Astral noise issue 1

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A Word From The Editor This, the first issue of Astral Noise has been a long time coming. Between a small team of us, we've thrown mountains of sweat, weed and tears into this undertaking, and we hope that comes across as you take in the first issue of Astral Noize.

Whilst we plan to diversify into a wider palette of (Astral) Noise in the future, inside this issue is an unparallelled overview of 2016's vibrant UK doom scene. Across the 'zines 48 pages you'll find everything from a sermon from blackened giants Dragged Into Sunlight, scene expertise from Nottingham noise enabler Benedict Culm, and an overview of the extensive walls seeping from the gutters of the UK's urban centers.

We hope you enjoy reading, it's been a pain in the arse, a joy to create, and everything in between for us - and you probably won't find a better documentation of 2016's UK doom metal explosion anywhere else. Enjoy!

Richard Lowe

Design: Tom Kirby, Richard Lowe, Dave Brand Words: Dave Band, George Parr, Tom Kirby, Jack Richard King and Richard Lowe

Illustrations: Kate Woodward

Thanks to: Lauren Barley for all the awesome scoops, all of the bands featured in this issue (if you're in one of those bands, reading this and want your own copy, please drop us an email at the adress provided below!), Dave for the cheap up printing expertise, Zac Evans for all the wonderful graphic design work, and all of our mums, pets and friends!

Thanks for reading!

If you're a writer, designer, visual artist, audial artist, and you'd like to get involved, drop us an 2 email at doomedtosludge@gmail.com

Contents 4 - Dragged Into Sunlight: Barbaric Momentum 8 - Zombie Dust Pickups: Catering For Noise 10 - Ghold: Crack Shit 13 - Gig Stories 16 - Benedict Culm: Keeping Nottingham Noisy 20 - Haast's Eagled: Keep It Wavey 25 - Scene Report: Brighton 28 - Scene Report: South Wales 30 - The House Show 32 - Nepalese Temple Ball: A Musical Lasagna 36 - Mammothfest: All Doom All Day 40 - 2016: A Year In Review

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Dragged Into Sunlight – Barbaric Momentum

An entity unknown, an anonymous proposition, a collective, existing only to pummel one's ears with vicious walls of noise - not since the heady days of the Norwegian inner circle has a deathcult of such malevolence existed.

In the decade since their formation, Dragged Into Sunlight have become the leading proposition in UK extreme metal today. As the UK extreme metal scene has faded into a tired parody of itself the collective have led the way for a new generation of extremity, pushing the boundaries of the origins and conclusions of their vicious noise in an age in which genre is a faded concept.

The group, filling their ranks with a plethora of collaborators, occultists and extreme metal alumni are one of the few daring to innovate - be it through their public obfuscation, dimly lit live theatrics, or the monolithic audial torture and tireless innovation running through their depraved walls of noise.

We caught up with the Dragged' cabal to pry at the ideologies, creative processes and abstraction behind the collective's dissonant rumblings.

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You have an ever expanding roster of members of contributors/members, why is this? Might you refer to yourselves as a collective as opposed to a band?

Possibly, Dragged Into Sunlight has grown steadily into a home for artists who seek to create relentlessly without the boundaries of pleasing third parties or fitting in. Some musicians are better at not fitting in, finding other musicians who share a similar mindset is not only part of the challenge but also part of the reward.

With added weight, there are barbaric levels of momentum in the themes that we are able to create and promote as a collective entity.

As you reach a certain age, you strive to continue creating extreme music whilst balancing the many delicate elements of routine day to day existence.

On that basis, there is strength in numbers and Dragged Into Sunlight is without doubt a collective entity.

Your music is incredibly abstract, how would you define Dragged Into Sunlight's sound?

If we were able to define what it is that we do, it would likely prove self-fulfilling. Labelling predetermines a product - if you want to capture a certain flavour you utilise predetermined ingredients and tools to create a familiar taste. If you strive to create something new, it's either going to taste great like peanut butter and weed or like total shit. There's a little more thrill to the chase, so perhaps abstract isn't so bad.

Dragged Into Sunlight draws on a plethora of influence, within extreme music and outside extreme music. The end result is somewhat abstract and the likely outcome of mental and physical extremes. Any record created by Dragged Into Sunlight is best described as a cathartic process, it is a very natural exorcism of tension arising as a result of the ideals that continue to grate, dilute and limit extreme music.

What influences outside of music influence Dragged Into Sunlight?

The many pitfalls of day to day existence and continuous struggle to make ends meet or at least make sense of the world.

What is it about the combination of Doom metal and grinding death metal that appeals to you?

Nothing beats waking up to Broken Hope. It really puts matters into perspective. Doom has continued to influence the music that we strive to create in Dragged Into Sunlight - with bands such as Graves at Sea, Floor and Ramesses carving out their niches over the preceding decade.

Stoner acts such as Bongzilla and Weedeater continuing to embellish on the

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layers of sludge set out by the likes of Eyehategod and Mugwart, which sits directly above doom and before the crossover where doom meets death where the likes of Autopsy and Coffins blend the gnarlier elements of doom into some of the harsher stoner riffs, followed by the pummelling double kick work of bands like Demigod...

Then, you have the likes of Churchburn who sit somewhere between the previous endeavours of their members being Vital Remains and Grief, being almost the perfect example of a blend between doom and death and a crushing force to be reckoned with. Churchburn actually played some shows on our recent US run, the best grounds for comparison being an out of control bulldozer, the only question being whether it kills 1 or 100 people.

There has certainly been a resurgence of doom bands in recent years, and a growth in new bands revitalising the groundwork of older bands in the same genre and digging fresh graves. One could conclude that the more bands and concentrated a particular genre becomes the bigger the overspill into new genres or blended sounds.

However, overspill requires tension, it requires the river bursting its banks so to speak, as natural human instinct is to conform. before there can be overspill the addition of bands replicating or coattail riding is more recognisable as a dilution. It is important that extreme music maintains its fluidity, and that artists continue to challenge current scenes in order to future proof the evolution of extreme music. The taller the hurdle, the bigger the jump and the harder the push, extreme music is deserving of similarly polarised extremes where there is always more to give.

You have a somewhat more extravagant live show than most other live acts, why is this? What influences are behind the weirdness and colour of your live shows?

Dragged Into Sunlight is the final venture for those involved and on that basis, there are elements that certain individuals seek to incorporate as a bucket list. The live show continues to evolve however, that is part of the challenge, and whilst many artists feel that their live show should be indicative of their recorded sound, the same approach would prove fruitless for those involved in Dragged Into Sunlight and is better reversed.

Those attending shows are paying to see something different, it would be a lot easier to replicate a recorded sound but would also be a compromise to the fundamentals that underpin Dragged Into Sunlight as a concept. You can stream a record, you cannot stream the corresponding live experience, and with Dragged Into Sunlight, it is that lack of grounds for comparison which justifies fans of extreme music leaving the house and supporting those bands that strive to do something a little different.

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Widowmaker and the split with Gnaw Their Tongues have a much more prominent doom metal influence, and a more melodic strain of tonality running through these releases, than the previous two releases, what's behind this?

Widowmaker as a recording focused on themes of loneliness whilst NV draws on the negative and industrial chill of harsh noise - with elements of grindcore weaved in. Both Terminal Aggressor and Hatred for Mankind centred on frenzied aggression and a fuller sound. Such a frenzied approach could be said to allow for a more diverse but less coherent sound.

How did the split with Gnaw their tongues come about? How was it working with a totally different group collaboratively, as opposed to simply doing a split release with them?

Our paths crossed with Gnaw Their Tongues in Amsterdam in Mories cannot be considered as a different group given the commonalities in the sounds that we each strive to explore. ly smooth process with efforts to push the tracks as far as sides.

2010. Working with many overlaps and It was a relativepossible from both

Do any of your members dabble in the occult or is it purely a thematic thing for Dragged Into Sunlight?

Suffice to say, members dabble in all sorts. We are a collective of not just dark interest but obsession with all matters extreme.

Are you influenced more by the old school autopsy/incantation version of deathly doom, or is the influence of more modern doom/sludge/drone a more prominent influence for you guys?

It is certainly the likes of Autopsy, Incantation and Demigod that continue to inspire. That is not to say that the more modern doom, sludge and drone does not influence the sound that Dragged Into Sunlight creates but perhaps that those involved are of a generation where bands such as Autopsy carried a more relevant significance.

