This year we continue good tradition of big New Year doom-quiz, there’re only 5 questions for a bunch of good and famous (or not so famous yet) doom bands. What kind of questions do we have today? Mmm… Let us see!
1. As always we’re starting with general question: What is the latest news from the band and what is it current state and plans for 2013?
2. Second one is about main hit of the band: Which song does represent the band best? Which one makes you really proud of it?
3. Striking balance as always: Which doom / metal / rock releases were most significant for you in 2012?
4. This question is something new for most of our heroes: What is the best present you got at this New Year / Christmas? I was glad that I’m not alone who get socks from grandmother each year. Long live grandma! Thank you!
5. Well, this question came pretty easy because straight before the New Year came I was enduring worst hangover for 2012. So what was your worst hangover mates? After which drink / substances did you get it and what did you do to reach such amazing results and how you survive it? Preconditions for this question are disclosed in New Year Doom quiz part II.
Black Salvation, Ego Depths, Fangtooth, Hoopsnake, KYPCK, Ophis, Pallbearer, Sluglord and Void Moon bring the Doom upon us tonight!
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Black Salvation (Germany, doom metal)
Birger (bass)
1. Currently we are preparing the recordings for our first full length album. If you have listened to our first EP "Lunia...", you can expect something quite different! In the end of January we are hitting the studio of KADAVAR's drummer Tiger to finally record 7 songs. When everything is done we'll try to find a label to release it and before and afterwards we would be pleased to play as much live shows as possible.
2. That's a very hard question. If I should choose I'd decide for "Reveal the Night", because it's simply the heaviest song we have and it has a lot of energy. But because all of our songs are so different I can't really tell... I like to get lost while playing "Silent Magic Spring" and I also think the yet untitled new song will make me really proud.
3. I haven't listened to a lot of 2012 releases, yet and I'm quite sure there are some great records I missed. But nevertheless there are some really nice tunes I listened to. If it comes to what I had spinning the most it's clearly "Lonerism" by Tame Impala. For me the no.1 Album 2012 and also the live gig in Berlin was amazing. Other Releases in no particular order: DeWolff - DeWolff IV, Kadavar - Kadavar, Pallbearer - Sorrow & Extinction, Swans - The Seer, The Ufo Club - s/t. Ah and I forgot to mention "Heat - Old Sparky" in my 2012 list and as I just discovered it and am blown away "The Shrine - Primitive Blast
4. I've got a cheese slicer looking like an elk from my girlfriend but I think I made the best present myself through buying me a new amp and cabinet.
5. The worst hangover worth a mention I had was 2008 at the Festung Open Air. I drank cheap vodka all evening and had very intensive talks. The next day my head was exploding and I was vomiting the shit out of me all day long. This happens sometimes and I got used to it, so I have no worries about not surviving it.
Black Salvation “The Devil sent us an Angel”
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Bandcamp
Listen To Black Salvation
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Ego Depths (Canada, funeral doom)
Stigmatheist (all instruments)
1. Current state is active of course, full of creative exploration of the new ideas and development of the old ones. I just have finished the long lasted guitar tracking for my upcoming second full-length, now I start to record vocals and so on. Then I will start mixing and probably will finish somewhere along the present year.
2. Always, the last work you have should make you proud, otherwise what was it done for? In my case they are my two last splits, in particular the latest one with Moscow giants Who Die In Siberian Slush do represent my own band best.
3. Towards Darkness, Anhedonist, Dead Can Dance and Meshuggah, and it does not matter how paradoxically those names may sound being placed next to each other.
4. A bottle of Laphroaig Triple Wood.
5. Because our brain works quite inefficiently in such moments, then if I mention the particular one - I will lie... because I don't remember well all the details and cannot judge how worst it was comparing to other ones. Then it comes, that the most significant one is the last one, in my case after a NY, the morning after. Lots of different stuff had been consumed, as well as some very special drinks, including the Chinese tincture with a water lizard inside of the bottle alcoholized with a very specific Chinese "moonshine". The taste is horribly specific!!! This shit according to the Chinese belief(s) acts as an exorcist and normalizes the blood pressure... I haven't noticed that, but had problems in the morning, and I believe not only because of that tincture... I've got recovered quickly thanks to the mountain atmosphere and to that little amount of strong beer I took in the morning. However, enjoy responsibly!
