#there's a huge heavy metal scene in my city but it's all black and doom metal and i'm a power+folk+and symphonic metal homosexual

[monster-noises]

Like.. genuinely, very genuinely.

Where and how to do hunt down events in your city? Like places and groups and activities where people who like the same things as you gather and hang out and do social stuff?

Cause I do follow like.. local game stores, comic shops, book shops, galleries/art programs, concert halls, the 1 gay bar in town, queer group pages, the library, and at least one local zine making group whose events never line up with my schedule except the 1 time it did and i went and it was very awkward for me so idk how good that one would pan out if I kept tryingggg-

And while a lot of these places host events semi-regularly the year a lot don't appeal or apply to me so I'm just at a Bit of a Loss for where to find events where I may connect with other people..

So like if ya'll know of some secret search term of webbed site or what have you IIIIII'm open to suggestions!

(and lets just completely ignore the fact that they're all going to be scheduled during my working hours anyway and I won't be able to go, I'll breakdown about that one later. I need to delude myself at least a little bit or else I'll Implode)

[maguro13-2]

The Dark Picture ~ Origins of the Ink Demon : Operation Drawcia Pt.17 ~

"At the Doctor's Castle..."

"Stage 3 : Cryptic Castle..."

[Cryptic Castle by Jun Senoue Plays]

Seto : Oi, Master Grim!

Grim (Metal Sonic) : Seto! Glad that I finally made it!

Seto : You're just in time to be at the arrival at Cryptic Castle! This is the place!

Solva : Sorry, I'm late! But I'm not too late! I had to escape from whatever is inside of Cyberspace! I had to to protect the core program that connects the key to the cyberspace.

Disc-Chan : That's the core of the Internet, dingus.

Solva : Well, excuse me, prince-

Seto : Don't say a friggin' word.

Solva : Okay.

Eve : Listen up, everyone! No fooling around! We are here to raise the defenses of the castle! Let us open the door nice and easy!

*SMASH!*

Seto : You even had to say "Nice and Easy". Ah...Whatever, let's just set up the denfeses. There's gonna be a huge game watch on game night, what'll be soccer, football, or American football the NFL.

Solva : Well, I'm not into sports, but I'm always into sports enthusiast!

Amy : Oh thank goodness! Shadow, you...Eh? What's the reaper doing here. Haven't we met you here before?

Grim (Metal Sonic) : I am? I am Grim...Grim the Reaper, but I was originally Grim the Hedgehog.

Amy : Hey, you're that robot Metal Sonic that I saw back in the Mystic Ruins.

(an image shows Amy seeing Metal Sonic in Doctor Eggman's base at the Mystic Ruins)

Amy : You were there inside the capsule when you had the chance to escape with other robot you rescued before Sonic could destroy it!

Grim (Metal Sonic) : Yes, you are correct. What on earth are you doing at this castle away! Well after, Gemerl was stopped and we had to put the world together! It's been three months since the other Metal Sonic went rogue for a rebellious reason. Now that my hometown in Central City by those aliens, I had no choice but to find a new home.

Seto : Like the Amy's Room stage from Sonic Battle?

Solva : And don't forget about the Library stage in Central City too as well. By the way, what happened to Night Babylon and Central City?

Seto : They got destroyed...when the Black Arms arrived in Westopolis, that's also the first level of Shadow's game, so now both Amy's Stage, Club Rouge, and the Libray Stage from Sonic Battle have all been demolished by Black Doom's reign of terror, or should I say his 2000 year old reign of Terror, that's what literally happened during the Gizoid Incident. Since the Dreamcast Era was about to come to an end, Gemerl made Eggman to confess his stupidity to others for making robots do all the crime after Metal Sonic turned against on him. That's what got into these humans to start major conflicts against both hedgehogs and aliens.

Solva : So the inhabitants of Sonic's world were able to make Sonic Villains pay for their crimes against others, that's what those Chaos Emeralds meant as a warning from the Ancients in the past. The Emeralds weren't used for destruction they were used for good, that's why Tikal was trying to stop Chaos because the Ancients warned them about putting into Omnicide, that's why!

