinctive fills. All in all, The Shrine is just always a blast to see, and there’s always something new to be discovered by watching and listening to their performance. They were the destined heavy hitters for closing Night of the Shred.

WINDHAND

The quintet gathered on the stage. The incense was lit. Morris began the chug, and the swaying and rocking began. Out of many of the doom metal bands I have seen for the first time, I would say Windhand is the most intense, emotionally speaking. Windhand seemed to hide their grand personalities within the music, which is a translation for their self-expression, and I wondered what more they would choose to release/bear to the audience. Windhand brought perfection to their thundering doom metal, with Morris and Bogdan, along with Cottrell’s vocals on reverb creating this bewitching groove. The band created an immediate unique experience, and the deafening sonic waves synchronized between Chandler and Wolfe destroyed the crowd within minutes. We were hypnotized, and drawn into their tumultuous abyss with tunes from 'Soma,’ and their latest release, 'Grief’s Infernal Flower.’ This was a performance that was going to be hard to beat.

Our big, big concert report continues with this exclusive interview with Windhand from Night of the Shred!

WO FAT

You know what they say about Texas. Everything is bigger, even the riffs. Before their set, Wo Fat broke the conduct of typical stage arrangement, and drug Mr. Walter to the forefront to jam alongside bassist Chris Ayala. Wo Fat gave the show the solidity that it needed for stoner doom with their hazy uber-fuzz. Wo Fat had a hefty set that included pieces from 'The Conjuring,’ 'The Black Code,’ and a mélange of older material. As with any doom band that composes mainly for instrumental pieces, the vocals were sporadic, but their well-placed melodies carry the lengthy and intricate phrasing. There was something hypnotic about Wo Fat’s conduct, knowing their compositions awaken a brilliant balancing act of hammering harmonies and technical drum fills.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Big announcement coming December 21st about next year’s PSYCHO fest! It’s going to be bigger and badder than ever before and will certainly be the must-attend festival of 2016. We can hardly hold it in! But we will. Stay tuned to Doomed & Stoned and Thief Presents for the HUGE line-up reveal…coming soon!

We arrived to the Jubez at 8:20 pm. Doors had opened at 7:30. With the obligatory sweet smell of insense (or weed or both) permeating the venue all around, we managed our way through a pile of people – beer in one hand, coke in the other – to check out the concert hall. Though I’ve studied in Karlsruhe for more than three years now, I’d never been to this place. It was nice…not too big, not too small. Just right.

We’re waiting for OM to start at 8.30 pm. By 8:54 pm, tired of waiting, we decided to hit the bar again. Wouldn’t you know it, just the time I grabbed my beer and was getting ready to take a sip, I hear a familiar melody…

OM has taken the stage!

Making my way back is now a bit more of a challenge, but my friend and I shoulder through the crowd and settle somewhere in the middle and a bit to the right. Actually, it didn’t matter where you stood - the sound was supreme! Al Cisneros’ bass just made the whole room vibrate and everybody was enjoying it. People went crazy clapping, whistling, and screaming every time they finished one song and moved on to the next. Robert was going crazy on his keys and tambourine. Flipping it through the air, behind his back, and always with this expression of madness on his face. It was fantastic!

Robert also has a way with the guitar, playing it like a sitar with great psychedelic effect. As I said, he was going nuts most of the time (don’t take this as a slight, he just radiated so much power and energy into the room), while Al was the complete opposite, calmly standing in place and nodding to the beat (as we’ve come to expect from those Om and Sleep videos). His musicianship was in top form, even if he did look more like a fuckd-up version of Jesus at the moment. Al’s vocals were on point, too. Actually, they all played precisely and hit every note with perfection.

Al and Robert were joined by Emil Amos on drums. Together, they jammed out a number of favorites, such as: “Gethsemane,” “State of Non Return,” “Meditation Is The Practice Of Death,” “Cremation Ghat I & II,” and “Bhima’s Theme.” The latter song was slowed down and altered a bit, with Robert joining in on keyboards and singing quite high.

All in all, I can say it was an overwhelming show. I almost fell into a trance and never in my life has one hour and a quarter passed so quickly! I couldn’t believe it when the show was over. I’ll never forget this psychedelic, transcendent experience and advise those of you who are on the fence about venturing out into the cold, dark winter night and seeing OM to get out and enjoy it to the fullest.

Interested in joining our street team? Drop us a note!

Doomed & Stoned is proud to present our second interview with the legendary Richmond, Virginia doomers WINDHAND, who recently released 'Grief’s Infernal Flower’ on Relapse Records (reviewed by Melissa Marie here).

Recently, editor at large Frank Heredia caught up with the band for the following audio interview, recorded at Night of the Shred on Halloween at Brick by Brick in San Diego, California.

The event was organized by Thief Presents and included an impressive line-up: the legendary Bang! along with Elder, Windhand, Monolord, DANAVA, Wo Fat, Black Bombaim, and The Shrine.

The photos you’re seeing were snapped by the eagle eye of Elizabeth Gore, who has an uncanny knack for capturing that oh-so-perfect moment. I had serious difficulty deciding which pics to include and not, so I asked Liz if she’d be cool with me sharing them all (thankfully, she said yes). We’ll have more photos from Night of the Shred as the week unfolds on Doomed & Stoned. In the meanwhile, relish in the eye candy as Liz guides us through her impressions of the show.

The quintet gathered on the stage. The incense was lit. Morris began the chug, and the swaying and rocking began.

Out of many of the doom metal bands I have seen for the first time, I would say Windhand is the most intense, emotionally speaking.

Windhand seemed to hide their grand personalities within the music, which is a translation for their self-expression, and I wondered what more they would choose to impart to the audience.

Windhand brought perfection to their thundering doom metal, with Morris and Bogdan, along with Cottrell’s vocals on reverb creating this bewitching groove.

The band created an immediate unique experience, and the deafening sonic waves synchronized between Chandler and Wolfe destroyed the crowd within minutes.

We were hypnotized, and drawn into their tumultuous abyss with tunes from 'Soma’ and their latest release, 'Grief’s Infernal Flower.’ This was a performance that was going to be hard to beat.

Want even more Windhand? You can see our video interview with Dorthia Cottrell at last year’s Day of the Shred here and footage from the show, captured by Arturo Gallegos, here.