Ego Depths “My Hearse Immortal”
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Bandcamp
Myspace
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Fangtooth (Italy, doom)
Sfack (guitars, vocals)
1. We are recording our second full length and writing new songs for our third effort! 2012 has been a really hard year for Fangtooth ‘cause I lived in another city, but now I’m back home, full of failure and resentment towards life and ready to play like there’s “no tomorrow” (this is a spoiler)!
2. Every song has a story and we love every one of them, but if there’s a song I’m really proud of, this is Martyr, ‘cause it’s so fucking epic…I still can’t believe we have written such a good song!!!
3. Hard to say…I really love “Beyond the boundaries of sin” by Hellwell (Mark Shelton=masterpiece) and “The ninth hour” by The Hounds of Hasselvander; another album I have literally devoured this year is “Tragic Idol” of the immense Paradise Lost; last but not least, “Lille F-64” by Saint Vitus, a little masterpiece (I want to say to those who criticize the short length of this album that I prefer 34 minutes of Saint Vitus than 0 minutes of Saint Vitus but above all I prefer 34 minutes of Saint Vitus than hours of the 90% of the modern metal bands)
4. The health and happiness of my family and my friends!
5. There are so many it’s difficult to choose…one of the worst was during the party to celebrate my degree…I drank 5 liters of beer and two bottles of tequila all by myself, then I fell sitting on the beach and felt life was leaving me…I wanted to go to the hospital because I was too bad, but I was curious to see if I was really going to die! A few hours later my friends found me and took me home, I fell asleep and then in the morning I took a kick boxing match to shake my head and throw up all the alcohol. I vomited fighting like a true warrior!
Fangtooth “Martyr”
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Bandcamp
Myspace
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Hoopsnake (Canada, sludge / doom metal)
Shane Carmichael (Bass and Vocals)
1. Hoopsnake had a great year in 2012. We released our debut LP and toured Canada and the USA to support it's sales. Playing at Noctis Fest in Calgary with such bands as, Speedwolf, Venom, and Blood Ceremony was a highlight of 2012. For 2013 we will be continuing to support our LP with more shows in Canada and America while working on new material for our next release, and possible European tour in the years to come.
2. Weedfiender General, is a song that well represents Hoopsnake. It shares influence from Blues to Black Sabbath and lyrics about Craving the almighty sticky green agent we have all come to love. What more could you ask for in a doom song?
3.As far as releases that were significant in 2012 nothing really stands out, But seeing Sleep perform Back to Back sets two nights in a row in Seattle was definitely an all time High and a true realization of the power of live music.
4.Best present this New Year would be the bottle of Jim Beam. It's the only way to make it through the holidays.
5.Worst Hangover of 2012 came after a Hoopsnake show in Regina Saskatchewan. We decided to eat a bunch of mushrooms right at the end of our set, but to our surprise Exhumed had just finished playing a show next door. They came in to see our set and were blown away, making them decide to treat us to an after ours open bar. The amounts of shots was crippling when mixed with the mushrooms. To say the least in the morning the venue no longer had a balcony and we were dry heaving our way back across the country to get home to BC.
Hoopsnake - "Live"
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Bandcamp
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KYPCK (Finland, doom)
Erkki (vocals)
1. We did a couple of shows in Finland during Christmas and played the usual crushing gig. We work on our third album slowly, but surely. There are about 6-7 demos ready and we'll probably go into the studio this summer. The album should come by the end of 2013.
2. There are a few, but I think "Chernaya dyra" remains a focal song for the band, especially live. "Tovarishcham" is another important track from the second album, as it's written for the fans.
3. Shit... once again I have had too little time to listen to what other people were doing... But I guess if I had to say something, I'd pick the Paradise Lost album.
4. Heh... Wireless headphones!
5. Dear lord... Erm... I guess it was the one I had in Italy when we were touring with my other band, Dreamtale. It was the morning after our last show and we were in the airport waiting for our flight home... We had a blast consuming various types of South-European alcohol in the tourbus the night before. I was walking around like a zombie and attracting the attention of airport security and basically everybody else who saw me. All the public announcements seemed to blast through my head like cannon shells... Luckily our bassist took me to the airport bar and after four quick Bacardi Breezers life returned. So, happy new year to all!