Cryptic Castle Guard A : Enemy attack!

Cryptic Castle Guard B : Get to your positions immediately!

Alpha Team Leader : (via radio) This is Alpha Team! We are currently under heavy fire! Hostages have been secured! I'm requesting backup for any assistance immediately! We need your help to activate all five lanterns to set up the defense line on all five sectors!

Grim (Metal Sonic) : Stay put! Tell Bravo Team that enemy hostiles are near the defense line and stay in your positions. Secure the perimeter and make sure to tell them not to let anyone get killed in the battlefield! These aliens must be eliminated and I will put an end to Black Doom's evil plan!

Alpha Team Leader : (via radio) Copy that! I will get ahead! All units! Prepare to open fire!

Grim : You all heard the men. Get those lanterns set up

(scene flips)

Seto : Huh? So this is a lantern! But how are we supposed to light up the defenses. This is going to be a real treat, but I am giving the Black Arms a trick to smell our feet!

Solva : Does anyone have a fire! To think off?

Eve : Sure! As Eve Neuschwanstein got this one in system, I have a little fire power to prove it. (holds a lighter)

Seto : Yeah, that will never work. This is how you light up a fighter. (uses fire technique to lit up the center) That's one! This should be a real trick-or-treating mission! If we like to trick-or-treat kids, then I will give them a trick out of them.

Solva : And I'll give them a treat to smell the feets.

Eve : And then we'll have someting sweet in our lives!

Cryptic Castle Guard : Hey, Pinky! We found one of the hostages was securing?

Amy : What kind of Hostages did you save? (cuts to cream with a towel wrapped around her) Cream? What was she doing here in the castle?

Cryptic Castle Guard: It appears one of your teammates that you disbanded has run off into the castle all by herself. I believe that Eggman had some minor details that her little friend have run off into the castle. But we don't know how these two wandered off and Gemerl was worried sick about her.

Amy : Gemerl, who did we forget?

Seto : You know the brother of that Gizoid, Emerl.

Amy : Wait a sec, Emerl that Gizoid that we carelessly killed have a brother? Eggman created another Gizoid from Emerl's previous data. Why didn't you tell me that before Sonic forcibly killed him?

Cryptic Castle Guard : Because of crimes we carelessly commited, we don't know how a Gizoid was able to find herself worried that Sonic killed his brother before by Eggman's fault and that causes Gemerl to be enraged and decided to turn on him.

Amy : And Cheese, you know Cheese the Chao, Cream's sidekick/friend. Do you know where did he wandered off to?

*BOOM!*

Cryptic Castle Guard : We haven't got much time! More enemy intrusion is coming up at sector C! We need Lantern #2 to lit up!

Seto : No biggies! Just leave it to me, the world's greatest Shinigami that puts evil to their knees!

Cryptic Castle Guard : Then hop to it!

(Scene slides)

Seto : (Lits up lantern with a fire technique) Okay! That's #3 I set up more of the defenses! Now to Lantern #4. You do know where Lantern #4?

Solva : Yeah, I don't think that Lantern #4 is outside the castle, it's inside the castle, but I reconsider that much of a threat of what's inside the castle.

Seto : What's inside the Castle?

(scene slides)

Seto : Are you serious? I have to lit Lantern #4 over there!?

Solva : Well this is where the last remaining defenses are.

Eve : Yeah, you should reconsider going there, but I'm gonna head out to the Underground Area to find out what the exit will be.

Solva : Uhh, Earth to Eve Neuschwanstein! That passageway to the exit is infested with a--

*Creature Shrieking*

Eve : (drops entrance) Oh my God.... (shivers in fear as her colors drains) What the hell was in there?!

Seto : A Giant Walker creature.

Eve : Why would there be a monster sleeping in the passageway! Do you know how dangerous that was! The Goal Ring was underneath castle while there's a giant monster that resides in the underground area of a passageway!

Seto : You sure that you don't exit the castle.

Eve : I'll...pass, thank you very much. I hope I will recolor self. Note to self, never go down that passageway.

Seto : (uses a small flame and throws to the lantern) Okay! Now for the last one. How hard can it be?