How was your set at Maryland Deathfest?

In 2012, Dragged Into Sunlight concluded its tour with a performance at Maryland Deathfest whereas this year, we began with a show at Maryland Deathfest before returning to the UK for a show with our friends in Bongripper, All Pigs Must Die, ACxDC and Ramesses. We returned to Baltimore for a club show exactly a month after Maryland Deathfest 2016.

Overall, the latter approach has allowed those persons who attended Maryland Deathfest to experience a series of smaller suffocating club shows, however naturally the approach has had a phenomenal cost that would cripple most bands.

That said, no one is retiring from this and so, whatever funds do come in, go into furthering our creative and collective endeavours.

Words: Richard Lowe

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Zombie Dust Pickups: Catering for Noise

Zombie Dust pickups have carved a reputation as the go to company for guitarists and bassists looking for that extra bit of performance and tone that just hasn't been available from industry standard models.

Zombie Dust's speciality is overwound Hot boutique beasts, perfect for Doom and sludge, although Lee, Zombiedust's all-encompassing one man band, reassures me they are capable of so much more - as he pulls off some tasty lead licks on one of his many Zombie Dust loaded guitars adorning his workshop walls.

So take us back to the beginning, how did ZD all start?

It all started out with me just wanting to try out loads of different pickups, but not really having the money to do that, so I watched a few videos on making your own and took it from there. I built my own Winder from scratch, buying different bits every month until I had a working machine. It took a lot of trial and were great, so I knew I was on the right path, even though it's hard to get a perspective when your only hearing your pickups all the time. Even now I have to borrow friend's guitar so I can have some kind of comparison and reset my ears.

At what point did people start to take notice?

I soon decided that the best way to go about things was to contact bands that I really liked, but actually David from Slomatics got in touch with me, and he was after a Doomster (one of ZD's flagship models). He got back to me and said they were the best pickups he'd ever tried even over other boutique makers, Bare Knuckle and the like. He didn't need to say that, he'd paid for them and everything; they weren't freebies so he didn't need to tell me they were good.

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That's when I realised this might be a viable thing. And to be honest David's probably got more people playing my pickups than anybody else, myself included.

Your pickups are being used in some top bands at the minute, as well as Bongzilla, Slomatics you have Gozu, Beastmaker, Blood Ceremony, Boss Keloid and many others, that must make you proud?

Yeah I mean, that's the beauty of the internet! I'm just one guy in a shed and I've been able to reach out to people and they dig it. I think they realize I'm just a normal dude who loves Horror Films and Heavy music and I'm catering for people like me really.

It's not a bunch of guys in an office hearing Doom for the 1st time and going 'Lets tap into this market'. Like I'll do 7 & 8 string version or custom jobs and it's not that much more expensive, but some company's when you get into that realm just sting you. I guess this is a bit of a punk rock business model. Its hand to mouth most of the time and its lucky my customers do a good job of promoting my products because I don't pay for any advertising.

So what does the future hold for Zombie dust pickups?

Who knows! Lots more 2.00 am finishes and 7.00am starts I guess. I just want to build a legacy where I can look back knowing loads of kick ass music was made using my pickups.

Words: David Brand

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Ghold: Crack Shit

Ghold are one of the biggest prospects in the UK doom scene in 2016, having blown listeners away with blackened opus Of Ruin in 2015, the mongers of doom have returned this year with PYR: an album of progressive, psychedelic absurdity and crushing riffing. We caught up with Ghold in the aftermath of their UK tour with Bongripper to chat temporary housing, Ritual Productions and blown amps.

What were the motivations behind deciding to opt for an additional member on your newest album?

From the point of view of a two-piece, we'd always daydream about expanding.

We didn't have any kind of philosophy to make music with, just bass and drums - that is, working with limited resources and not having anyone else who wanted to play with us!

We'd been mates with Oliver for a couple of years, and it just kind of fell into place to stop talking about it, and just get him on board properly. We'd done some collaborative stuff together before we recorded PYR, and after a couple of jams and drinking sessions everything became clear. The stars aligned, you might say!

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What musical influences do you all have? And did any of those directly influence PYR? We're influenced by lots of different musical styles, although I would say we're collectively more inspired by particular groups and albums rather than specific scenes or genres of music. Drum-wise I take a huge amount of influence from messrs Dale Crover, Jon Theodore, John Stanier, Steve Shelton and their bands. Collectively we love Slayer, Magma, Swans and The Melvins.

PYR is named after Pyrford House in Brixton - the temporary housing that you used to live in in London, what was it like to live there? And how did living there affect the music you made?

We wrote the majority of the album on acoustic guitar, bass, drum machine and lots of pieces of A1 paper on the top floor of Pyrford House last summer. It was hot and there was lots of dust coming in through the windows from the knocked-down blocks next door.

Occasionally we would be welcomed home by a large, dry pile of crack shit on the steps. There was a sticker on our front door warning of a potentially hazardous gas leak coming from inside the flat. We smoked really bad quality hashish. There were piles of ex tenant's clothes inside the flat which we didn't bother to remove until after the album was recorded.

We had to call the album PYR as that's where it was born.

Ritual productions is a treasure trove for ceremonial doom and drone, where do you think your music fits in alongside bands such as Bong and Ramesses?

There are definitely parallels in terms of an approach to weight and density, but we are all different. We've never really thought about fitting alongside anyone before, but it's amazing to share a label with both of these fantastic bands.

Your new album seems to have become more psychedelic/progressive and has less of the blackened elements that were all over Of Ruin, what were the reasons for this?

If Of Ruin was the crumbling of all our influences and playing techniques into a pot-pourri of stank. PYR is perhaps the attempt to take stock of our resources post-apocalypse - re-moulding and weaponising the shattered shards into something more useful.

Burn everything and then see what you have left - 'the pyr'. I kind of equate 'blackened' to blast beats and tremolo picking though, and I think there are actually more of these techniques used on PYR than Of Ruin.

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'Despert Thrang' is over 20 minutes in length, your longest track yet, is this a new direction that your might be going in with longer drawn out songs or just a one off?

We've always made long songs, even pre-demo days, so it doesn't feel new to us. We normally fill a set playing three or four songs! We can't see any reason for it to end so expect more of that, definitely.

What were your biggest obstacles as a band to get to this point if any?

Jobs, rent, blown amps.

How Was it touring with Bongripper? Were you disappointed when Temples Fest was cancelled?

It was a great tour, and our first time in Europe proper. The Bongripper guys are great lads and they smashed it every night. It was amazing to play to consistently packed rooms and chat bungle with the locals everywhere we went.

The quality of the venues and sound systems was amazing. No more sliced meats or cheese for a while though. Of course, everyone was pretty shocked at the cancellation, but the replacement Bristol show was really good.

Any upcoming shows/tours?

Yes there are some things in the works, more music, more noise, more live, more pain, keep your ears peeled.

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Words: Tom Kirby

Gig Stories Fucked shit often happens at gigs, festivals and house shows - here are a selection of chance moments from our formative years.

I was in Clisson, France at Hellfest.

I'd just reached a bell tent to see my first band of the festival - Thou.

I had been a fan for sometime so was ready to flail about transfixed by some Louisianan sludge.

About half way through the set I noticed a bunch crazy French dudes running up to a woman clad in spikes in leather looking like some out of shape Viking behemoth. To my horror she was squeezing her gigantic breasts, and was squirting milk in to the mouths of this bunch of depraved Frenchmen who were all raising the devil horns having just achieved, to their minds the most metal thing that had ever happened.

I'll never look at French people the same way again.

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If you've ever been to a big festival you'll remember the flood ditches that surround the campsite just encase of torrential rain and flooding.

Well I remember a being at a festival and as the sun went down I saw a crowd gather by one of the ditches. Curiosity took over so I went to check it out. In the middle of this crowd was an unconscious highly inebriated man getting a bottle of vodka rammed up his backside by two sickos.

The man wakes up realises what going on and to the best of his ability throws the bottle towards the crowd, which misses as they scatter.

What happened next will stay with me for life, the man puts his hand back down his backside, his face wincing as if he was in some pain and discomfort and lo and beyond he pulls out an apple to the crowds and my surprise! Everyone screams and cheers in unison!

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The morning after we played a house show, our singer decided to grab a shower and came strolling down into the garden wearing somebody's dressing gown he had found in the bathroom.

