INTERVIEW: MOUNT SALEM

Three weeks ago I reviewed Endless, the crushing debut album from Chicago’s psychedelic doom-crooners Mount Salem. They were just about to open for Howl and blindsided me with melody and ginormous riffs. After seeking more information about the band I noticed there was a strange internet void where an interview should be. Until recently even finding names of the members was impossible for all but psychics and the most determined stalkers. I’m about as lazy a stalker as possible, so I reached out to the band and asked a few questions to enlighten us all about the mysterious majesty of Mount Salem. They were kind enough to answer while traveling in the middle of their tour in a haunted van. Read ahead for motorcycles, bacon, and rock’n’roll:

Mister Growl: There isn't much information available on the members of your band. Could you introduce yourselves and how the band formed?

Mount Salem: We have all ridden motorcycles and traveled together for years so when Cody (Davidson) and Emily (Kopplin) moved to Chicago last summer it was pretty easy to start the band since we were all already friends.

Mister Growl: You're about to start a 10 day tour this coming week. When planning a tour what resources do you use?

Mount Salem: We are actually half way through the tour, currently on our way to Texas. This is our first tour so booking it was kinda interesting. Really we just reached out to bands and venues in different cities and figured it all out as we went. There were a couple dates that took forever to book but we ended up getting all the dates we needed.

Mister Growl: You have four different tour dates in Texas. Do you have a connection to that state or have you had a larger response from fans there?

Mount Salem: The whole tour started by our friend Dan "Bacon" Carr asking us to play at his annual chopper party which is in Temple, TX. We figured if we could book a tour around it then it would work. We reached out to the band "Mothership" through mutual friends and they were more than happy to help us out. We have been talking to those dudes the past couple of months and we are really looking forward to partying with them starting tonight!

Mister Growl: What's the local Chicago music scene like at this time?

Mount Salem: Chicago is an awesome place to be. There are so many good musicians and bands so there is a cool show to go to every week. Plenty of rehearsal spaces and venues for bands to play at and the crowd is always down to party. Chicago is a city that never sleeps.

Mister Growl: Despite the heaviness of your album what about your own music do you think also connects with non-metal fans?

Mount Salem:  I think Emily's vocals help a lot in this department. We all like heavy music but listen to a lot of rock and roll. Also I think the elements and structures of the music are also a big help to not sound just like a metal band. I feel like we all take from our influences, which are all different, and it helps appeal to fans of heavy music and rock and roll in general.

Mister Growl: How long did it take to write and record the songs on "Endless"? What’s the band's songwriting process?

Mount Salem: We took about 6 months to write and record the songs on endless. There were a couple other songs that didn't make the cut. All in all I think the 6 songs that we used are a good representation of us. We write the songs together and usually start with one thing, whether it’s a riff, organ part, or drum beat, and then collectively build from there. When we are writing we usually pick up an extra practice during the week to make sure we don't forget stuff and to just be productive.

Mister Growl: There's a retro-horror vibe in your music and promo artwork. What are some horror films that influenced your aesthetic?

Mount Salem: Oddly enough no one in the band is a hard core horror movie buff. The imagery we've used and aesthetic have all kind of come from the music we've made together. I think the four of us with so many similar and opposite influences from every member just kind of came out as what it is. We weren't really going for any certain style or feel. It just kind of happened to be the music we can all vibe on together.

Mister Growl: What other non-musical forces inspired the songs on "Endless"?

Mount Salem: Lyrically speaking, we like to create a sort of dark fantasy realm that puts the listener in a different state of mind. It's about stepping outside the normal psyche and into a more provocative nightmarish story.

Mister Growl: Are the members of Mount Salem in side projects as well?

Mount Salem: Mark (Hewitt), our bass player, plays drums in a band called Dirthog. They are a 3 piece southern style punk influenced sludge band. You can check them out at www.dirthog.bandcamp.com

Mister Growl: What do you have planned for the band after the tour's conclusion?

Mount Salem: We have two new songs that we are going to record pretty soon for a split with our friends Moon Curse from Milwaukee. Once that is done we are going to go on tour again sometime in late summer and then write for a full length throughout the winter.