(Scene cuts)

Seto : Eh? This is quite a drop! But this is totally easy! *instant transmission* Okay! Last one to drop! (uses fire technique to lit up the last lantern) Lantern #5!

Cryptic Castle Guard : Oh thank you, Seto! You have lit up all five lanterns at the castle! Now Cryptic Castle can be finally protected from Black Dooms invasions! Look! (the Black Dooms retreating and being frightened are shown) The Black Arms are retreating! What a look on their faces! No candies for the aliens, now that's a good trick out of them and I'll certianly give you a treat.

Seto : Now they'll make us smell our feat and give us something sweet! All in a day's work, my friend.

Alpha Team Leader : (via radio) This is Alpha Team! Enemy Intrusion has finally stopped! The Black Arms have retreated and all defenses have been activated! Mission accomplished!

"later..."

[Mission Accomplished - Kenichi Tokoi]

Grim (Metal Sonic) : Seto.

Seto : Master!

Grim (Metal Sonic) : Congratulations on setting up the castle's defense line. I must've admit, you have some fire power to prove yourself that you are the true Shinigami that Japan needed the most.

Seto : Heh. Pretty cool! I did all the hard work to lay off Black Doom to handle someone else's messes, they've ran away to invade the city that you formerly lived In, Amy Rose.

Amy Rose : Well, I didn't feel like living in Central City, it was a nice place to live in since I don't know where to live.

Seto : Actually, you left Central City during the Sonic Advance 3 story incident. No wait, you left Central City during the Gizoid incident.

Amy Rose : You're right, I'm sorry I had to forget things like that.

Bravo Team leader : Lord Grim.

Grim (Metal Sonic) : Bravo Team. What did you have something in common?

Bravo Team Leader : I believe these two hostages have been hiding in the castle for hours!

Cream : They gave us a bucket full of candy and a lolipop at the gift shop.

Seto : Wait a sec, does Cryptic Castle even has a gift shop? So we've been protecting a castle that is a tourist attraction!? or is it just historical castle for tourists?

Solva : It could be both. It's just a castle, the doctor with an IQ of 3000 had to own some place who couldn't afford. Now then let's return to Hang Castle Immediately!

Seto : Yeah, I hope you like a feast for my needless girlfriends that are deathless in the real world.

Solva : Same here.

*Radio Buzzing*

Solva : Hello? What's going on?

Sonic : (via radio) Amy! Earth to Amy! Do you read!

Amy : Sonic is that you?

Sonic : (via radio) I got big trouble at the Naval Station after encountering with Eggman Nega! Blaze is after the Eggman I knew! And the real important story here is that, Blaze is at it again, I believe she had befriended with someone, there's gotta be a better explanation to hear this!

Amy Rose : Say what? (looks at Cream in disappointment)

Seto : You asked that cats and rabbits are what friends, I mean, Cats like someone is always at our limits! I'll be there! when I get the chance of heading to Altitude Limit Zone! Things are about to Get Edgy!

Solva : It's just "Get Edgy" Seto. We'll be there shortly! I'll be heading at Altitude Limit Zone. What is the Altitude Limit Zone! Let's head to Anubis first.

Seto : Got it!

Cryptic Castle Guard : Why don't you use that door over there, it'll lead you to Mirage Road, the Egyptian Gods are having an Ethno Circus over there! We look humble details that Hang Castle Security are trying to investigate Eggman Nega's recklessness.

Seto : Alright, thanks brother. Meeting Anubis is sound like a piece of cake.

Solva : Yeah, lead the way!

Seto : Next stop, Anubis's place.

Solva : I wonder how the Egyptian Death God holding up with the mummies?

Seto : You'll find out sooner than that.

Grim : Old friend Anubis. I haven't seen face in years, I've knew since the beginning of time, it'll be helping out others.

~ Mission 16 : Lighting up the Great Pumpkin ~

[doomedandstoned]

Fresh Heaviness From South America’s Dixie Goat

~Review by Matheus Jacques~

Artwork by José “KAT” Canales

Death is a gentleman, too. He makes good losers of us all.