KYPCK "Tovarishcham" (“Comrades”)
Official Website
Facebook
Myspace
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Ophis (Germany, death doom metal)
Philipp Kruppa (vocals, guitars)
1. There is a lot of stuff in progress currently, we are drowning in work. You and the readers are the very first to hear: we will re-release the first two records as a 2-CD Boxset with a special artwork and some live-recordings! Release will probably be around April or May. We will also release another split EP in 2013, with a very unusual cover version. There is no release date yet, but we will enter studio end of this month. The name of the other band is still a secret.
And the most important thing: we are currently deeply into writing-sessions for the third album, which is about 60 % finished. It will still take a while until recording and release, but we are getting closer. It's about fucking time!!!
2. We are proud of (almost) all our songs, but for me personally, I think it is "The Mirthless".
3. Concerning Doom Metal, it was the new EVOKEN album. Killer! There were some other cool albums as well, but generally 2012 was a rather weak year for music. At least compared to 2011.
4. It came from my girlfriend and I am afraid this has to be censored, haha!
5. I quit drinking and drugs completely some years ago, so no hangovers for me anymore, haha. But I remember back from my days at university, when a friend and I celebrated the passing of his exam. It was only beer and whisky, but enough booze to waste a squadron of Finnish sailors. We got so fucked that I could not leave my bed for 3 days straight. Nothing helped against that hangover, not even painkillers. But you know, "Suffering Is A Virtue", haha.
Ophis “The Mirthless”
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Bandcamp
Official Website
Myspace
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Pallbearer (United States, doom metal)
Joseph D. Rowland (bass)
1. 2013 looks to be our busiest year yet. We're in the middle if tracking a few one-off pieces right now, which will be completed as time allows.
Also, we are still slowly formulating the second album which will hopefully be recorded in 2013. Our way of writing takes time and slow editing. Apart from that, we'll be playing all over the world and we are looking forward very much to seeing new places and meeting lots of new people along the way.
2. That's a tough call, but personally Given to the Grave is the one I'm proudest of, and I feel that fans that enjoy that song over some of the more obvious ones are the ones that seem to have a bit more insight into what Pallbearer is about. That said, I'm honored that various people seem to single out each different one as a favorite, which to me makes me feel that there is something for nearly everyone locked into the music somehow.
3. To be honest I've had minimal interest in newer metal this year, although loved the Pinkish Black S/T most of everything I heard. Also the Samothrace and Anhedonist albums were excellent. I find myself more interested in seeing current bands in the live environment more than new albums. Most of the recorded music I listen to is not modern. Without getting too in depth, I am fairly obsessed with older progressive rock and its offshoots, and that fills much of my listening time.
4. My father was gracious enough to replace my broken cell phone, apart from that I did not receive many gifts. My girlfriend and I chose to focus on getting gifts for her young daughter rather ourselves this year.
5. 2012 was a fairly hangover free year for me, rather surprisingly! I'm not recalling anything particularly memorable, which means I had a pretty miraculous near-misses, or have just killed too many braincells to recall!
Pallbearer “Given to the Grave”
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Slug Lord (Finland, doom stoner)
P. Saarinen (bass)
1. We have spent the last year crafting and finalizing new musical conjurations for the current line-up and the recording process of our next release is finally about to start at the beginning of this year. As you may know, our female singer left the band over a year ago and after some contemplating we decided to give our guitarist the change to express himself vocally and just continue the band as a trio. As the result of this reformation, the new material is going to be significantly different with much darker and more crushing, oppressive atmosphere.
2. Probably the existing songs that represent the current status of the band best are yet to be released. There are, however, couple of raw early versions of these songs in our Bandcamp site, recorded in a single take with one Zoom H2 recorder standing in the middle of our rehearsal room. So I would have to say either of those at the moment. But if I had to choose from the officially released material, I'd say Speeding and Credo, although it is naturally always difficult to say which is the favourite of your children.
3. I don't tend to actively follow new releases (anymore at least), so I had to really think for a while which of my recent favourites were actually released last year. Although, there was one album that I preordered immediately when it was available, S E I S M I C from the almighty Sons of Otis, one of my favourite bands ever. In addition I really enjoyed Windhand's self-titled debut and the first one of Ufomammut's double release, Oro: Opus Primum. I was expecting a lot from Saint Vitus' and Graveyard's latest releases but unfortunately they were too mediocre to avoid overshadowing of their great earlier work. Oh, and I still haven't heard Psychedelic Pill from Neil Young but I'm eager to, as I've heard a lot of praises for the album.