New music and a summer tour: That’s good news all around, troublemakers. Many thanks to Kyle for his time. If you haven’t yet heard Endless, drop whatever work you’re doing or baby you’re holding and listen to it now/buy it for only $6 at:  http://mountsalem.bandcamp.com/album/endless

Photo credit: Josh Kurpius

GUEST REVIEW: EVOKEN - A CARESS OF THE VOID

Editor: So this is the first guest review from a non-metal fan, an occurrence I hope to make a bi-weekly staple. One of the reasons I created this site was to share heavy metal with a wider, reluctant (or maybe even suspicious) audience. I could have easily assigned a more approachable record (think: Baroness, Anciients, Mastodon), but our first guest writer encouraged me to give him something challenging and relentless. Jude Gullie is a corporate stooge, medicine man, John Candy connoisseur, and extremely talented chef. He was a vital part of the now-defunct folk crooners The Holy Crows and was one-third of the vaudevillian performance team The Broken Banjo Boys. Here is Jude’s take on A Caress of the Void, the latest album from New Jersey funeral doomsters Evoken. - MG

GUEST REVIEWER: JUDE GULLIE

When I heard that Mr. Growl wanted non-Metal fans to review albums for his blog I jumped at the opportunity.  I had been wanting to listen to some Metal ever since I had the pleasure of watching a gentleman (who was listening to what I believe was metal) violently air-drumming next to me on the L train.  Why should that guy be having all the fun?  

My first assignment was to review the “Funeral Doom” band Evoken’s A Caress of the Void.  I had never heard of “Funeral Doom” prior to this experience, but I will say that it piqued my interest.  If I have ever talked with you more than a few minutes you would probably know that I have a morbid fascination with the character of Pallbearer from 1980s and 1990s WWF fame. (Editor’s Note: R.I.P - MG) I was really hoping that the music might invoke images of that fat man with white caked on makeup holding an urn.  I was sorely mistaken.

I don’t know if it gets easier to understand this kind of music if you listen to it often, but I spent the majority of this album (all the parts with vocals) with my hand to my ear like an elderly man trying to listen to the soup specials being listed at a Friendly’s Restaurant.  I could understand words like “me” and I think I heard the phrase “delicious skittles” at one point, but I wouldn’t put money on my being correct.

The more I listened to the album the more the mental image of the lead singer burping into a microphone while trying to form words popped into my head.  That is how this type of music is made, right?

By around the fifth song “Descend the Lifeless Womb” I felt like I was in the groove of listening to the album, but the next song was thirteen minutes long!  I found myself getting distracted and watching an “Easter Toys” ad on the side of the Grooveshark website. I did end up listening to the whole album, but I would say that I was not swayed to start listening to more metal.

Editor: NOOOOO! We were one 13 minute doom opus away from claiming the soul of another non-metal fan! Here’s hoping Jude will sign on for another review in the future. Maybe a grindcore album with 15 songs in 13 minutes is more his (hyper)speed? Thanks again to Jude for participating and being a good sport. Next time we will capture your soul and keep it in Paul Bearer’s urn for eternity.

Form your own opinion by finding Evoken on Spotify and learn more about them at their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/evokendoom

INTERVIEW: STEPHEN LoVERME of OLDE GROWTH

Stephen LoVerme is the vocalist/bassist of the drum-n-bass doom crew Olde Growth, a Boston product whose Owl EP was featured HERE on Mister Growl a few weeks ago. I raved about them and really encourage any fan of rock music to check them out, especially if you’re partial to tunes with stoner groove and a doomy crunch. Stephen was kind enough to take the time and answer a few questions that were bouncing around my noggin. Read ahead for volcanic activity, potentially regrettable tattoos, and lots of Neil Young.

Mister Growl: You've mentioned that the songs on the Owl EP aren't exactly fresh and new. When were these songs written and under what circumstances?

Stephen: We were playing "Brother of the Moon" and "Warrior Child" back when we were touring behind our full length, almost two and a half years ago. At. the time that record already felt really old to us and we had just written those songs. "Brother" started developing while I was traveling in Central America. I hiked an active volcano in Nicaragua which has an interesting story behind it. The Spanish called it "the mouth of hell" and built a huge wooden cross at the top to stay the demons. The local folks knew the volcano as Brother of the Moon and would sacrifice children to it. Any time human sacrifice and gateways to hell are involved there's probably a song to be written.