In the garden he found a dead frog in the drain that had probably been there for about a week as the colour had been drained out of it and it had bloated from being constantly soaked. He picked it up and without hesitation licked it, leaving frog spawn in his beard, and smiling he declared 'Froggylingus' as everybody else nearly puked.

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Benedict Culm: Keeping Nottingham Noisy Benedict Culm is a fast growing institution in the DIY scene in Nottingham, having taken the reins from a departing promoter sometime around 2014, Benedict has been putting on shows pretty much every weekend in and around his hometown of Nottingham, encompassing everything from death metal, to psych rock, to crushing doom.

Benedict's ethos behind the promotion comes from a genuine love of music, there isn't money, or politics behind his job. For him, it's a genuine passion for the music - it's the love of the wall of sound emanating from the amp that drives Benedict's tireless ethic.

We caught up with the man himself to talk promotion, venue closures, and how to treat the artists and gig-goers right.

How long have you been involved in the UK sludge/doom scene? How did you get involved?

I've only been promoting for about 18 months now and prior to that I'd been involved in that 'scene' (hate that word, it's a tad elitist and ghettoising. but if I can think of another phrase i'll let you know, hahah) for a good number of years prior to stepping forward to offer my services.

To be honest, I wanted to put on gigs for ages, but it wasn't until more recently that I started getting a bit more involved with the bands, the venues and the supporters, who I felt I had a bit more of a grasp on what makes this whole underground/diy thing tick. I guess you could say I fell into it, in a manner of speaking...

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So at the point that I was deciding to put an event together, one of the local promoters who was putting on the vast majority of gigs that I was attending, decided that she needed to have a break owing to post-grad work, her career and being already involved in three other bands. It was an honour to have the baton passed to me, in fact it wasn't just me, there's Kez Whelan (of Terrorizer mag fame) too, and this is the funny thing; it took two of us to take on what she was doing.

Anyway, prior to getting involved in the local network or even before it really took off, I was having to travel far and wide for many years to get my fix of heavy, loud and slow metal. So the fantasy of putting on my own gigs in local venues was festering in my brain for a good while, I'm as old as the hills and have been to many hundreds of gigs and, possibly, seen many thousands of bands.

My tastes in music are eclectic to say the least and I will always prefer the live experience over the recorded aspect of a given band. I'm a gig addict with a predilection for loud, for heavy, for down-tuned, and most importantly for the underground. Getting involved in the role of promoter was an inevitability...in retrospect.

How is the Nottingham Sludge/Doom scene at the moment? Does it have a particularly active scene?

I wouldn't say that Nottingham has a specific sludge and doom scene as such.

More like there's an active network of musicians/bands, regular gig-goers, promoters, venues and studios that associate with.

The Nottingham 'scene' is much more appreciative of a more underground and DIY ethic and aesthetic for metal in general, but more specifically includes other metal genres, and overlapping sub-genres such as drone, psych, stoner, black, death, grind, electronic/industrial, etc etc.

What do you think has been the catalyst behind the rise in popularity of UK sludge/doom in the last few years?

I can't say there's been one particular catalyst for any perceived increase in the interest in non-mainstream metal in general. I'm hoping that more folk are being attracted to the closing of the gap between listener and performer, feeling more connected to the music on a smaller scale where often there is (literally) no stage, where we are all on the same level both physically and philosophically. Just because something is bigger doesn't mean it's better, ok, sometimes a massive performance can inspire awe, if that band can reach right out into the arena, but it's a different experience altogether - it's not something I'd aspire to do more than, once a year?

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On a smaller scale it's also really easy to make new friends and connect with folk who share the same interests. The other thing about the DIY scene is the lack of fevered egos and how kind people are. To put it bluntly, there are no cunts (well, I haven't met them yet hahaha) my guess is that a 'cunt' would not be attracted to a social group that does not contain or tolerate cunts, so it's kind of self-selecting I suppose? I always encourage new folk to try underground gigs and newcomers are easy to spot and I always make a b-line for them, introduce myself and them to my friends, the last thing I want is for someone to try out a diy gig then go back to their usual crowd and tell them that we are a bunch of elitist, unwelcoming and cliquey shits.

Another important factor is MONEY, or should I say, the complete lack of it, apart from the venues that need to survive on alcohol sales or the studios conducting their bread and butter during the day, there is little or no money to fight over, money is almost a dirty word, most of the people I know are embarrassed to talk about it. When I agree to a fee with a band, it's always a very short conversation, and it's a tiny factor in the overall plans for a gig.

I think I should have bullet-pointed these factors as something else has come to mind; dayjobs!, yes, we ALL have dayjobs i.e. no 'professional' musicians.

How did you feel about the Old Angel closing down?

Yes, music venues closing down is a national disgrace, particularly in London, I think we all understand why, but more certainly needs to be done to protect music venues via local byelaws and planning laws, in particular considering the potential negative cultural implications of a given development application.

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To be quite frank, The Old Angel in Nottingham had various long-running and overlapping issues and problems. The result was an unviable business with massive overheads in a dilapidated and underused building. There has been a change in ownership and a change in management and will reopen shortly, thankfully the people involved are local grass-roots types and have a good reputation. But whether they will be allowing punk all-dayers and extreme metal gigs is debateable. My intention is to persuade them to reopen the gig room and perhaps just start off with some low-key local acts to gain their confidence, as long as folks buy drinks and behave themselves - what more can they want?

What's your favourite venue to put shows on at?

I don't have any favourite venues really, they're all different, I do try and match the lineup to the venue, but it's hard to explain but each venue has a different feel to it, there are quite a few dull and pragmatic criteria such as, size, location, p.a., licensed or not, availability, access etc. But we have Stuck on a Name studios, The Chameleon Arts Cafe, the Running Horse, The Maze, J T Soar. The Lofthouse, The Salutation, Tap and Tumbler, Doghouse, Lee Rosy's Tea, The Irish Centre, The Navigation....

What was the best show you ever put on?

Best show? for me; it was my first show, with Space Witch, Prophets of Saturn and Lord Ha Ha, plus some amazing psychedelic visuals, I put a lot of work into this and to have some of my fave midlands bands play in front of 90 people blew me away, I was moved and touched by how cool and kind everyone was. An incredible night, a great start and it has kept me going ever since.

Words: Richard Lowe

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Haast’s Eagled: Keep It Wavy With II: For Mankind, the band's second full-length, Welsh doom purveyors Haast's Eagled have shown themselves capable of a calibre of noise on a par with legends such as Sleep and Yob, but also at putting their own unique stamp on a genre that is - with its recent influx of activity - somewhat in danger of stagnating.

Despite plenty of moments of peacefulness not usually associated with doom's heavier acts, Haast's Eagled are a menacing trio of distinct power.

With a predatory instinct much like the extinct eagle after which they are named, which was the biggest to ever exist. Said eagle is said to have fed on animals the size of cars, so suitably, Haast's Eagled's riffs are gnarly slabs of incomprehensibly heavy savagery.

As one of doom's most exciting bands in a burgeoning scene, we wanted to discover more about the Newport triad, so asked them some quick questions in the wake of their imposing second album.

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In what ways would you say Haast's Eagled has progressed since the self-titled debut?

This question isn't really the best for me to comment on due to only being involved with the band from writing II: For Mankind. This second record became a bit of let's play whatever felt right in the practice room and in the studio at least for me. The whole process of the album was just getting used to playing with each other and playing with the sound created from the first line up.

I feel it's a natural progression for the band comparing it to the first release. I was a fan of the band and the first record before I was even asked to be a part of the band.

Was the experimentation (sax solos et al) on II: For Mankind a planned route or did it happen more naturally?

We have discussed the band having an open door policy with different instrumentalists/musicians playing on our releases. Adam had a few friends in mind, and he mentioned getting Joshua Jones to play some Saxophone and we went for it. We're all really happy with how it sounds. I hope we can get more experimental with future material by introducing some interesting instruments.

What are some of the themes and lyrical meanings running through the album's four tracks? For example, you've previously said that 'Pyaaz Bhonghi' has a similar concept to Sleep's 'Dopesmoker' - is that true?

With 'Pyaaz Bhonghi' I was talking another level of shit at band practice. Super stoned and showing off. I asked what Onion translated too in Urdu, which is pyaz. During the writing process the track was code named Pyaz Bhaji/O Bhaji.

Due the stoned nature of the band most of the time, Bhaji turned into Bhonghi and pyaz got lost in translation during finalizing the album track names. I kind of liked it so I didn't mention anything at the time. Keep it wavy.