Give fifty years to someone without any apparent drive toward self-improvement or capacity to mature, recycle, renovate, and otherwise improve things around them, and you will probably find them in exactly the same place -- no change, making the same mistakes, failing to advance. On the other hand, give just five years to a person operating with the opposite mindset, with a tendency toward exploring new ideas, unafraid of doing something different, and their creativity will probably surprise you. This thought crossed my mind as I was listening to the new album by Chilean band DIXIE GOAT.

LISTEN: Dixie Goat - There's No Light Without Darkness by Electric Valley Records

With a debut that made their direction and musical ability quite evident, represented by the lively 'Black Sun Child' (2015), Dixie Goat provided us with the best possible elements of stoner rock, hard rock, and doom metal. They established their sound and style with a sense of sobriety and maturity, drawing parallels to great bands like Corrosion of Conformity, Spirit Caravan, Orange Goblin and Brant Bjork. This energetic, balanced, and all-around solid album was the kick-off for the band's trajectory that now culminates in 'There’s No Light Without Darkness' (2020). Their latest offering demonstrates how much a band can fulfill their essence -- presenting us with their best efforts, yet still finding room to grow and sound fresh (without losing what made us first appreciate them) --- all within the span of half-a-decade.

Coming from a country that boasts of crystal clear musical quality within the stoner strata, Dixie Goat (who hails from the capital city of Santiago) sounds slower and denser in this new work. Beginning with the album's title track, we're taken in a direction that much darker than their first opus, yet no less authentic to the trio's core identity or musical intentions. The Sabbathic “There's No Light Without Darkness” introduces us to the band's expanded musical universe in condensed, instrumental form.

This is succeeded by a doomer with grungy touches, “Dancin' On Your Grave.” One notices, as the elements unfold, the dynamic previously dictated by this "love triangle" (fast, heavy, and dense) now favors a little more of the gloomy and funereal.

The third segment “Two Faces” is a great example of this grungy-doom/doomy-grunge characteristic, demonstrated by Nikk's vocal approach -- which sometimes had me imagining Layne Staley obsessed with Corrosion of Conformity's Pepper phase. To be clear, this is a huge compliment, and "Widow's Tear" follows suit with swampy verses set to a powerful beat.

The lively, up-tempo pace of Dixie Goat's past is not lost on their newest material, for following this we have “Green Karma” spicing things up a bit with an extra dose of speed, sliding out of the slower-paced script thus far and betting on the bluesy groove of the hard rock tradition. As we move from "Zuma" to "Supershit" into the last track, the band isn't just stepping on the gas a little; they're practically sticking their boot to the accelerator (at least compared to earlier tempos) to deliver an explosive rock´n roll vibe without strings or limitations.

“From One Hell To Another” joins the doomy grunge and stoned hard rock elements with exquisite coherence, sacramenting this album closer with a melancholy atmosphere that suddenly turns energetic in its final moments, as it summons us to one final dance through the desert.

Honouring the scene from whence they belong and which has presented so many great stoner-doom bands to us (Kayros, Yajaira, La Jack, and others), the power trio Dixie Goat put a bullet right on the bullseye with this new album (recorded by YBM Records and mastered by the great Jack Endino). The emphasis on low tuning and murky vocals is palpable, and the choice of tones is quite tasty and on-point -- balancing the lightest and fastest tempos against the weight and might of the slowest. Continuing in this manner, with the wisdom to improve as much as possible in a short timeframe, the band will no doubt have a bright and promising future.

Dixie Goat's There's No Light Without Darkness is availalbe in digital and vinyl format via Electric Valley Records.

[miobambiino]

Ritual

Amazing prompt from @snoozingcat! I hope you enjoy <3

"if you wanted to write a little stevetony something where an injured tony has to rescue a totally-out-of-it steve, that would be rad. bonus points for strategically torn clothing and/or emergency mouth-to-mouth :P"

(I didn't get the strategically torn clothing in, but I'll weave it in somewhere in another fic)

-

"C'mon Cap!"

The battle had been going on for six hours. Six goddamn hours, and Tony was ready to call it quits.