The other two songs were written shortly before we recorded in the spring of 2011. I wish we'd taken more time to get them tighter, but the energy is there. Why it's coming out now and not a year ago is kind of a long story, so I'll just say it was a series of missteps.

Mister Growl: It seems nature and natural wonders inspire a lot of your music. What natural images/experiences have made the biggest impressions on you?

Stephen: "Brother of the Moon" is really the only song that was inspired by an actual experience with nature. Staring down into the crater of an active volcano and breathing in its fumes was quite an experience. The main riff and general idea of the song came into my head right on the spot. With "Sequoia" we had this massive sounding song, and when it came time to write lyrics, giant, centuries old trees seemed like the way to go. Those two are really the only songs we have that are about nature, but a lot of our songs contain some kind of reference to nature because it makes for powerful imagery. Even in a city nature is everywhere you look; weeds sprout from cracks in the sidewalks, birds make themselves at home in our architecture. A sunset can convey strong emotions; vast oceans endless possibilities.

Mister Growl: Around this time last year you commenced a spring tour. Any plans on embarking on another tour soon?

Stephen: Yes! We're overdue for another east coast tour, and we have our sights on the west coast as well. It's just a matter of putting plans in motion, which, when you're doing everything yourself has to go at your own pace, which with us can be pretty darn slow sometimes.

Mister Growl: What is the strangest story from your spring tour?

Stephen: One of my favorite experiences was in Pittsburgh. We played in this kid's bedroom in the attic of a row house in a very old neighborhood, and crashed with one of the other bands, also a two-piece. While we were hanging out after the show they got into an impassioned debate on whether Sigur Ros or Godspeed You Black Emperor! was better. It should be mentioned the advocate for Sigur Ros has the Lift Your Skinny Fists to Heaven album cover tattooed on his arm. We also played at a really cool house in Bloomington Indiana called the Gourley Hole - on Gourley Street of course. They have the whole house wired up so that the music playing over the speakers in the basement also plays upstairs in the living room and kitchen. And we got to play in front of a wall of old TVs playing obscure, trippy cartoons.

Mister Growl: Boston and the New England region has a very healthy music scene. How has the local scene impacted your own music or experience as a band?

Stephen: On top of there being a ton of great music in the area, a lot of bands tour through Boston, to the point where you have to make decisions about what shows not to see. It's not uncommon to go out to see your friends play and end up seeing a band you've never heard of that's totally awesome. I don't really listen to that much hardcore, but I go to a lot of those shows and it's definitely rubbed off. It's pretty crucial to see bands that rip on a regular basis because it pushes you to become better. I have the privilege of seeing Elder all the time, and they blow me away every single time I see them. They're tight as hell - the rhythm section is relentlessly locked in with each other and Nick just soars over it. He can shred circles around most guitar players but it's always very tasteful and compositional.

Mister Growl: You're big supporters of Ed from Doommantia, who continues to face a tough situation. From your experience, how much camaraderie do you notice within the metal community?

Stephen: Ed was one of the first people to notice and write about us, so when we found out he'd fallen on hard times we did what we could to help raise some funds. We weren't the only ones. I'm not quite up to date on his situation, but I hope that things are looking up. Time and again I've seen people come to aid of their friends, both within and outside of the music community. But yeah, camaraderie is how underground music continues to thrive, and it's always been that way. If you help out a band on tour with a show and treat them well they'll gladly return the favor.

Mister Growl: Hydro-Phonic Records released a beautiful version of your self-titled LP. How did you start working with them?

Stephen: I found out about Hydro-Phonic through their work with bands I was into like Black Pyramid and Sons of Tonatiuh. I sent a promo copy of the EP, which is how we initially got in touch. We were all set to release the EP as part of a split, and when that fell through I mentioned to Travis that we wanted to release our self-titled on vinyl. He was into it, so we started working on putting that release together. It worked out great because we both wanted to put out something really nice. We're excited to be working with Hydro-Phonic again for the vinyl release of Owl.

Mister Growl: I read that Olde Growth is the first band you had ever provided vocals for and noticed great strides with this new EP. Do you have any special routines for practicing vocals?

Stephen: Thanks! I don't really have any special routines, but I listen pretty intently to the vocalists that I like and have learned to pick up on all the little nuances. I tend to practice a lot when I'm alone in the car, or in the shower.  But it's never a very disciplined practice, I just enjoy signing. We've also started recording most of our shows, which has been helpful because I can hear what's not working and make adjustments accordingly.

