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Don’t you agree?
(Due out Tuesday October 6 on Merge Records, Lou Barlow’s Goodnight Unknown features drumming by Melvins’ Dale Crover. Check out more videos here.)
-GS
[Gary Suarez is a jerk. He usually manages the consistently off-topic No Yoko No. Say, why don't you follow him on Twitter?]
Down, Melvins, and Weedeater are playing a show in New York City tonight. Holy crap in my pants, I cannot recall the last time I was this excited about a metal show. Three of my favorite stoner metal artists on one bill! The tour continues throughout September, wrapping up in Louisville, KY on the 28th. Perhaps the most surprising thing about this incredible tour is that none of these bands have new albums out. So basically, this one is for the fans. And the money. WIN-WIN!
In related news, those darned Melvins will be releasing a remix album called Chicken Switch via Mike Patton’s Ipecac imprint the day after the Down tour ends. Of course, ever the contrarians, the band has opted to provide entire albums as source material, as opposed to single songs. Participants include a whole mess of freaks, including Merzbow, Sonic Youth’s Lee Ranaldo, and David Scott Stone, the latter of these boasting an impressive resume recording and playing with Big Business, Fantomas, and The Locust (as well as the Melvins). Drummer Dale Crover is also a member of the doom colossus known as Shrinebuilder, which finally revealed its FUCKING AMAZING first song to the public and is playing a handful of live gigs.
-GS
[Gary Suarez is erecting a pillamyd. He usually manages the consistently off-topic No Yoko No. Say, why don't you follow him on Twitter?]
I’ve had some family shit distracting me this week, but there’s really no excuse for the fact that I somehow completely missed the debut of a new song by uber-supergroup Shrinebuilder. Entitled “Pyramid of the Moon” and streaming right here, it is just seven-plus minutes of sheer excellence.
Even if you’re one of those people who only listen to metal, hardcore, or other such heavy music styles, you have to concede the fact that many of the musicians you love do not share that singular devotion to one genre. Some artists go even further and apply their broad tastes to the music they make. (Mike Patton might be one of the best examples of this.) That being said, I was admittedly quite surprised to learn that Melvins drummer Dale Crover plays on indie rocker Lou Barlow’s forthcoming solo album Goodnight Unknown. And not just on one track…
“Highly anticipated” does not even begin to describe the hype surrounding Shrinebuilder’s debut album. The doom supergroup features Saint Vitus / Obsessed / Spirit Caravan / Hidden Hand guitar hero Scott “Wino” Weinrich, Neurosis / Tribes of Neurot leader Scott Kelly, former Sleep and current Om bassist Al Cisneros, and Melvins drummer Dale Crover… basically THE definitive who’s who of doomo all-stars. Roadburn.com is now reporting that the album is finally coming this autumn via Neurot Recordings, and they’ve posted the breathtaking artwork by A Storm of Light’s Josh Graham (a small portion of which I’ve posted above). They also report that the band will play several gigs in the U.S. later this year with European dates to possibly follow.
Speaking of A Storm of Light, they’ve got a crushing new track called “Midnight” streaming on their own website (take that, MySpace!). The track comes from the new double-disc record Forgive Us Our Trespasses, due in September via Neurot as well.
Thanks to MS Maniac Charlie F. for the tips.
-VN
As one of the founding members of arguably one of the most important metal bands, Scott Kelly helped navigate Neurosis from a crust punk genesis to the lords of abstract doom they’ve become. Despite going on to semi-normal adult lives not built around touring, they’ve still managed to put out some of the most challenging and, ultimately, best music of the decade. Kelly himself splits his non-Neurosis time among Tribes of Neurot (the band’s ambient side project), an acoustic solo career, the post-apocalyptic folk of Blood & Time, and, most recently, stoner metal wet dream Shrinebuilder, featuring Melvins drummer Dale Crover, Sleep/Om bassist Al Cisneros, and doom icon Wino. In an interview Scott was kind enough to grant MetalSucks – conducted during his trip to the airport on his way to some European Neurosis shows, stopping once to get through airport security and ending when the plane was ready to take off – he discussed his collaboration with the gentlemen in Shrinebuilder, his history with Neurosis and long-time collaborator Steve von Till, and punk’s limiting ethos vs. metal’s acceptance.
It is with a heavy, cholesterol-afflicted heart that I report the news that Big Business has posted a new song to their Myspace page that kinda sorta sucks.
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