They'd been called out to Bucharest after reports of Doombots terrorising the town centre. Doom, in all his bravado, seemed to have learnt a thing or two since his last encounter with the Avengers, and this time had chosen not to invade the city where the team actually lived. What is it and super villains and New York?

The team had faced Doombots before, but not like this. They were far more advanced than their last encounter; made of reinforced vibranium, Doom's robotic lackeys became just that much more difficult to take out.

Thor and the Hulk were currently drawing in the most attention from Doombots. The heavy-hitters were being rained down upon my an onslaught of bots, swarming on them like locusts. They'd manage, though, they always did. Like always, the pair seemed to be enjoying the fight more than was sane.

Sam and Nat were on evac - Bucky defending their backs - retrieving civilians from buildings which were amidst their latest battle, and directing them toward the barricade set up by S.H.I.E.L.D and local authorities. Cap had given strict instructions to his team that the underground train stations should be off limits. The last thing they needed was the ground collapsing in on innocent civilians.

Clint had spent the majority of the mission perched on top of rooftops, giving the rest of the eyes over the entire scene, picking out bots with explosive arrows which strayed too far from the centre of the battle.

Tony and Steve were on the ground (well, air in Tony's case most the time) battling off Doombots while trying to get close enough to Doom - who was controlling the entire fleet from the safety of a bank. He'd set up a perimeter of bots defending the building, and hostages behind them as a safety net, the bastard. Doom was tucked away in a reinforced vault, using remote monitors to oversee his attack.

Six hours was a long time to be fighting, but it wasn't unusual in their line of work. But this one was taking its toll. The usual chatter on the communal comm was now filled with sharp updates and commands, the occasional brisk response, and mostly of grunts and yells for their teammates.

Plus the occasional laugh from Thor, though even those were now somewhat empty, not filled with their usual mirth.

Tony had turned away from Steve for just a moment, a moment, and things went to shit. He heard a spectacular whine from behind him, turning just in time to see an immense electrical pulse slam into Steve's skull. The stubborn jackass only stood back up shakily, fists raised - as if he were a skinny kid from Brooklyn all over again, standing up to the latest bully in the back-alley of a movie theatre. The Doombot swung a heavy metal fist in an uppercut, which Steve only just managed to block. The impact left him dazed though, and he was oblivious to another bot approaching behind, bringing down it's fist with a sickening crack over Steve's head.

Steve collapsed like a rag-doll, as if the strings holding him up had been slashed, he dropped to the floor and made no motion of getting up.

Tony stared, open mouthed and silenced for a moment before his face contorted with rage, and he let out a yell any Asgardian warrior would be proud of. Tony was ready to give everything and anything to finish this right now. He transferred all power into his chest beam, gauging a deep, burning crevice into seven bots surrounding him, and sped towards Steve's limp form, delivering another devastating shot from his chest, taking out the two considerably larger bots who were crowded around his Steve.

Throwing his battered helmet to the ground, Tony skidded to a stop next to Steve, who was was dangerously pale and had a trail of blood coating one side of his face, matting his beautiful blonde locks his forehead. His lips were blue, and Tony felt dread corse through him like ice in his veins.

"I honestly expected more of a challenge out of your Glorious Leader, Mister Stark." Tony blinked back the tears he had felt brimming in his eyes, seething at the sound of the muffled snipe from Doom, twisted disgustingly into a dull mechanical tone.

"Anthony! Wait for support before engaging!" came Thor's voice over the comm - Tony kept an earpiece on separate to the armour, so he wouldn't be out the loop if he ended some air against his head. Thor's voice was strained and curt, no doubt busy with another wave of bots keeping him occupied.

He wouldn't get here in time.

Tony saw red, firing up the repulsers on his boots and lunged at Doom, swinging at his metal-coated face, then tightening a lethal grip around Doom's neck. Doom scrambled at the armour, trying to maintain a grip out of desperation, Tony thought maliciously. This coward had put his team, his family, through hell and back more than enough times, and now had almost taken his Captain from him. Because although Steve wasn't technically his per say, Tony felt it like a throb in his heart that Steve was his.