4. The good ol' Santa brought me Rocksmith PC game, which has been good fun lately. And also that bottle of whiskey was a nice one...
5. This is a hard one. There are so many that selecting one especially is an impossible job. Whether it's bloody vomit, paranoia, vomiting on my face lying on my back, sleep paralysis, endless diarrhea, more vomiting... But definitely one of the worst hangovers comes every year in August, after our friend has hosted a private festival to celebrate his birthday in his own ranch in the countryside, in the middle of nowhere. Served usually has been Sahti, a Finnish beer-like drink, which tastes like shit (but in a good way!) and loosens your bowels nicely for the upcoming horror. This (un)fortunately has been recently replaced by our other friend's microbrewery products, which I guess can also work pretty much the same way as Sahti does if used extensively. I'm also mentioning this event due to the fact that early line-ups that eventually became Slug Lord was put together because of it and performed there live for the first couple of times!
...And for surviving the hangover, that's easy. Just drink some more!
"Slug Lord “Credo”
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Void Moon (Sweden, doom metal)
Peter Svensson (bass)
1. We are just confirmed for the Metal Magic Festival in Denmark in July 2013. We have a live cassette coming out on Burn Records (the label from Felipe of Procession) very soon. We also have a split 12” (of “The Mourning Son” demo and an unreleased track) with the Bottle Doom Lazy Band from France coming out in the near future. Besides that we are currently writing and rehearsing new songs.
2. I think I would have to say “Cyclops”. It is the one track that contains the most parts but still have a coherent sound. I think you can hear a lot of our different influences in that song so I guess it represents us best. It is a very emotional song and has a bit of personal lyrics for me.
3. The Candlemass album, since it’s their final album and that signals the end of an era. I very glad that they end with a very good album. I not completely sure that they can stay away from recording forever though… besides Candlemass I really enjoyed the new Manowar (a return to metal) and the new Overkill record. As for more underground stuff I really enjoyed the EP from A Tree of Signs.
4. Some books, an Alice Cooper biography and a short story collection by Hector Hugh Munro.
5. Do you mean “ever” or during 2012? I had one of the worst hangovers ever during Headbangers Open Air 2008, I’m pretty sure I drank anything I could find, so “only” alcohol but anybody who’s been really hung-over knows that that’s enough… The secret was arriving at great festival with vast amounts of cheap alcohol, first nights at festivals are the most dangerous. The great thing is that I didn’t learn a thing from that experience…
Void Moon “Cyclops”
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Official Website
Myspace
Interviews By Aleks
1. As always we’re starting with general question: What is the latest news from the band and what is it current state and plans for 2013?
2. Second one is about main hit of the band: Which song does represent the band best? Which one makes you really proud of it?
3. Striking balance as always: Which doom / metal / rock releases were most significant for you in 2012?
4. This question is something new for most of our heroes: What is the best present you got at this New Year / Christmas? I was glad that I’m not alone who get socks from grandmother each year. Long live grandma! Thank you!
5. Well, this question came pretty easy because straight before the New Year came I was enduring worst hangover for 2012. So what was your worst hangover mates? After which drink / substances did you get it and what did you do to reach such amazing results and how you survive it? Preconditions for this question are disclosed in New Year Doom quiz part II.
Black Salvation, Ego Depths, Fangtooth, Hoopsnake, KYPCK, Ophis, Pallbearer, Sluglord and Void Moon bring the Doom upon us tonight!
Birger (bass)
1. Currently we are preparing the recordings for our first full length album. If you have listened to our first EP "Lunia...", you can expect something quite different! In the end of January we are hitting the studio of KADAVAR's drummer Tiger to finally record 7 songs. When everything is done we'll try to find a label to release it and before and afterwards we would be pleased to play as much live shows as possible.
2. That's a very hard question. If I should choose I'd decide for "Reveal the Night", because it's simply the heaviest song we have and it has a lot of energy. But because all of our songs are so different I can't really tell... I like to get lost while playing "Silent Magic Spring" and I also think the yet untitled new song will make me really proud.
