While Sweden has Candlemass, America will always have Solitude Aeturnus when it comes to stately, tradition-minded doom metal. Spearheaded by lifelong doom freak and driving creative force John Perez on guitar and the iconic, soaring voice of frontman Robert Lowe, Solitude Aeturnus first emerged from the sweltering Texas underground in the early 90s, releasing a double dose of slow motion metal decadence with their Into the Depths of Sorrow and Beyond the Crimson Horizon LPs in ’91 and ’92, respectively.
It was 1994′s Through the Darkest Hour which cemented the band’s status as America’s true doom frontrunner, perfectly capturing Perez’s classic metal tone and Lowe’s pained, passionate howl. Expertly melding the art of dirge with British metal grace-the holy trinity of Sabbath, Maiden and Priest of course-Through the Darkest Hour was an album full of highlights, showcasing the band at their compositional and musical peak.
While both of the band’s early effort contained strong songwriting of their own-”Transcending Sentinels” from Into the Depths of Sorrow serving as a particular early highlight-the force of Through the Darkest Hour hit the metal scene like a ton of bricks, sounding even more brave when placed ‘gainst the onslaught of brutal death metal bands then ruling the indie roost. During a time when genre forebears like Trouble remained cult icons and contemporaries Confessor were plying their similarly ‘difficult’ tunes towards death fans tired of thrash, Solitude Aeturnus stuck to their guns and never quit their doom metal dream.
Since then, the band has become a cult favorite amongst the traditionally minded faithful, even though true commercial success has still eluded the notoriously stage shy group, for whom long term touring never became a habit. This relative inactivity actually led Lowe to join Candlemass for their 2007 King of the Grey Islands release as frontman, replacing the (again) departed singer Messiah Marcolin, a position Lowe retains to this day.
Playing double duty, Lowe and Solitude A. remain a firm metal force-albeit in a stilted form-releasing the epic Alone LP in 2006, as well as a demo/rarities compilation this past year. With psych, stoner and death doom achieving relative prominence these days amongst the hipster set, it seems unlikely that the back catalog of Solitude Aeturnus will reach similar heights of popularity…but hey, you never know!
GODFLESH has not played on American soil in over a decade, however that is all about to change. MARYLAND DEATHFEST X, which is scheduled for Memorial Day Weekend 2012, has just announced it’s first batch of bands confirmed for the annual festival and who sits atop the bill, you may wonder? None other than the mighty GODFLESH. Led by the iconic Justin K Broadrick, GODFLESH reactivated nearly two years ago but have yet to play outside of Europe so this is a huge story to everyone in the metal underground – because we ALL worship GODFLESH.
While my guess is that GODFLESH will cash-in while they’re in America and play several shows, perhaps even a mini-tour, you can never be certain so I highly recommend you get tickets to MDFX as quickly as you humanly can. Don’t worry, there is already a huge bill with some of extreme metal’s finest already announced and many more to come in the months leading up to the festival.
I skipped this year’s installment of the festival because I wasn’t that interested in the acts performing, however I most certainly will be in attendance to watch the mighty GODFLESH along with the other bands who have been announced and are listed below for your salivating pleasure!
Morbid Angel
Godflesh
Electric Wizard
Saint Vitus
Anvil
Morgoth
Suffocation
Confessor
Winter
Demigod
Church Of Misery
Tsjuder
Unsane
Bethlehem
Horna
Sargeist
Negura Bunget
Macabre
Ghoul
The Devil’s Blood
Haemorrhage
Today Is The Day
October 31
Disma
Ulcerate
The Day Everything Became Nothing
Looking For An Answer
Dragged Into Sunlight
Agents Of Abhorrence
Nashgul
Nausea
Bloody Phoenix
Argus’ powerful self-titled debut turned some heads in 2009, yet the album’s limited distribution hampered the band’s profile amongst the die hard, denim vest faithful.
Hopefully this problem will be rectified here on Boldly Stride the Doomed, because the band’s bold, twin guitar dynamic is just what the doctor ordered for those with a hankerin’, epic metal fetish.
Smartly melding traditional doom metal-Argus features within its ranks the strapping voice of Penance frontman Brian Balich-and classic, 70s rock vibes (think Thin Lizzy’s more aggressive material, like “Emerald” and “Massacre”), Boldly Stride the Doomed achieves an excellent, classy balance of both sides, all the while concentrating intently upon the important compositional elements and structure.
There is a smart ebb and flow to these songs which possess multiple layers of emotion and mood. Venturing back and forth through aggression, power and melancholy, Argus stand on point with fellow genre titans Solitude Aeturnus, while also reminding, at times, a more chilled, laid back version of the unorthodox doomsters in Confessor.
More often than not, however, Boldly Stride the Doomed charges ever forward with a confident, soaring metal sound which is both contemplative and confident in execution, dynamic and intent. Argus is soulful metal for thoughtful metal fans; the likes of which makes for some truly memorable music.
While Sweden has Candlemass, America will always have Solitude Aeturnus when it comes to stately, tradition-minded doom metal. Spearheaded by lifelong doom freak and driving creative force John Perez on guitar and the iconic, soaring voice of frontman Robert Lowe, Solitude Aeturnus first emerged from the sweltering Texas underground in the early 90s, releasing a double dose of slow motion metal decadence with their Into the Depths of Sorrow and Beyond the Crimson Horizon LPs in ’91 and ’92, respectively.