Mister Growl: If you were reborn as a non-human animal what animal would you be?

Stephen: Probably some sort of bird, 'cause, you know, flying and shit.

Mister Growl: What's up next for Olde Growth?

Stephen: We're working on a bunch of Neil Young covers, arranged for our playing style. The plan is to record a full-length record. We've played a few of them out and so far the response has been pretty positive. We're working on some new original stuff too, but the Neil Young project has been a breath of fresh air at a time when we were feeling a bit stale.

Many thanks to Stephen for his time. If you haven’t heard the Owl EP yet you can listen to it here for FREE, with links to their website and Facebook pages:  http://oldegrowth.bandcamp.com/

And order their debut LP through Hydro-Phonic Records, who will also be handling the vinyl release of this amazing EP, here:  http://www.hydro-phonicrecords.com/releases.html

MISTER GROWL IN EXILE

I'm spending the next few days out in the country with limited internet access so my posts will be brief through the weekend.

There's some amazing stuff in the works in Growlandia, including a recent writing assignment for the almighty Decibel Magazine. Details regarding the assignment will stay hushed until the issue release date, but it's for the upcoming June issue. The subject is a major death metal heavy hitter, so stay tuned, you magnificent bastards.

We also have upcoming interviews with Olde Growth and Mount Salem on the horizon, and guest reviews from non-metal fans covering the likes of Evoken and Torche. I will also be looking through my junior high CD collection and reporting on various oddities.

Smell ya later, ya hairy vagabonds.

♥ Mister Growl

POETRY: POP! by CORY LOVELL

I have another guest artist today, this time a renegade poet/writer/film-maker/trouble-maker named Cory Lovell. He is a passionate fan of music and directed the rock'n'roll documentary Deer Tick: To the City of SIN!, following the band Deer Tick on tour. His new chapbook collection of poetry and art, named Pop!, revolves around the central idea that pop songs (in any genre -- yes, including heavy metal) are our new hymns. Lovell explains, “These poems are my attempt at pop songs, sans music. Those of you who are instrumentally inclined are encouraged to put music to any of the poems inside. They’re meant to be sung!” So there you are, thrashers and doomsters, feel free to write music to the below poem (selected for this blog personally by Mr. Lovell) and share the ghoulish results by visiting the link at the end of this posting. Here’s an excerpt from the collection:

Underrated Saints (Immortal Rock Zombies)

The unique stupidity,

        the simple-minded genius

of a religion made by, for, and of the mad masses that massacred

                    GOD.

The maudlin, musical marriage of

        piety & sacrilege.

The queer union of

        Jesus & Lucifer.

The rhythm of a thousand saints,

        ordinary dregs, miracle sinners,

bringing us ever closer to the cosmos through

                    SEX & SOUND.

That a boy might know the

        humility and hard-earned innocence of

                    St. Bob.

Whirling drunk in tutu and combat boots,

        Fingers slashed and bleeding, tearing through the heart of sixteen.

That a girl might know the

        worth of word and wood and work.

The soapy, satin soliloquy of

                    St. Karen (of Dalton).

Poor, yet beholden to none.

        Lonesome, yet filled with others.

That a man might know the

        trembling edges of a troubled woman

through the crying caterwaul of

                    St. Karen (of Carpenter).

So generous of love’s bounty

        though fasting herself from it.

That a woman might know the

        avalanche of arrogance of the meager motives of mortal man.

The deteriorating dignity of

                    St. Warren.

His quest to forgive the unforgivable,

        to find the ones who were his friends.

(Cover illustration by Gary Grayson, additional artwork by Cory Lovell)

For more information on Pop! follow this link to Cory’s excellent Thunderbird Blog:  http://thethunderbirdblog.blogspot.com/2013/03/pop-10-new-poems-by-cory-w-lovell.html

REVIEW: A389 RECORDINGS MMXIII MIXTAPE

Happy Tuesday, motherlickers. A389 Recordings has posted their MMXIII Digital Mixtape, including 40 songs from their roster of excellent, depraved bands. If you work an office job like me but can wear headphones, this mix is the key to feeling like you’re paid to listen to outstanding heavy music. This delusion will lead you through the day and into the crusty fray as cuts from assorted sludge/crust/hardcore/everything-ornery-and-aggressive bands beat you silly and toss you to the sewer crocodiles.

