Revelations of Doom

Enlightened Bringers of Doom: SAMOTHRACE

smaothraceRound Three! Grim Kim's back (in black?) to spread the word on her latest obsessions and open yer ears to some of the best bands that the uber tr00 underground metal scene's got to offer. This time around, we're slowing it down and uglying it up a bit. Crack open another beer, spark up a fatty, and come on in. Welcome to Revelations of…Doooooooom.

It takes a lot to make me go out on a limb and replace Dopesick with something new and untested; luckily for me, one of those things happens to be seeing the 20 Buck Spin logo on an alien CD. If you haven't heard of 20 Buck Spin by now, you're truly missing out; they put out amazing records by amazing bands, and I'd confidently place them amongst the creme de la creme of underground independent labels right now (hell, if only for that Coffins/The Arm and Sword of a Bastard God split they released last year). Anyway, I now owe them an even bigger slice of my soul for sending me the debut album from SAMOTHRACE.

Samothrace hail from Lawrence, Kansas, and play bluesy, crippled doom, steeped in Midwestern pathos and heaped with layers upon layers of crushing distortion and sinewy melodies that recall Neurosis at their best and Across Tundras at their darkest. Harsh vocals rattle in a bourbon-soured throat and spin tales of naked desperation and lonesome nights overtop mammoth riffs and painful dirges. Menacing yet delicate, captivating and hypnotic, Life's Trade's advance is as slow and unstoppable as the tides themselves.

This band…is…SO…GOOD. I'm blown away. You know that rare, magical moment when you put on a new album and fall so deeply in love with it that you've inadvertently become a lifelong fan by the time the first chord's been struck? This is that kind of album. Life's Trade might just be the best release of 2008 (or at least has earned a spot in my Top Ten). I'm well aware that I'm gushing away like a schoolgirl with a crush, but really, I am dead fucking serious – you NEED to hear this band.

Their debut album was recorded and mixed by Sanford Parker (Buried At Sea, Pelican, Nachtmystium); Life's Trade is out now on 20 Buck Spin. Buy their records, wear their shirts, go see them on tour (they're playing 70 dates – 70 DATES. You have literally no excuse to miss them when they roll through your town). Above all, listen to this band; you owe it to them, and goddamn, do you owe it to yourself.

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Attention, Stoners:

Massive Doom News Round-up: GRIEF, EYEHATEGOD, CROWBAR, SUNN0))), ZOROASTER, SOURVEIN, ORANGE GOBLIN, TORCHE, ACROSS TUNDRAS, and more!

Instead of posting a half dozen bite-size stories about the latest news from the doom/sludge underground, I decided to compile it all into one big nasty ball o'resin and load y'all up with enough album updates, tour dates, and general sludgefuckery to BLOW. YOUR. FUCKING. MINDS. Load up the bong, and read on…

Cult sludge act GRIEF have reunited and are currently plotting a European tour with the totally respectable crusty metallic hardcore (NOT metalcore) band TRAP THEM. They've also announced two East Coast shows, with plans for an equally-short West Coast run shortly thereafter.

Oct 24 2008 – BALTIMORE, Maryland @ THE NOWAREHOUSE
Oct 25 2008 – PHILADELPHIA, PA @ THE KHYBER PASS w/ BLACK COBRA

The best band in the world, a.k.a. EYEHATEGOD, played a 20th anniversary show with CROWBAR in New Orleans this past weekend. The date was made even more special as it fell on the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina's devastation of the city, and came just as the threat of Hurricane Gustav loomed over the still-healing city. I made the pilgrimage down there to see the show, and goddamned if it wasn't one of the best I've ever seen. EYEHATEGOD played three new songs and announced that they are currently writing their next album. CROWBAR are also knee-deep in new tunes; their next record is expected to drop in 2009, with Kirk himself proclaiming that not only did they plan to tour, they "want to play every country that's got electricity!"

More doom news after the jump… (more…)