From that, the lyrics were written about a stoned traveling man walking through the desert with a fat sack of marijuana, a weedian rip off or homage, however you look at it. Sleep are on the best bands ever so no apologies. Hungry, dehydrated etc, the traveling man meets Pyaaz and learns about the importance the elements of life and caring for the world around us. If I'm honest it's all a load of bullshit - but we enjoyed creating the folklore that is now the almighty wisdom of Pyaaz Bhonghi.

'The Uncle' ended up being written about - and questioning - the acceptance of paedophilia within politics, religion and the BBC. We got the track played on the BBC radio one rock show a few weeks back due it being our shortest and most 'radio friendly' track. We were happy with that result.

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'Zoltar' was Adam's creation; I can imagine everyone thinks of the film BIG starring Tom Hanks. Sadly it's not about that, this was written about a man on a time traveling suicide mission pretty much. Where do you want to die? If you could die anywhere, at any point in history what would you do? Imagine a Zoltar style machine that could take you on that adventure.

With 'White Dwarf' this was version 2793.9 of this song Joe and Adam had been working on this with former bass player Greg before I joined. The rest of the band just wanted to get it written and recorded before it became a 4-hour concept album. It ended up being an ode to the end of all things. Not much more to it than that.

What concept for the album did you have going into the studio? Did it turn out how you originally pictured?

We went into the studio with very little practice and very little equipment and just went with all these ideas we had written, each piece of music we wrote in the practice room evolved into its own concepts. We normally create something out of nothing this kind of helps with creating atmosphere and emotion in our songs. We didn't have a solid final product in mind really we knew it had to end somewhere. That's when we ran out of studio time because we we're already out of money. You know how it is.

What's the doom scene like in Wales? Was it a hard place to make a name for yourself as a metal band?

The doom scene in Wales does ok, there aren't too many shows or people compared to other places in the UK but it is alive and well. You have FHED promoting a lot of the shows, a lot of good grindcore and power violence too. Also the second Red Sun festival is happening soon which is spread across two small venues in Cardiff. Last year was class so I'm looking forward to that.

I can't speak too much on this subject I spend a lot my time listening and watching a bit of everything musically. I'm no Dr.Doom with a master degree in local riff. Whoever I listen too or see live, if I like I'll support it.

As for local bands from Wales past and present you should check out mates and great riffs included: Ivor Beynon, Spider Kitten, Tides Of Sulfur, Thorun, Lacertilia, Desalvo, Acrimony, Budgie, Dignity Dies First, The Judas Cradle, Chain Of Flowers, ATOMCK, The Death of Her Money, Black Water Chemistry, Ghast, The Arteries, Ssssnakes,Taint, Vemon Prison, The Kennedy Soundtrack, DJ Wyld Flame, Graveyard Johnnys, LUVV, Mind Control, Hark, Manic Street Preaches, GLC, Outrage CC, Bonnie Tyler, There's loads of good stuff Wales I bet I've missed a load of gems. It's class when you get your head around the place.

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There a lot more doom metal bands around nowadays, do you think it's good to see or somewhat ruins the whole underground vibe of the genre? Who are your favourite doom metal bands at the moment?

It's great for me this little boom in doom. I get to see loads of bands I missed out on because I was even born or too young and pre Internet, etc. Seeing Saint Vitus play all of born too late on a 30 year anniversary tour blown my mind. I remember being on tour with an old band smoking dirty bottle bongs on deck chairs in a garage hearing that album for the first time, seeing that hard as nails pink cover. Man it sent me west in a good way never looked back. So that stuff makes me happy. I have no problem with new bands coming through, everything musically has a snowball effect on people. We're riding that snowball all the way down the hill. Keep the riff alive.

As for bands that do a bit of Doom we currently enjoy at the moment: Cough, Yob, Bong, Conan, Uffomammut, Earthless, Slomatics, Bongripper, Rush. It's never ending really.

With there being such a big scene, it can be hard to stand-out, was this something you thought about beforehand? Is this how the various experimentations on II: For Mankind came about?

If I'm honest I've never expected to this band to break through into any scene, it's all about playing and writing together in Newport, living the dream. Every little helps when it comes to people supporting the band and it does mean a lot.

I think that's because we didn't expect anything. Infinite thanks to Phil at One louder Studios and the people at Holy Roar records for helping out too. I guess they helped a lot more than we've helped ourselves.

The record seems to have a lot of depth that rewards repeated listening; did you aim for this when writing?

We aimed to make it less repetitive than the previous S/T release but like I've mentioned we went in with loads of riffs and filled all the gaps until we ran out of time. I think this ethos of organized chaos we went into the studio with helped achieve that accidental need to replay the album. II:For Mankind doesn't feel and flow as naturally as most modern records do recently.

At some point during recording we'd all look around and just keep playing, There's one heavy section in there, it's pretty sparse with Joe just playing whilst me and Adam just rode the warmth of the amps we got to record with. The reason for this was to work out what was next whilst recording live. We all liked it in the end so it made the record.

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Some reviews have mentioned the 'emotional' element of your music; do you think this is something most doom bands stray away from? If so why do you think this is the case?

All music has some sort of emotion, it's just we've stepped into addressing a few emotional sounds that just don't make it through into modern music.

Well not as much as it should. Everyone should play what's right for them, sad, happy, brutal whatever. Even slam and goregrind bands party with euro dance music in-between the brutal songs. No boundaries, no masters play the riff if it's right.

What have you got planned for the near future?

Be sound people, smoke, riff, more releases, we plan to do at least one release a year for our own sanity we have to many ideas for songs sometimes. We've started the third project and it's the best stuff we've ever written in my opinion, it's getting a bit more technical and not as repetitive but still holds the Haast's Eagled sound from the last two releases.

Hopefully we can put it out sometime next year if the support continues.

We'd love to sort an actual tour out at some point. Mainland Europe would be amazing as it's always great to tour around there.

Thanks for your time Haast's mandem!

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Words: George Parr

Scene Report: Brighton Doom No one does metal like us Brits. Sure, there's Metallica, Amon Amarth, Sepultura, Kreator. Alright, come to think of it, metal is a global force. It's birthplace, however, is muggy old England. From the dismal post-war industrial suburbs of the UK emerged a genre of music that would stand the test of time, perhaps the only true reason to be proud to be British.

Taking a leaf from dooms British forefathers, Black Sabbath, a burgeoning doom scene has cropped up over the past decade, and if there's one place to keep an eye on in the midst of this, it's Brighton. The scene is consistently building, and while the likes of Sea Bastard emerged with a punishing and swampy form of sludge over four years ago, bands like King Goat have recently sprung from the underground, with their debut album, Conduit, garnering praise from the likes of Metal Hammer and even Kerrang! this year.

If your main selling point when choosing where to live is doom acts per capita (though admittedly that's probably not the only factor you should look at), Brighton is where you'll want to head, and if you do, we've picked out 3 of the gnarliest riff machines currently stomping through Brighton's myriad venues and DIY house shows.

March The Desert In case you couldn't tell from their retrograde logo, March The Desert's brand of doom heavily favours the hypnotic side of music. 70s rock meets large waves of psychedelia when it comes to these Reading and Brighton lads, and if their latest (and most impressive) release, the three-track Waves On The Moon EP is anything to go by, then they're one to keep an eye on.

The EP's opener, 'Frown Curve', is a heavy stoner jam infused with 70s rock undertones, while its title track plays like the tape of a jam session that became twisted and warped by some kind of demonic presence. The track becomes more and more twisted as it drives onwards, adding to a building sense of inescapable paranoia.

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Finally, it's closing track 'Tabula Rosa' builds on the psychedelic rock foundation laid by the group's self-titled debut, as vocalist Sam Grange cleverly shifts from rough to lucid vocals as needed, whilst the instrumental side provides mesmerizing tones accompanied by hypnotic guitars, as if Sabbath's 'Planet Caravan' had riffs. The EP is remarkably consistent for such a young band, only the odd production issue letting it down.

With an upcoming full-length now completed, entitled Tidal Mind, March The Desert are set to launch the next phase of their career, and as long as the album continues their trend of improved songwriting on each release, it could well become a late entry on many end of year best of lists.

Moodhoover From the typical to the more original, Brighton's doom scene is a varied affair. At the far end of the original end of the scale is the brilliantly named Moodhoover, who are, well, a little strange. With the current influx of often similar-sounding doom bands, however, a little strange is no bad thing.