Doom's breathing had become strained and rapid, and Tony only tightened his grip. He wanted Doom to suffer, to die slowly-

A burning hot sensation filled his rib cage, and Tony let out a huff of air, releasing Doom from his grip involuntarily. Looking down, Tony saw a deep crimson gush from a newly-made gash in his armour. He looked up to Doom's face, whose eyes narrowed in what must have been a smile, as he chuckled menacingly.

The blade, made from vibranium and now coated in Tony's blood, was retracted from Tony's torso with a sickening slick noise.

"Now now, Tony, don't look so hurt," Doom crouched down next to Tony - when had he fallen to his knees? "Consider us fair, now. You destroy three-quarters of my fleet, chase me away from my home in New York, force me into hiding like a sewer-rat, and paint me as a terrorist. So," he mused casually, "I kill your Captain and- well, you, I'm afraid. Are you actually so naive? That you could what? Just suffocate me and I'd call myself defeated?" Doom grabbed Tony's face in one hand, forcing his eyes to meet his own, "You've gone soft, Mister S-"

Tony unleashed the last remnants of the suit's energy into his gauntlets, which he’d quietly aimed towards Doom's gut while he was monologuing. Seriously, he considered, a super villain's greatest down-fall.

Doom screamed in either agony or fury - hopefully both - clawing at the fatal wound to his gut, charred black around the edges. The smell of burning flesh filled Tony's senses, and he felt a wave of nausea roll over him. Doom stumbled backwards, waving a command with the gesture of his hand, and one of his lackeys gathered his vulnerable form in it's arms, and retreated, firing up its own, more primitive repulser technology.

"Detonate the others" Doom seethed through gritted teeth. Tony watched as Doom gave him one last murderous look, before the bot took off in flight, far away from the current battleground.

"All remaining Doombots will detonate in less than 10 seconds, Sir." Came FRIDAY's voice through the comms, no doubt had the A.I altered the rest of the team too.

Panic swelled in Tony's chest, and he scrambled towards Steve's body, hauling the larger man into his arms as the downed bots began to beep expectantly. Tony dragged Steve's body, occasionally using the last drops of energy in his suit to push them forward - towards the abandoned office building opposite them, carrying him deep into the building. They collapsed in an ungrateful heap, and Tony turned back in time to see the small red lights on the bots flash angrily for a second before the beeping came to a halt, and the bots blew up spectacularly in the streets. But Tony wasn't filled with the usual relief that came at the end of a battle, as debris rained down from the outside of the building, collapsing in on the entrance, trapping the pair inside.

Tony shook off the remains of his armour and the dust settled around them, ignoring the steady drip of blood down his own body, and leant over Steve's unconscious form. Propping the man's legs upwards, Tony then cradled Steve's blanched face in the palms of his hands.

Pressing his ear over Steve's lips, Tony heard no sign of breathing. Forcing back the will to just break down and sob at Steve's side, Tony willed the strength to start making compressions on Steve's chest.

Ah, ah, ah, ah, Stayin' Alive, Stayin' Alive, Ah, ah, ah, ah, Stayin' Alive, Stayin' Alive,

He grinned despite himself at the silliness of it, singing a song in his head to will Captain America into breathing again, but it worked damnit, sue him.

He maintained a steady rhythm of beats, before taking in a huge gulp of air - which was heavy with smoke and dust - and brought his lips to Steve's. They were cold and lifeless, but Tony beat on, filling Steve's airways, until bringing his attention back to maintaining compressions on Steve's chest.

What was it he had thought before? His mind was sluggish and he could barely process what was going on. Compressing Steve's chest felt like instinct, it came so naturally when nothing else did. The blood loss, part of his mind quietly supplied to him. Ah, he remembered why he felt to shit now.  He'd been ... singing ... before? Oh.

Ah, ah, ah, ah, Stayin' Alive, Stayin' Alive

"Stayin' alive, stay- alive," the words escaped his lips in a whisper, barely forming in his mouth.

