An Introduction

Greetings, and welcome to the newly re-designed Doom-Metal homepage. It is my hope, along with many others, that this page will become the informative starting point for all doom fans; newbies and veterans alike. In a metal world overrun by competitive bands striving to be the fastest and most "brutal", we need a central site to preserve our cherished and, in many cases, "underground" art. We consider the Doom genre to be a community, and what better place to meet each other than Doom-metal.com?

Since this is the first column written for the new page launch, I tried to think of a grand subject to start things off. As of this moment, I'm still thinking! The origins of Doom? Too cliché. The future of Doom music? Hard to say. A word or two about Morgion? Too shameless! I decided instead to invite everyone to a place where great people write columns of their own, place their opinions, and make new friends within the Doom community. This place, of course, is the IRC #Doom-metal channel.

I have been a "regular" in the channel for only a couple months now, and it doesn't take long to get to know everyone. Feel free to discuss music, gather opinions; and above all, have a good conversation with people who all share a common love for the genre. Of course, you never know who will drop in from time to time...

Enough of my babble for today... Be sure to bookmark this page, drop by often for the latest news, and check out the IRC section of the site. Join the community!

Cheers

- G. Griffith www.morgion.com
(9/10/00)



An Introduction II

Welcome to doom-metal.com. They call me Gunslinger and this is the column section. When we first came up with the idea for this site, I thought it might be a good idea to have a few News and Views columns to let people talk about the scene and current rumors and happenings within the genre of doom-metal. What exactly will be in these columns is still up in the air, some people will be writing them but exactly who aside from myself I'm not exactly sure yet. For my part, I will be writing whatever comes into my mind to write. If I hear things, you will hear about them here along with any commentary I may provide to go along with it. I am not sure exactly how often these columns will be coming out, at the moment I am thinking every other week a new column will appear, though I may be particularly creative and do one every week (or particularly slackass and do one per month *g*).

So what makes me qualified? Well, not that I'm an expert on anything but I am very much involved with doom-metal in general, and have been a fan for a long time. In running the Undernet #Doom-metal channel and the doom-metal mailing list, plus my time writing for The Dragon's Flight magazine, I have been fortunate enough to make some contacts and friends within the doom-metal scene either in labels, zines, or in bands themselves. So, when rumors fly I'm usually there to hear about it and that's where this column comes in.

Now that we've got the introductions out of the way, let me tell you why we're here at doom-metal.com, in my own words: This site exists for two main purposes. One is to promote the doom-metal genre as a whole - the music, bands, labels, and fans - and to introduce people who may be new to the scene to some very good bands. The second is to bring doom-metal fans together, and hopefully have a great deal of fun in the process. Doom-metal fans are usually few and far between. As such it is difficult to find other people who share similar tastes, but with the internet the distance becomes irrelevant. We are out there, as this site's existance proves.

With that said, here's my first column of News & Views:

Morgion
Relapse recording artists Morgion are seeking a new drummer. Rhett Davis left the band this Summer. Anyone interested in trying out should contact Morgion001@aol.com or go to www.morgion.com for more info. Come on all you doomy drummers, get moving!

Long Winter's Stare
On a much sadder note, just after the release of their great new album 'The Tears of Odin's Fallen' Dark Symphonies recording artists Long Winter's Stare have officially broken up. Keyboardist/vocalist Greg Ball quit the band shortly after this year's Milwaukee Metalfest. There is potentially a light at the end of the tunnell however, as guitarist/vocalist Clint Listing plans to form a new band consisting of some names that may get some attention. More on this later, as things become official.

Novembers Doom
Novembers Doom left Martyr Music and have officially signed with Dark Symphonies for their new album 'The Knowing'. I was fortunate enough to hear an unmastered CDR of the new album and I can tell you what I heard was positively stunning, definitely the band's strongest work to date. On the downside, the CD marks the end of Mary Bielich's time with the band, and they are currently seeking a new bass player. Anyone in the Chicagoland area interested in auditioning for Novembers Doom should email Paul@novembersdoom.com for information.

Ramblings:
I have yet to positively confirm it, but I have it from a good source that In the Woods have officially broken up [Editor note: This news can now be found on the website of their record label so its save to asume its true :( ]. Word is that they will be performing one final concert to be recorded for a live album and/or video release, but that will be the end for In the Woods. If the breakup really is true, and I have little reason to doubt it, it's a real shame. The last 3 In the Woods albums have been superb in my opinion, especially the atmospheric doom classic 'Omnio' but I also very much liked the experimental and mellow stuff they did on the last 2 albums. Their new album 'Three Times Seven on a Pilgrimage' is quite good.

Incidentally, just for the record: the new Deinonychus is truly stunning. Marco has outdone himself with this one. I never thought he'd top 'Ark of Thought', but for my money the new album (Self titled 'Deinonychus') is stronger in every way: production is better, guitars are heavier, and his vocals are even darker and sicker and more insanely depressed than I thought he could ever manage. It tops even his work with Bethlehem.

Speaking of Bethlehem, I wish they'd release something new! It's been a long while since 'Sardonischer'. Then again I imagine losing a vocalist of Marco's talent is difficult to recover from. Word is they have a new one that should be released this year. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

That's it for now, if you have any feedback, comments, or news/views you'd like to see posted here, mail news@doom-metal.com with the info!

- John Riendeau
(9/10/00)


[ Back to Articles ]