3. I haven't listened to a lot of 2012 releases, yet and I'm quite sure there are some great records I missed. But nevertheless there are some really nice tunes I listened to. If it comes to what I had spinning the most it's clearly "Lonerism" by Tame Impala. For me the no.1 Album 2012 and also the live gig in Berlin was amazing. Other Releases in no particular order: DeWolff - DeWolff IV, Kadavar - Kadavar, Pallbearer - Sorrow & Extinction, Swans - The Seer, The Ufo Club - s/t. Ah and I forgot to mention "Heat - Old Sparky" in my 2012 list and as I just discovered it and am blown away "The Shrine - Primitive Blast
4. I've got a cheese slicer looking like an elk from my girlfriend but I think I made the best present myself through buying me a new amp and cabinet.
5. The worst hangover worth a mention I had was 2008 at the Festung Open Air. I drank cheap vodka all evening and had very intensive talks. The next day my head was exploding and I was vomiting the shit out of me all day long. This happens sometimes and I got used to it, so I have no worries about not surviving it.
Bandcamp
Listen To Black Salvation
Soundcloud
Ego Depths (Canada, funeral doom)
Stigmatheist (all instruments)
1. Current state is active of course, full of creative exploration of the new ideas and development of the old ones. I just have finished the long lasted guitar tracking for my upcoming second full-length, now I start to record vocals and so on. Then I will start mixing and probably will finish somewhere along the present year.
2. Always, the last work you have should make you proud, otherwise what was it done for? In my case they are my two last splits, in particular the latest one with Moscow giants Who Die In Siberian Slush do represent my own band best.
3. Towards Darkness, Anhedonist, Dead Can Dance and Meshuggah, and it does not matter how paradoxically those names may sound being placed next to each other.
4. A bottle of Laphroaig Triple Wood.
5. Because our brain works quite inefficiently in such moments, then if I mention the particular one - I will lie... because I don't remember well all the details and cannot judge how worst it was comparing to other ones. Then it comes, that the most significant one is the last one, in my case after a NY, the morning after. Lots of different stuff had been consumed, as well as some very special drinks, including the Chinese tincture with a water lizard inside of the bottle alcoholized with a very specific Chinese "moonshine". The taste is horribly specific!!! This shit according to the Chinese belief(s) acts as an exorcist and normalizes the blood pressure... I haven't noticed that, but had problems in the morning, and I believe not only because of that tincture... I've got recovered quickly thanks to the mountain atmosphere and to that little amount of strong beer I took in the morning. However, enjoy responsibly!
Bandcamp
Myspace
Sfack (guitars, vocals)
1. We are recording our second full length and writing new songs for our third effort! 2012 has been a really hard year for Fangtooth ‘cause I lived in another city, but now I’m back home, full of failure and resentment towards life and ready to play like there’s “no tomorrow” (this is a spoiler)!
2. Every song has a story and we love every one of them, but if there’s a song I’m really proud of, this is Martyr, ‘cause it’s so fucking epic…I still can’t believe we have written such a good song!!!
3. Hard to say…I really love “Beyond the boundaries of sin” by Hellwell (Mark Shelton=masterpiece) and “The ninth hour” by The Hounds of Hasselvander; another album I have literally devoured this year is “Tragic Idol” of the immense Paradise Lost; last but not least, “Lille F-64” by Saint Vitus, a little masterpiece (I want to say to those who criticize the short length of this album that I prefer 34 minutes of Saint Vitus than 0 minutes of Saint Vitus but above all I prefer 34 minutes of Saint Vitus than hours of the 90% of the modern metal bands)
4. The health and happiness of my family and my friends!
5. There are so many it’s difficult to choose…one of the worst was during the party to celebrate my degree…I drank 5 liters of beer and two bottles of tequila all by myself, then I fell sitting on the beach and felt life was leaving me…I wanted to go to the hospital because I was too bad, but I was curious to see if I was really going to die! A few hours later my friends found me and took me home, I fell asleep and then in the morning I took a kick boxing match to shake my head and throw up all the alcohol. I vomited fighting like a true warrior!
Bandcamp
Myspace
Hoopsnake (Canada, sludge / doom metal)
Shane Carmichael (Bass and Vocals)
1. Hoopsnake had a great year in 2012. We released our debut LP and toured Canada and the USA to support it's sales. Playing at Noctis Fest in Calgary with such bands as, Speedwolf, Venom, and Blood Ceremony was a highlight of 2012. For 2013 we will be continuing to support our LP with more shows in Canada and America while working on new material for our next release, and possible European tour in the years to come.
2. Weedfiender General, is a song that well represents Hoopsnake. It shares influence from Blues to Black Sabbath and lyrics about Craving the almighty sticky green agent we have all come to love. What more could you ask for in a doom song?