God, he needed to sleep - just for a second, he thought, tilting to the side and weakening the compressions he made over Steve's star-spangled chest. No, he shook his head, as if trying to shake off the cloud of exhaustion, and pushed on.  

Tony lost track of how long he was doing this, performing it like a ritual, like it was his religion, before he took in a final mouthful of oxygen. Tony himself was beginning to feel lightheaded, the space they occupied becoming scarcer of oxygen and filling with ash and debris. Nonetheless, Tony persisted and breathed for Steve again and again until-

Steve released a shaky breath, barely audible, but there no doubt. Tony collapsed with relief, feeling Steve's pulse grow stronger, the serum finally kicking in and booting Steve back up like a machine.

Tony's world suddenly turned sideways - he'd collapsed, he realised distantly - and he struggled to maintain a steady flow of oxygen himself. He felt the warm trickle of blood oozing from his side, and pressed a hand against the wound absently, eliciting a strangled cry of pain from his mouth, which tasted like copper.

That wasn't good news.

Tony watched the steady rise and fall of Steve's chest, vaguely aware of a grumble outside, the crack of rock and cement being hauled to the ground, before he closed his burning eyes, feeling fait relief before his mind swum backwards impossibly far, and abandoned him in nothingness.

-

Natasha had heard the commotion over the comms after Thor warned Tony to hold back before he got there. She then heard a crack of thunder and Thor launching into the air, but looking up he wasn't landing down on the avenue Tony and Steve had been fighting on; the Thunder God had intercepted a Doombot mid-air.

"Thor's got Doom," came Clint's voice over the comms, "Not heard from Cap or the tin-can for a while though - Nat?"

Natasha didn't consider herself leader material, but she was exceptional at planning strategy, maybe even more so than Steve. With radio silence from their two leaders, the responsible fell onto Natasha's shoulders. She was already jogging to Tony's last location while she barked out come orders.

"Clint, get back to ground level and meet Sam, you two help with recon, I need your eyes down here for an civilians who might need medical attention - check under collapsed buildings and debris," Nat surged round a corner, skidding on the ball of her foot - noticing Barnes on her tail, "Thor and Hulk are detailing Doom, once you're done, help get him into confinement for interrogation later - James and I are closing in on Cap and Tony."

"Sir and Captain Rogers and trapped in the building to your 3 o'clock, Miss Romanoff."

"Can you get 'em on the line, FRIDAY?"

"I'm afraid not, Sargent Barnes, I appear to have lost contact through the debris."

Natasha slid to a stop in front of a charred mass of dismembered Doombots, noting motor oil staining the street, and on top of it, Tony's helmet. She relayed as much to Bucky, who scooped it up, giving it a once over before scrunching up his nose and turning to look at Nat.

"This ain't motor oil," he grunted solemnly, holding out the helmet for Natasha to see more clearly in the light. The substance on it was scarlett in colour, and not as viscous as any oil.

Pursing her lips, Natasha raised her gauntlets and did a scan of the debris in front of her - they beeped back at her.

"They're in there - Thor, Hulk, we could use a hand here." Nat said as Bucky already began tearing through the debris, casting it aside as if it weigh nothing. Sam ran up beside them then, Natasha raising an eyebrow at him in return, he looked momentarily sheepish at that, but shrugged and said

"Heard there was a situation, I ain't got guns like Thor but I got ones better than his." he added playfully nodding at Bucky - who snorted in response, though the effect was dampened by how tired he sounded. Sam began digging alongside Nat, noting her discomfort

"Hey, Red," he tried, "they'll be here any minute."

-

Hulk made easy work of the debris, taking less than a few minutes to get through. He would've made even faster work of it if the others hadn't made him promise not to smash through, something about not letting the building collapse on their leaders.

Bucky vaulted into the building the second the gap was big enough, followed closely by Nat. The others stayed outside prepping medical supplies just in case, Clint taking a business call with S.H.I.E.L.D who were on clean-up.

Buck shone a torch through the building, casting it over metal girders, beams, blocks of cement, and then two bodies, one slumping over the other. Nat noticed too, and they quickly covered the distance, coming to a stop by the two bodies.