There are a bunch of fantastic new songs here, from lurching psych-sludge (Pharaoh) to the sky-punching crossover attack of Integrity. Just a few quick notes regarding some of the new tracks: The Love Below and Vilipend both sound like they’re screaming on the way to an asylum. Eddie Brock’s new song features vocals that could punch right through Spiderman’s skull. “The Burden” by Junior Bruce is a formidable beast that has melodic tendencies, even if the vocalist’s throat sounds like it’s been shredded with whiskey and ground-up Fiberglass. If I had to choose one band that represents the diversity of this wicked label it would have to be Noisem, who rip, rage, and stomp through the barriers of a thousand sub-genres in their fantastic song “Severed.”

There isn’t a weak link in this mix. From Eyehategod and Ringworm to Mister Growl favorites (Young and in the Way/Ilsa) to dangerous bands already featured on this website (Iron Reagan/Ancient Shores/Cynarae), A389 has got your scarred, crusty ass covered.

Listen to the mix and check out the track listing over at the A389 Recordings website:  http://www.a389records.com/site/

REVIEW: BONGRIPPER / CONAN - SPLIT

Warning, this may be the first and last time Anne Hathaway has been referenced in a doom metal review. While AMC theaters were pushing promo hype for Les Miserables this past year I must have seen their 7 minute making-of featurette twenty times. It really didn’t matter what sort of movie I was seeing, AMC felt it was an appropriate regardless of genre. Nothing pumps you up for a bloody action flick or a supernatural chiller quite like Russell Crowe in a Napoleon hat. As much as I resented being forced to see this promo video so many times there was one line from Hathaway describing her ill-fated character that came to mind while listening to the Bongripper/Conan split album: “She's literally at the bottom of a hole and realizing she's never going to climb out of this.”

There’s a prevailing sense of hopelessness in both of these tracks, but Bongripper’s Side B offering “Zero Talent” truly captures the horrific disintegration of joy. Even the song title feels like someone who has cut their own worth down to nothingness. The track begins with droning ambience, like a room-tone in some desolate futurescape of dilapidated office buildings filled with skeletons where the only sounds are the computers that keep eerily humming. Once the riffs drop from the sky they land with enough force to sink continents. The guitars are weighed down by suffocating pessimism, crawling forward through glass shards and rat shit through cobbled streets where the dreamless wait to die. “Zero Talent” also pops an upper late in the song and rampages at about a million times their normal speed, blasting forward and suddenly halting with a vicious stop-and-go pattern that bruises brains like slapping the listener’s skulls against a truck windshield. It’s a nasty slab of grimy depression that should be the bright spot in every doom fan’s year.

Conon’s track, titled “Beheaded,” also plows through the muck at a frighteningly low speed, tasting the sewage as it shuffles deeper into a steaming fecal swamp. There was once a moment when I saw Winter play and felt like the distortion seeping from the towering speakers was crushing me into the ground. It was like the gravity in the venue was exponentially increasing each minute, threatening to flatten me across the cement floor and squeeze the precious fluids from my skin. Conan’s entire discography reproduces that feeling. If you’re looking for pure, unrelenting heaviness, the type of sound that feels like the widening anvil shadow right before impact, then Conan is your lethargic jam. While I usually think of decapitation as a swift punishment this song feels like someone is just pulling their enemy’s head off with their bare hands, working at it patiently with fingernails and brute strength. The song doesn’t offer much in riff ingenuity or tempo shifts, but it does transport listeners into a slow-motion world painted with dried blood and fresh shit. It’s not pretty or clean, but there are people who will feel completely at home there.

I also want to mention here that both of these bands will be terrorizing audiences in Conan’s home country, commencing a nine day tour towards the end of the month. If you can check out these bands and survive without feeling like their bass guitars laid a demon egg in your stomach I commend you.
 

Listen to Bongripper’s track here: http://www.invisibleoranges.com/2013/03/exclusive-song-stream-bongripper-zero-talent/

And the Conan track is streaming yonder:  http://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/15163-conan-beheaded/

And pre-order from Holy Roar Records over here: http://holyroarrecords.com/album.php?id=2010&shop=1