3.As far as releases that were significant in 2012 nothing really stands out, But seeing Sleep perform Back to Back sets two nights in a row in Seattle was definitely an all time High and a true realization of the power of live music.
4.Best present this New Year would be the bottle of Jim Beam. It's the only way to make it through the holidays.
5.Worst Hangover of 2012 came after a Hoopsnake show in Regina Saskatchewan. We decided to eat a bunch of mushrooms right at the end of our set, but to our surprise Exhumed had just finished playing a show next door. They came in to see our set and were blown away, making them decide to treat us to an after ours open bar. The amounts of shots was crippling when mixed with the mushrooms. To say the least in the morning the venue no longer had a balcony and we were dry heaving our way back across the country to get home to BC.
Bandcamp
Myspace
KYPCK (Finland, doom)
Erkki (vocals)
1. We did a couple of shows in Finland during Christmas and played the usual crushing gig. We work on our third album slowly, but surely. There are about 6-7 demos ready and we'll probably go into the studio this summer. The album should come by the end of 2013.
2. There are a few, but I think "Chernaya dyra" remains a focal song for the band, especially live. "Tovarishcham" is another important track from the second album, as it's written for the fans.
3. Shit... once again I have had too little time to listen to what other people were doing... But I guess if I had to say something, I'd pick the Paradise Lost album.
4. Heh... Wireless headphones!
5. Dear lord... Erm... I guess it was the one I had in Italy when we were touring with my other band, Dreamtale. It was the morning after our last show and we were in the airport waiting for our flight home... We had a blast consuming various types of South-European alcohol in the tourbus the night before. I was walking around like a zombie and attracting the attention of airport security and basically everybody else who saw me. All the public announcements seemed to blast through my head like cannon shells... Luckily our bassist took me to the airport bar and after four quick Bacardi Breezers life returned. So, happy new year to all!
Official Website
Myspace
Ophis (Germany, death doom metal)
Philipp Kruppa (vocals, guitars)
1. There is a lot of stuff in progress currently, we are drowning in work. You and the readers are the very first to hear: we will re-release the first two records as a 2-CD Boxset with a special artwork and some live-recordings! Release will probably be around April or May. We will also release another split EP in 2013, with a very unusual cover version. There is no release date yet, but we will enter studio end of this month. The name of the other band is still a secret.
And the most important thing: we are currently deeply into writing-sessions for the third album, which is about 60 % finished. It will still take a while until recording and release, but we are getting closer. It's about fucking time!!!
2. We are proud of (almost) all our songs, but for me personally, I think it is "The Mirthless".
3. Concerning Doom Metal, it was the new EVOKEN album. Killer! There were some other cool albums as well, but generally 2012 was a rather weak year for music. At least compared to 2011.
4. It came from my girlfriend and I am afraid this has to be censored, haha!
5. I quit drinking and drugs completely some years ago, so no hangovers for me anymore, haha. But I remember back from my days at university, when a friend and I celebrated the passing of his exam. It was only beer and whisky, but enough booze to waste a squadron of Finnish sailors. We got so fucked that I could not leave my bed for 3 days straight. Nothing helped against that hangover, not even painkillers. But you know, "Suffering Is A Virtue", haha.
Bandcamp
Official Website
Myspace
Pallbearer (United States, doom metal)
Joseph D. Rowland (bass)
1. 2013 looks to be our busiest year yet. We're in the middle if tracking a few one-off pieces right now, which will be completed as time allows.
Also, we are still slowly formulating the second album which will hopefully be recorded in 2013. Our way of writing takes time and slow editing. Apart from that, we'll be playing all over the world and we are looking forward very much to seeing new places and meeting lots of new people along the way.
2. That's a tough call, but personally Given to the Grave is the one I'm proudest of, and I feel that fans that enjoy that song over some of the more obvious ones are the ones that seem to have a bit more insight into what Pallbearer is about. That said, I'm honored that various people seem to single out each different one as a favorite, which to me makes me feel that there is something for nearly everyone locked into the music somehow.
3. To be honest I've had minimal interest in newer metal this year, although loved the Pinkish Black S/T most of everything I heard. Also the Samothrace and Anhedonist albums were excellent. I find myself more interested in seeing current bands in the live environment more than new albums. Most of the recorded music I listen to is not modern. Without getting too in depth, I am fairly obsessed with older progressive rock and its offshoots, and that fills much of my listening time.