Whilst some doom outfits explore a relaxed, subtle style that you can chill-out too, this trio are more of an energy-consuming listen, as they tear apart the boundaries of normality and construct their own makeshift ones. Moodhoover's guitars often spiral off into frenzied palates of noise, though never enough to lose the quality of the riff, with an ever-present oddball humour keeping things interesting throughout their 2014 EP Drop Jesus.

The EP's title-track is hilariously inter-cut with a robotic voice informing you to buy the CD, whilst 'Crazy (fisher price demo)' mixes a simple punky song with sludgy fuzz and 'Droop Geezoose' chugs along for over seven minutes of eccentric doom, even knocking up some groove-focused rhythms at times.

Although, thinking about it, that may be a joke. Listing influences as 'all the bands that suck now', Moodhoover describe themselves as the 'musical equivalent of Goat's Cheese', and if that's too ambiguous for you, their music is currently

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name your price on Bandcamp for you to check out yourself. If you like your doom dark and serious, Moodhoover might not tick all the right boxes for you, but don't say they're not entertaining.

Solleme Where the likes of Moodhoover are almost comical in nature, the sludgy offerings of Solleme are much more serious (Or solemn harhar). The group's diabolically gloomy take on metal paints a devastatingly dismal view of the world.

Solleme's output is surprisingly well-executed for a group with just a two-track demo under their belt, and whose first show was just over a couple of months ago. Nevertheless, when it comes to writing gloriously desolate music, Solleme are nothing if not proficient.

Guitarist Sam proves himself highly skilled in suspenseful, murky guitar-work, most notably on the sinister intro of 'Sleep Thorn', a track with a building sense of dread guaranteed to make you look over your shoulder as you walk home late at night. When he unleashes his guitars at their heaviest, they pack a thunderous punch, while vocalist Frank's shrill shrieks keep affairs substantially horrifying throughout these moments of intensity.

All this implies a bright future. If the young trio can recreate the apocalyptic menace of their debut demo over an EP or album, and beef it out with more moments of creeping tension amongst the heaviness, it'll be one to pick up.

Words: George Parr

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South Wales Scene Report South Wales has always been a place with heaps of music heritage, Joe Strummer's start in music was there, and even some of Nirvana's most infamous gigs took place in South Wales.

Whilst bands like Manic Street Preachers, Stereophonics, Super Furry Animals and Feeder all hail from the land of the dragon - if you look hard enough, through all the vapid mainstream indie pop, you'll find yourself immersed in the murky valleys of Welsh music.

However, South Wales is a far more sinister prospect in the modern day - filled to bursting with bands far more gut retching and boundary pushing than many of their world touring contemporaries. It's through this that South Wales has put itself back on the map - through it's burgeoning DIY music scene full of underrated, and unheard of underground bands.

With this in mind we've put together a brief selection of bands that clearly define and make the South Wales music underground music scene what it is.

Tides Of Sulfur Having just released their debut full length Extinction Curse, Black Bow Records premiere blackened doom proposition Tides Of Sulfur are putting the graft in. Over the past year, The band have left the veritable safety of Wales to play shows all over the UK everywhere from Bristol to London to High Wycombe and Leeds. Pick up their debut Extinction Curse too - it's one of our favourites of 2016.

Venom Prison Bringing a whole new stance to contemporary death metal, Wales latest export Venom Prison have made a name for themselves this year - touring with the likes of Dragged into Sunlight, Okkulakrati and Trap Them as well as smashing up well known festivals like Damnation Festival.

Featuring members of Haast's Eagled, Wolf Down and Brutality Will Prevail - the band have been very busy off the back of the well received album Animus, which has cemented their sound and place in Britain's heavy music scene.

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Heil Zilla Cardiff/Swansea outfit Heil Zilla have played many shows in and around South Wales for the last two years. They're a ballsy three-piece punk band with ferocious percussion and catchy riffs and hooks, no news yet on a release but they're still playing lots of local shows so keep your eyes peeled.

Ghast Black metal can be found almost anywhere, and Ghast prove this. Swansea's Ghast WERE (I know!) one of the best Black Metal bands around. Having made their mark with releases such as 2014's 'Dread Doom Ruin' and their 2008 debut 'May the Curse Bind' plus two EP's and a split, the band have sadly called it a day.

Agrona Agrona are probably the most well known/ well toured Black Metal band in Wales at the moment - playing a high frequency of shows, showcasing their own style and interpretation of Black Metal. Over the course of the past year, the band have become a house band to Cardiff institutions such as Fuel and no-one is complaining.

Oblong Featuring current and past members of Heil Zilla and Hogslayer, Oblong are an experimental doom project with a vengeance.

The band's sound challenges the listener's ears through their fusion of slow intense tempo of doom with eerie synth and vocals that go from serene trip-hoppy sections to maniacal screams and screeches - you really need to see this band if you get the chance.

The band are currently working on a debut project and have a mini tour in the works.

Words: Tom Kirby

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The House show When big business comes along and destroys your whole city's live music scene, house shows become the easiest way to fill that void that has been made. It becomes a beacon of light, a sure fire way of exploring underground music in a purist DIY manner, without any involvement from venues, promoters or money!

We decided to put house shows under the microscope.

There are two things that seem to remain constant if you spent your teenage years pissing off your parents by running off to punk shows or rigorously training those neck muscles for more effective windmilling. These two things are a long burning passion for house shows combined with basically being your mates band's biggest fan.

My friends and I started going to house shows not long after we started going to house parties, but once you hit the age of being able to drive overnight, excursions to neighbouring cities without being exiled by your parents, you will step up your regularity. The experience of the raw energy and camaraderie you get from a house show is like the first punk show you ever went to, you realize it's a house party on steroids and that people sat in a kitchen looking awkwardly in to their drinks doesn't hold up.

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When somebody decides to have bands play their living room/kitchen/basement/ garage you know that they've basically given permission for their house to get wrecked (or that they're the messiah, pick one!). People will be standing on literally anything with elevation! fridges, fireplaces, counter tops you name it!

There will be footprints on the ceiling, footprints on counter tops, footprints on faces, underneath revealing careless toothy smiles.

It's things like this that make a house show what it is and always has been, at it's core - a coming of age practice. Whether it's playing music to your friends or hearing it from strangers it's the rawest form of music with no involvement from money hungry promoters or venue owners. There are no dickhead bouncers and the only exchange of money is bands selling merchandise out of an empty kitchen cupboard or the coin hat that gets passed around the room to go towards bands petrol.

The UK underground music scene circa 2017 is in very good place right now with tons of new bands coming out of the woodwork, messing with fresh sounds and ideas. This resurgence has in effect created a revival of the house show with cities such as Leeds, Brighton and Cardiff putting on lots of interesting varied house shows.

You should be doing it too, have a chat with your housemates/parents (or don't!) and start something special, something eternal.

Words/Pics: Tom Kirby

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Nepalese Temple Ball: Musical Lasagna Nepalese Temple Ball are one of the most fascinating propositions in doom-mongering UK noise. The south coast four piece's curious genre-fusion has captured the UK doom scene with their ponderous, melodicism on record and the fuzzing walls of noise of their live performances.

In the wake of the acclaim surrounding 2015's 'Arbor' and their storming tour across the UK alongside the sadly departed Grindhouse in 2015 - and a 2016 spent hibernating and writing - 2017 is set to be a huge year for The Nepalese Temple Ball.

We caught up with Lee and Stitch of The Nepalese Temple ball to discuss weed, trout and genre based lasagna: Your name comes from a particularly potent strain of hash, what's your favourite strain of weed?

Stitch: Anything that gets me stoned, I did have a 2 year sesh where I just smoked Squidgie Black.

Lee: I am a sober boy these days but back when I used to partake it would be whatever you could find, even used to be partial to some dirty old plastic bag ridden solid, old school filth. I don't think there was so much choice 10 years ago though where we lived. I love the smell of it still, I definitely miss it.

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There are a plethora of influences running through your music, why the fusion of genres? Who/what are your top influences?

Stitch: We all have such a wide range of taste in music, and have been involved loads of different bands of varying genre. Neurosis and the wider Post-Metal scene are a strong influence for us all. Bands like Bronze Chariot, Young Widows (and noise nock as a genre) have had a huge influence on our sound since Lee started playing guitar - which has allowed Tim to experiment and make sexy noises with his guitar.

How would you describe Nepalese Temple Ball's sound?

