Earth
**COMPETITION: Click here to win Earth's new album Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light I!**
BIOGRAPHY
If you like bands that make you dance, or that make you feel particularly energised in any way, now is probably the time to stop reading. Earth are dark, and not just in terms of their music. Dylan Carlson, the man behind the band and only remaining original member, has a haunting past (he was an instrumental figure in the life of a certain Kurt Cobain) and has battled with his own personal demons throughout the band’s history. The Hoosiers they are not.
The band formed in Olympia, Washington in 1990, taking their name from one of Black Sabbath’s many provisional titles. Originally consisting of Carlson, Slim Moon (later to become founder of the Kill Rock Stars label) and Greg Babior, the band have gone through numerous personnel changes, with more recent additions including Lori Goldston on cello and Adrienne Davies on percussion, a feature not present on their earlier albums.
The band are seen as the pioneers of ‘drone doom’, which branched off from the more traditional (if you can call it that) doom metal. Mostly recording as a duo in their early days, their music was characterised by long, droning, repetitive song structures, influenced by minimalist composers such as La Monte Young and Terry Riley. Carlson himself has said that the three main components of Earth’s sound, consistent throughout their music, are “length, drones and tempos”.
Despite keeping to the same principles since their inception, the band’s music has undergone a slow but noticeable evolution. Early albums such as debut Earth 2: Special Low Frequency Version (average song length 24 minutes) find the band wrestling with dissonant feedback and heavily-distorted guitars, leaning on their doom metal influences. As time has gone on, and especially after the band’s lengthy hiatus between 1996 and 2005, there has been more emphasis on melody and acoustic instrumentation. This is clearest on 2005’s Hex; Or Printing In The Infernal Method, which saw the addition of banjo, trombone and other more traditional instruments to the line-up.
The break in the band’s output was a result of Carlson’s ongoing personal issues, revolving around “legal and drug problems”. Carlson’s friendship with Kurt Cobain has also brought him plenty of attention, being the person who allegedly introduced the Nirvana front man to heroin, and, more disturbingly, being the man who bought the shotgun with which Cobain committed suicide (police statement here).
Earth’s latest project is a forthcoming trilogy of albums, with the first having been released this year. Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light I continues the proud tradition of lengthy droning songs, but introduces a new set of influences, namely British folk-rock such as Fairport Convention and Pentangle, as well as African bands like Tinariwen. The similarities are subtle, but the end result is a sound that is more easily described as ‘post-rock’ than anything they have ever produced. What the following two instalments of the trilogy will hold has yet to be seen, but with the first being so strong we’re hoping they’re going to follow the Bourne/Godfather pattern, rather than The Matrix/Robocop/Mortal Kombat pattern (delete as appropriate).
Earth’s music mirrors the tumultuous life of their leader, a man who has had an impact on the music industry in more ways than one. It’s easy to be distracted by the headline-grabbing goings on in his past, but on a purely musical level Earth are a band who deserve to be elevated above their peers on merit. Their influence has been far-reaching (indeed Sunn O))) started out as an Earth tribute act), and their music has refused to become stale or too pretentious. We eagerly await the conclusion of their Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light trilogy, hopefully by which time they’ll be filling dance floors in all the hottest indie discos in town. But maybe not.
Live Dates
4/5/11 - Gebaeude9, Cologne
5/5/11 - Stadsschouwburg, Brugge
8/6/11 - Mayne Stage - Chicago, IL w/ Ô Paon
9/6/11 - Mad Planet - Milwaukee, WI w/ Ô Paon
10/6/11 - Magic Stick - Detroit, MI w/ Ô Paon
11/6/11 - The Strut - Kalamazoo, MI w/ Ô Paon
12/6/11 - Grog Shop – Cleveland, OH w/ Ô Paon
13/6/11 - Johnny Brendas - Philadelphia, PA w/ Ô Paon
14/6/11 - Wadsworth Atheneum - Hartford, CT w/ Ô Paon
15/6/11 - Middle East Downstairs - Boston, MA w/ Ô Paon
16/6/11 - Le Poisson Rouge - New York City, NY w/ Ô Paon
17/6/11 - Ottobar - Baltimore, MD w/ Ô Paon
18/6/11 - Braddock Carnegie Library– Braddock, PA w/ Ô Paon
19/6/11 - Southgate House - Newport, KY w/ Ô Paon
Links
Official Website
Videos
Hell’s Winter
Seven Angels
Live in Berlin