4. My father was gracious enough to replace my broken cell phone, apart from that I did not receive many gifts. My girlfriend and I chose to focus on getting gifts for her young daughter rather ourselves this year.
5. 2012 was a fairly hangover free year for me, rather surprisingly! I'm not recalling anything particularly memorable, which means I had a pretty miraculous near-misses, or have just killed too many braincells to recall!
Bandcamp
Myspace
Slug Lord (Finland, doom stoner)
P. Saarinen (bass)
1. We have spent the last year crafting and finalizing new musical conjurations for the current line-up and the recording process of our next release is finally about to start at the beginning of this year. As you may know, our female singer left the band over a year ago and after some contemplating we decided to give our guitarist the change to express himself vocally and just continue the band as a trio. As the result of this reformation, the new material is going to be significantly different with much darker and more crushing, oppressive atmosphere.
2. Probably the existing songs that represent the current status of the band best are yet to be released. There are, however, couple of raw early versions of these songs in our Bandcamp site, recorded in a single take with one Zoom H2 recorder standing in the middle of our rehearsal room. So I would have to say either of those at the moment. But if I had to choose from the officially released material, I'd say Speeding and Credo, although it is naturally always difficult to say which is the favourite of your children.
3. I don't tend to actively follow new releases (anymore at least), so I had to really think for a while which of my recent favourites were actually released last year. Although, there was one album that I preordered immediately when it was available, S E I S M I C from the almighty Sons of Otis, one of my favourite bands ever. In addition I really enjoyed Windhand's self-titled debut and the first one of Ufomammut's double release, Oro: Opus Primum. I was expecting a lot from Saint Vitus' and Graveyard's latest releases but unfortunately they were too mediocre to avoid overshadowing of their great earlier work. Oh, and I still haven't heard Psychedelic Pill from Neil Young but I'm eager to, as I've heard a lot of praises for the album.
4. The good ol' Santa brought me Rocksmith PC game, which has been good fun lately. And also that bottle of whiskey was a nice one...
5. This is a hard one. There are so many that selecting one especially is an impossible job. Whether it's bloody vomit, paranoia, vomiting on my face lying on my back, sleep paralysis, endless diarrhea, more vomiting... But definitely one of the worst hangovers comes every year in August, after our friend has hosted a private festival to celebrate his birthday in his own ranch in the countryside, in the middle of nowhere. Served usually has been Sahti, a Finnish beer-like drink, which tastes like shit (but in a good way!) and loosens your bowels nicely for the upcoming horror. This (un)fortunately has been recently replaced by our other friend's microbrewery products, which I guess can also work pretty much the same way as Sahti does if used extensively. I'm also mentioning this event due to the fact that early line-ups that eventually became Slug Lord was put together because of it and performed there live for the first couple of times!
...And for surviving the hangover, that's easy. Just drink some more!
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Peter Svensson (bass)
1. We are just confirmed for the Metal Magic Festival in Denmark in July 2013. We have a live cassette coming out on Burn Records (the label from Felipe of Procession) very soon. We also have a split 12” (of “The Mourning Son” demo and an unreleased track) with the Bottle Doom Lazy Band from France coming out in the near future. Besides that we are currently writing and rehearsing new songs.
2. I think I would have to say “Cyclops”. It is the one track that contains the most parts but still have a coherent sound. I think you can hear a lot of our different influences in that song so I guess it represents us best. It is a very emotional song and has a bit of personal lyrics for me.
3. The Candlemass album, since it’s their final album and that signals the end of an era. I very glad that they end with a very good album. I not completely sure that they can stay away from recording forever though… besides Candlemass I really enjoyed the new Manowar (a return to metal) and the new Overkill record. As for more underground stuff I really enjoyed the EP from A Tree of Signs.
4. Some books, an Alice Cooper biography and a short story collection by Hector Hugh Munro.
5. Do you mean “ever” or during 2012? I had one of the worst hangovers ever during Headbangers Open Air 2008, I’m pretty sure I drank anything I could find, so “only” alcohol but anybody who’s been really hung-over knows that that’s enough… The secret was arriving at great festival with vast amounts of cheap alcohol, first nights at festivals are the most dangerous. The great thing is that I didn’t learn a thing from that experience…
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Interviews By Aleks