Stitch: A musical Lasagna.

Lee: Like a gentle stroke on the face then a smash in the balls.

There is a thickly layered aesthetic behind your music, what's the creative process for the walls of sound you create?

Stitch: Some of our songs have been kicking about since 2008 and started off more basic, but would be harsh from start to finish... we only had one sound and it was nasty, but over time with line-up changes and a multitude of other obstacles we've added a touch more emotion. Arbor is like a musical diary of the band.

Lee: It's definitely been a process of refining these songs, like Stitch said some of them are years old and have mellowed slightly with age, that said some of them have been beefed up in places as well.

From a noisescape point of view, I end up obsessing over layers of sound, I generally record samples of anything I hear that I like when I am out and about out then run them through effects, splitting out frequencies, layering up and more processing and obsessing, I like the process of sound creation, I kind of get lost in it.

We saw you play on tour and you got a couple of other members of other bands up on stage to create an intense wall of pure noise, what's the philosophy behind this?

Stitch: All the guy's that have been in this band past/present have all jammed with Nudga which is a live jam band and it's just an awesome feeling playing alongside friends even it's just for a riff or 2. also watch KNUT play H/armless with Isis on YouTube and you'll understand.

Lee: Indeed, being on tour with the boys from Grindhouse (RIP) was excellent, we had not met them before and we all just gelled really well. I think after the first show we taught them the guitar and vocal parts, having the option to play as a six piece with three guitars, bass, drums and three or four vocals was

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brutal, we come from a background of improvisation and collaboration so this is kind of thing is right up our street.

Do you feel your music is better appreciated live or on record?

Stitch: I think the record gives a good indication of what to expect live, but live we get to add more feeling as we can play heavier or softer, slower or faster depending on the show or our mood.

Lee: I love the record but its best played live, you can get the emotion behind it across to people better when you are right in front of them rocking out and screaming as hard as you can. Not sure what Stitch means about playing softer, that never happens.

How do you feel about the contemporary doom/sludge scene in the UK? Lee: I don't know much about that really, I can tell you though locally in Bournemouth there are a couple of bands we are well into; Cheel Ghar and Swallowing. Cheel Ghar are a sleazy, Doomy monster swaggering around on drunken feet. Love it. Swallowing mix some grind in there but also noise, as well as some slow, intense madness, I'm not sure I have heard anything like them before. Check out the track 'The Mother' from their debut tape Songs for the saved, you won't be disappointed.

The doom scene seems to have moved into somewhat more forward thinking territory in the last few years, including yourselves. How do you feel about a lot of Doom bands from the UK moving outside of the box?

Stitch: It's great, Doom has become a very popular genre and with popularity comes a lot of generic bands and can get a bit boring. So hearing or seeing something different within the genre can only help the doom scene be more vibrant and not so one dimensional. Doom to me is not just play low and slow with a fuzz pedal.

Lee: As long as it doesn't end up being diluted and fucked the way Nu-Metal did to metal I am a happy boy.

What was it that made you want to implement post rock/prog influence?

Stitch: Truth is The Nepalese Temple Ball was initially going to be a grind band but me and Tim got wasted and pressed record button and jammed for a few hours.

Got a bit more wasted listened to it back and liked what we heard, so we went down that route and ditched the idea of trying to write Grindcore and instead we played stuff that came out naturally.

Lee: It has kind of evolved over time really, I think the way we're going with the new stuff we are writing is heavier again, but like with Arbor, you can start with the idea of doing something one way and it can go almost the opposite way, we'll see what happens for the next one I guess.

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What is a Mongolian Terror Trout?

Stitch: It's a Taimen, a species of fish in the Salmon family, but whilst watching National Geographic they referred to the fish as Mongolian Terror Trout.

The influence of Eastern Mysticism seems to be prevalent in the doom scene in the UK, would you say it's just an aesthetic or is it something more?

Lee: I don't know really, I am not too up on what a lot of other bands are doing, I don't want that to sound like I am not interested but I have just kind of moved away from the internet these days.

With Arbor the songs ended up being about (amongst other things) Medusa, Frankenstein's monster, the band made monstrous flesh and some kind of mental old trout - it definitely wasn't the goal at the start, it just kind of happened that way.

How does all living in different parts of the country work as a band? How do you keep it working?

Stitch: It isn't easy, but we all have stuff to deal with... families, mortgages, jobs. But from day one we have always said Whatever it takes we'll make it work and we've done that. Just takes us longer to get things done. But as long as we are all happy when we get in a room we'll keep doing what we do.

Lee: The main thing is that we are more like family as well as being in a band so it gives us a good reason to all get together and hang out more often that you might usually with the distance between us.

It is always good fun and getting to play a few shows in a row is just a bonus.

What do you have planned as far as tours/releases toward the end of 2016?

Stitch: We've sort of been on a break since September and probably won't be back in action till later in the year, due to births, deaths, Marriages and trying to buy houses. We did have a jam earlier this year and the outcome was punishing.

Lee: Yeah, it's been a good and bad year which has stopped play a bit, we're working towards getting a new set together before we play live again, hopefully something towards the end of the year.

Many thanks to the 'Temple Ball! Hope to hear more material from you guys soon!

Words: Richard Lowe

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Mammothfest: All Doom All Day When you hear of an all-day doom and sludge stage you probably picture a dim basement setting, rooms consumed by the work of smoke machines, and a stage bookended by towering amps. In the case of Mammothfest's doom stage, that assumption would be right on the mark.

The day begins with sludge trio Mower hailing from 'fucking miles away' (aka Wigan). Playing through tracks from their debut EP, Meathead, the group impress with their meaty riffs and huge rolling grooves. It is on Tundra 64 that the group show their true power, though, as the drummer asks the sound desk that the guitar be turned up, resulting in a thunderous cacophony of noise befitting the band's heaviness.

Next up, Boss Keloid provide a less predictable form of doom, with the band themselves accentuating the eccentric humour that underlies their music. Touring off the back of the excellent 'Herb Your Enthusiasm', they provide a heavy doom sound, infused with Mastodon-esque prog, whilst vocalist Alex Hurst shows himself as one of the scene's best vocalists with his remarkable range.

His vocals are frequently cleaner than you'll find from Garganjua, whose brand of slow, swampy sludge predominantly uses growling yells over a brutish and bass-heavy sound. As with their debut album, 'A Voyage In Solitude', they occasionally make use of mellower sections (though these are less prominent live), as well as clean vocals, and the occasional piece of melodic guitar work providing a yin and yang effect with the heavy and lighter sides of their music.

Pist shoot some adrenaline into the day as they hold some of the day's speedier numbers. Providing Sabbath-inspired riffs, as well as anecdotes about meeting Tony Iommi and 'snorting until 5 last night' (or snoring as drummer Andrew Hunt corrects Dave Rowlands) - the band are at their best during groove-filled sections of thick riffs, conveying a Motorhead-esque muscularity.

Leeds trio Bong Cauldron also showcase that they can be speedier than the average doom band on occasion, most notably on 'Acid Cattle', which steamrolls along with the utmost power once it kicks in. Surprising given that the band are hungover, and according to guitarist/vocalist Biscuit (not the most doomy of names), 'coughing up burritos'. Luckily for the front row, no burrito vomit is seen today, but they are introduced to bruising closer 'Tree Wizard' - which unleashes a chaotic assault drenched in fuzzy sludge and pulverising groove.

What Bong Cauldron don't have, however, is the stage presence of local heroes King Goat, who engulf the stage in a dense smoke and from within in, unleash an inspired brand of prog-influenced doom metal. Vocalist Trim (not THAT Trim) shows off his extraordinary range, whilst guitarists Petro and Joe lead sinister guitar passages topped off with stellar riffage unbridled by generic sludgy feedback.

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As the first of today's two least doomy bands, Conjurer's opening track roars out of the gate at incredible speed compared to the rest of today's acts, though the group remain worthy of their place on today's stage through a gloomy atmosphere and occasional moments of slow, bruising riffs.

How the four-piece manage to fit so much flamboyant headbanging and swinging on one stage is astonishing, but most impressive is the thunderous impact their punishing blackened metallic hardcore has. Despite the enthusiasm they evoke dwindling throughout their set, they pick themselves back up for an explosive closer, leaving as one of the day's clear fan favourites.

After a cancellation from Brummie sludgers Opium Lord, Bast take the stage, providing a fusion of progressive black metal and crushing doom riffing, whilst a stream of post-metal inflections allow their more poignant sections to soar. For this crowd, they could do with taking a leaf from Garganjua's book and shortening some of their mellower sections to make room for more of the heavier, but there's enough here to see why Conan's Jon Davis chose these guys to have the first release on his label Black Bow Records.

With riffs straight out of the Iommi school of metal, Serpent Venom seem destined to be easy standouts on a stage dedicated to doom. Unfortunately, though, such riffs are openly derivative, and the London outfit impress through their effective atmospherics, and guitarist Roland Scriver's purposefully messy solos are full of an innate passion - which unfortunately just doesn't exude from his riffs.

As today has been marked most predominantly by crawling sludge of the devastating variety, the fact that next act Black Moth are able to conjure up some moshing is fairly impressive. The Leeds group provide an undeniably cool mash-up of punk, garage stoner rock, blues, and of course, doom. Their riffs are dense and heavy, but their grooves are irresistibly accessible. Today they introduce two new songs, the first of which is an explosive stoner anthem which earns the unusually kind heckle 'not bad for a new one'. The second is similarly infused with stonerisms, underlined by a bluesy style - surprising for an as-of-yet unnamed track that we're told is 'about cake'.

Much has been said about our headliners, Conan, by now. It's no secret that stepby-step the Liverpudlian trio have begun to take over the world of doom, and are well on their way to conquering the UK scene in the vein of its current biggest name - Electric Wizard. Moreover, frontman Jon Davis' own Black Bow Records holds a host of the genres most notable talents, and bassist Chris Fielding is producing albums more often than Wes Scantlin gets arrested.

By now, Conan's music speaks for itself, and perhaps that is why their stage presence is so bare. Jon Davis stays rooted the spot, swaying gently in time with his band's monolithic sound, moving only to the microphone to provide battle-cry vocals sprawled out over gargantuan riffs. When they revisit the somewhat more generic material of their early years, it cries out for something a little less

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underwhelming. What's impressive, though, is how the admirable no thrills approach draws attention to the music, which at its most gripping, stuns the crowd into a silent, respectful ovation.

Marking themselves out as about as doom as you can get, their songs feature, and are interluded by, huge lumps of feedback that tap into a frequency so intense it makes your knees wobble. Conan's sound has always been founded on a heavily distorted style of suffocating doom, but the heavy-handed nature of their feedback here is a decidedly useless tactic, given that fuzzy tones are usually a by-product of doom's inherently dark and swampy nature, rather than the focal point.

Regardless, Conan's lengthier headliner set proves itself deserved, as they expertly demonstrate an array of techniques, showcasing that doom can be so much more than a one trick pony. Davis' sinister droning on the guitar is nothing short of bewitching, whilst moments of the triad's most recent album, Revengeance, hold a surprising amount of speed, such as 'Throne Of Fire' which brings an unstoppable bombardment of momentum.

While Second album Monnos stopped short of any surprising flourishes, Revengeance flirted with sides of Conan's sound so confidently that it was as if they had always been present. Their live show cements this idea, highlighting the group's uncanny knack for frequently impressing. Just as Revengeance suggested bigger and better things for the doom giants, their underwhelming, yet effective stage show seems destined to end up in bigger venues someday soon. Come to think of it, many of today's acts could, and should, rise further up the ranks with them.

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Words/Photos: George Parr

REVIEWS

Here are a selection of our favourite doom cuts of 2016

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Ghold - PYR (Ritual Productions)

Upon first listen, listeners expecting a continuation of 2015's Of Ruin - which was full of sludge and lengthy blackened sections - may be surprised, but not unpleasantly. With the addition of new member, Guitarist Oliver Martin, Ghold have moved into bigger and more expansive territory.

The album kicks off with 'Collusion with traitors', employing Ghold's signature style, with a mix of fat bass and percussive repetitions. The song then takes a melodic turn becoming an almost Om-esque ceremonial ballad then exploding back in to life with crushing intensity, a great start to the record, and straight away you can hear what the addition of a third member is doing to their sound.

Next track up is 'Blud', which straight away rolls into the progressive sludge/doom sound the album follows. The harsh vocals on this track pull you in deeper into the crypt of noise that Ghold are producing; keeping the track alive with energy and are the standout, vocal sections of the record - with the guitar allowing for an even more cavernous bass tone than previous album 'Of Ruin'.

The track is followed by 'CCXX' a track similar to 'Blud', and the best example of the band's newfound progressive sound, on PYR - but for some reason, even nearing the nine minute mark, it still feels like it could go on for eternity.

This last track 'Despert Thrang' will fuck you up, and is by far one of the best tracks Ghold have ever put out - with the addition of guest vocalist 'Rose Dagul' as tantalizing as it is terrifying. The track is Ghold's longest ever. At over twenty minutes the tune pieces together all the elements which make the other three tracks on the album such a pleasure to listen to.

'Despert Thrang' is frantic, raw and uncompromising and goes straight for the jugular. This twenty-minute track requires no patience on your part, your participation by this point is already guaranteed so just sit back and enjoy.

On PYR Ghold have proven once again that they are a force to be reckoned with - as exponents of the fusion of blackened, sludge and progressive crossover that we heard so much of in 2015, PYR stands out as one of the best releases of 2016.

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Words: Tom Kirby

Horse Latitudes - ‘Primal Gnosis’ (Ritual Productions) Here is another album from the Ritual Productions roster of bands, upon release it felt like it came almost out of nowhere. That album is Primal Gnosis by Finnish drone/doom behemoths Horse Latitudes their first album on Ritual Productions and their first since 2013's Black Soil.

The album starts with a long ceremonial-drone composition titled 'Incantation' featuring repetitive drums and epic vocal melodies. The influence from Bong is prominent on this track, which takes the release off to a very positive start. The band utilize a meditative style, goding the listener into exploring the record further. The track finishes with a d-beat ridden end section that wouldn't feel out of place in most hardcore punk bands back-catalogues.

The percussion is the driving force in these tracks so far, giving the rest of the band the time and space they need, to develop. The latter end of the second track 'Spirals' is where the instrumentation comes together, mixing the bands doom and drone sounds with fresher elements of prog and psychedelia chugging along in vivacious fashion until nothing but emptiness can be felt.

The album takes a bleaker more decrepit turn on 'New Dawn', as the vocals take a harsh turn and the psychedelic edge a blackened turn, the record starts to hit a bleaker turn for the best.

'Beast of Waste and Desolation' is all the more evidence of a trend that a lot of doom bands appear to be following recently, creating a longer, more drawn out track focusing ritual, meditative qualities as opposed to crushing intensity. It's this ritualised longevity that helps the track stand out as the best on the releases, coming in at 21:20 this album finale puts on a gruelling intensity from the get-go and doesn't wane.

The prog elements on show earlier on in the album come together best for this last track with the vocals reaching their highest and darkest points. Longer tracks such as this show bands like Horse Latitude's full potential, allowing for boundaries to be stretched and for crossovers into different genres and sounds to become fully realised.

Horse Latitudes is another example of a doom band crossing over into to new territories experimenting with elements from black metal, drone, prog and Psychedelic making an abrasive, ceremonial Doom album that is as meditative as it is crushing. Big up PRIMAL GNOSIS.

WORDS: TOM KIRBY

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Slomatics – Future Echo Return’s ( Black Bow Records ) With their penchant for vintage Amplifiers and stacked Fuzz pedals, Belfast Doom-mongers Slomatics could easily fall into the increasingly generic side of the Doom/Sludge scene, but by drawing from their wider influences - including Hawkwind and The Stooges - they've managed to carve out a sound of their own more prevalent on this album that its predecessors.

Slomatics latest release through Jon Davis (Conan) label, Black Bow Records, marks their fifth full length, and the finale of a 3 part concept that started with A Hocht back in 2012.

Opener 'Estonomicon' is a 5 minute instrumental that gives a sense of things to come and also of what has gone before - It's no coincidence the title is closely linked to the 2nd album of the ESTRON trilogy. This sense of continuation is a theme which runs throughout the breadth of Future Echo Returns. The track's heavy swaying riff and spacey synth sounds hypnotise the listener, segueing perfectly into the next track.

'Electric Breath' is where the fuzzed out riffery continues, with the extra addition of harmonized vocals, hinting at the concept behind the albums - although this remains a tight lipped secret, with the band preferring the listener to discover the meaning for themselves, so much so that even the lyrics are not divulged.

'In The Grips Of Fausto' is the shortest track on the album, clocking in at just over 3 minutes long, but perfectly showcasing the consummate ease at which Slomatics roll from one emotional direction to another. The band are at the top of their game right now, and there's an air of effortlessness to the way they have created a concept without falling.

It's not hard to see why 'Rat Chariot' was chosen by the band as the teaser and, and it's rolling riffs function just as well as part of a standalone track as it does as a part of the bigger picture.

Climactic track 'Into the eternal' is a truly epic masterpiece, starting where 'Estronomicon' leaves off, driven along by an almost medieval synth, the track builds into euphoria alongside it's mandatory heaviness. The track gently winds down the album, leaving the listener as to no doubts that this is the end.

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Words: David Brand

Haast’s Eagled – II: For Mankind (Holy Roar)

One of UK doom's more left-field propositions, Welsh powerhouse Haast's Eagled's second album builds on the distinctive foundation laid down by their 2013 self-titled debut.

Filled with devastating guitars, evil atmospherics, and elements from all branches of the doomy spectrum II: For Mankind is a darkly gripping release, in touch with its emotion in a way many in the realm of doom are not, whilst still providing the destructive pummelling fans of the genre crave.

Here, Haast's Eagled rise beyond the clutter of incense-swamped sludge metal, and create an album that is as majestic as it is ferocious. Delicate pianos provide mesmerising intermissions throughout, before the focused intensity of the growling guitars come into play, effortlessly blurring the line between fuzzy production and crisp, crushing riffage. Moments like the explosive end to 'Zoltar' bring the heaviness instantaneously crashing into the fray, while the slow-burning start to the same 20 minute track takes the steadier approach, allowing pianos, precise cymbals and minimal, rumbling bass to grace the listener before unleashing the doom at its most monolithic.

The album's eccentric brand of cultish sludge allows emotionally-fuelled moments such as sax solos and sombre, piano-led moments to fit seamlessly amongst doomy cliches, such as gloomy atmospherics and devastatingly heavy riffs, as if they had long been a staple of the genre. Atypical delving into various influences not often found in doom stand out, but more than bringing intrigue, they flawlessly fit as if meticulously hand-picked. For every Yob, Sleep or Conan comparison that can be made, there's a well executed twist to boot.

Blending slower moments and demonic cult-like sections with cataclysmal riffs and towering soaring moments, II: For Mankind is a comprehensive, yet experimental slab of doom that harmoniously drifts between moments of brutality and those of tranquillity. One for the open-minded doom metal follower, the album has more twists than all of M. Night Shyamalan's films combined - only much more consistent.

Words: George Parr

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Churchburn/Opium Lord split 7�

(FHED & DG Records)

FHED Records (U.K) & Domestic Genocide Records (U.S) have collaborated to bring this unexpected but utterly brutal limited release on blood red vinyl. As splits go the release is short on running time but sonically, it's an absolute Giant.

First up on this slab of filth is Rhode Island outfit Churchburn, a collaboration between Dave Suzuki (Vital Remains) and Ray McCaffrey (Grief) whose offering 'Before the inferno' starts off with an air of melancholy. The track abruptly slams into pounding drums, jaunty guitars and chunderous vocals of the highest quality, before kicking off into its grinding central riff which one won't be able to help but nod along to, accompanied by a short but ripping solo that fits perfectly. It's the perfection of the tune's repetition that really impresses on this side of the split.

On the reverse is Birmingham's Opium Lord, who bring their unique brand of misery with 'Control', which can only be described as being like the feeling of trying to stay alive while tripping your absolute tits off - the guitars chime away like the twisted thoughts one try's to push to the back of the mind and the bass grooves take the place of the calming focus of your thoughts. Nathan Coyle's acerbic vocals are the perfect foil (pun intended), and the whole split leaves you feeling like you've been through something, more of a nightmare than a journey, but an enjoyable one nonetheless.

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Words: David Brand

Hissing - Self Titled (Southern Lord Records)

Southern Lord is one of the few labels whose logo still serves as a seal of approval from people who know interesting music when they hear it. The label's output ranges from the experimental drone of Earth and label founder Greg Anderson's Sunn O))) to the less challenging and genuinely fun thrash of Black Breath, or the crushing riffs of hardcore influenced acts like Xibalba and Nails.

If Southern Lord put it out then you can guarantee it'll be something intense. Their first release from Hissing proves their newest signees are as interestingly dark, or as darkly interesting, as any member of their SL family so far.

The first three minutes of opener 'Cairn' are blistering lo-fi death metal, with Incantation level technicality compressed to fit into Hissing's filthy production job, which is like forcing a ham hock into a spam tin - Whilst this does make Hissing harder to get into, it's still undeniably meaty. At around the three minute mark we hear the drone influences creep their way past the production table as long, drawn-out riffs take the centre stage.

Zach Wise uses his voice to build the track with his low growls transitioning to demented screams, and the song has a sense of crescendo which explodes and ends with one more vintage-sounding death metal riff. This is a formula that Hissing could easily slip into for both tracks on this EP, but alternatively they force upon you 'Husk' which starts with even more savagery, moving into a slower decomposition by it's the end, providing a sense of contrast between the two tracks.

Whilst any criticism of a band as early on in the career as Hissing will inevitably end with a sign-off about how they have potential and how eyes should be kept on them.

Hissing have tapped into such a subtle way of fusing death metal and drone, that they could go on to alter the darkened voids of both worlds forever.

Words: Jack Richard KIng

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TORFEST: A Tour Into The Unknown It's not very often as an avid underground music fan you stumble onto something that is completely alien - but the noisy, experimental, psychedelic fusion on show at this years Torfest in Todmorden do just that. The most intriguing thing about TORfest - besides obviously the fact that Bong are headlining, is that it takes place in Todmorden's Unitarian church.

On arrival one is greeted with the church's expansive architecture juxtaposed by an array of psychedelic projections illuminating the walls and roof - a premonition of an experience to remember. Having made the decision to not check out the majority of the acts that were playing beforehand, the festival is to be an entirely fresh live experience.

First up are Early Mammal who'd previously pulled out of a gig in Camberwell so it was a symbol of the universes cyclical nature to see them here. In the wake of the band's 2015 full length Take a lover the band would appear to be a fascinating live proposition. The band's set is enjoyable but it appears they are down a member due to inner conflicts, despite these issues, a bright future is in store for the band.

Watching Ryoko Akama set up her piece, it might be easy to wonder just the fuck is going on, as she slowly takes things out of boxes, contraptions being organised steadfast on the table. Once she begins her set, the confusion subsides and

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onlookers become fully entranced. Throughout the set Akama attaches batteries to a myriad of musical contraptions - adding one after another in order to buildup a delicate, textured drone, which reaches its peak through the assistance of the wonderful acoustics of the church. In order to deconstruct the temporary wall of noise batteries are then taken and turned off one by one, deconstructing the sound into nothingness.

The piece by Akama is bizarre, ambient, transient - her experimental sounds perfectly summing up the strange noise montage that the festival will soon become.

In a similar vein to Akama, Roman Nose teach further lessons on the possibilities of experimental noise. Encompassing A cellist, a percussionist and a multi instrumentalist - all wielding an assortment of eastern devices come together to create a strange musical progression, backed up by an elderly, eccentric percussionist surrounded by an array of metallic apparatus. The band's unique sound evokes blissful serenity, but also malaise, it's not clear how often Roman Nose get together to play, but it'd be well worth checking them out live.

Samara Lubelski - who showcases her delicate vocal talents - is one of the calmer, more traditional acts on show at this years Torfest.

The melding of vocals and guitar brings a timeless sound that bought a more straightforward approach - putting forward a refreshing compliment to the noise and experimentation which precedes her set.

Bong, tonights headliners, and arguably the band everyone's been waiting for take to stage, from the crowds reaction to the UK drone/doom Heavyweights it's apparent they had no idea what to expect and most of whom, it can be assumed haven't had the pleasure of witnessing one of Bong's rituals before.

Bong's set encompasses one continuous opus, engulfing the venue in a sea of sonic mastery. Bong do what they do best here; taking the audience on a transcendental journey in defiance of conventional perceptions of time and space. The acoustics, created with the synergy between this giant gothic hall and Bong's sound are truly something to behold. The only worry after is that Tor fest are going to have trouble topping this experience next year.

WORDS: TOM KIRBY

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ISSUE 2 SUMMER 2017

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