Steve's eyes were flickering open and shut.

"Steve- Stevie, can you look at me? Hey hey focus, punk, how many fingers am I holding up?"

Steve took a rattling breath in, before signing and closing his eyes. Bucky leant forward, momentarily concerned, when Steve spoke up.

"One. S'always one, you jerk. I'm con-concussed, stop flipin' the bird a'me" the blonde slurred, earning an amused huff from Bucky.

Bucky smile cut short when he saw the concern etched into Natasha's delicate features, looking at Tony who hadn't responded once. The gap made by the hulk was big enough for the medics to get  a pair of gurney's in. Steve was hoisted onto one, his head rolling side to side as he furrowed his brow, muttering something about being fine, while Natasha rolled Tony over.

"It was Tony's blood," was all she said before her and Bucky hoisted his limp form in their arms, making their way over the the gurney. Gently placing the man down, they hastily jogged with him out the building as medics swarmed around them, fitting Tony with an oxygen mask while others were giving him a once-over, yelling commands in Romanian for the prep team in the jet.

In the light of dusk, Tony's face was nearing a dangerously blue-grey tone, waxen and covered in ash which matted his sweaty hair to his skull. Brushing the hair out of his eyes, Natasha set her features determinedly, getting the two injured men to the quinjet where they'd be taken to the Helicarrier's medical wing.

She wasn't about to lose two of her boys in her watch.

-

Tony woke to the steady sound of beeping and a smell of disinfectant. God, he thought, what did we do this time? Without opening his eyes, he rolled to one side, noting a pulling sensation on his arm.

"My friend, t'would be unwise to move so hastily at this moment," came the deep comforting voice of their resident Demi-God from beside him.

Tony loved Thor. Thor was so wise, and happy, and kind, and his laughter rumbled in his chest like thunder- was that part of being a thunder-er?

Thor's hearty chuckles were heard from beside his head, and Tony peeled open the eye that wasn't currently pressed into a pillow.

Blinking a few times and twisting his face funnily, Tony looked around the room, settling on Thor who was sitting in a chair much to small for someone of his stature. It creaked weakly as Thor leant forward, gently ruffling Tony's hair and smiling sadly.

"We feared we'd lost you, Anthony," Thor said, "your heart was weak and you lost a great deal of blood, I'm afraid. I am, I'm so sorry, my friend, I didn't get to you sooner. Had I been faster, perhaps Doom wouldn't have been able to inflict such a grievous wound upon you."

Noting the guilty look flashing across Tony's face, Thor quickly changed the subject, and was leaning down to pick something up of the floor.

"This," he said grinning, "was the blade that struck you - you were most lucky that it merely passed under your lungs, nothing vital was clipped - your liver was slightly, but your physicians were remarkable at their role!" He beamed down at Tony, hair messily pulled back into a bun. His t-shirt was far too small for his chest, which had Black Widow's doing written all over it. Coincidentally, it literally did have her name in graphic print over the front, Tony noted frowning curiously.

Tony stared dumb-stuck at the long blade Thor was presenting to him, when a voice sounded from his doorway.

"I tried to tell the surgeons not to bother with it - your liver that is - hardly valuable, damaged beyond repair. Definitely wouldn't be worth the trouble. They neglected to listen to me."

"Oh Natashalie, you wound me," Tony slurred melodramatically, wincing when he turned his head too fast trying to look at her, his vision doubling, tripling, and quadrupling a few times before adjusting again.

"No, that wounds you," she said, gesturing to the blade with a nod of her head, all while perching on the end of the medical bed by his feet, "You're an idiot, by the way, Stark. Strangling Doom? Not your best plan of action."

"Excuse me, but isn't that your signature move? Strangulation by thighs - they have action figures of you doing it now!" He protested weakly, wincing again at the movement of his chest. Natasha gently pushed him back down by his chest onto his pillow with one steady foot.

"Yes, because I'm excellent at it. You on the other hand, well-" she he turned playfully to his current state.

After a few minutes of comfortable silence, a S.H.I.E.L.D nurse poked his head through the door.

"Director Fury wants to have a word with the Avengers briefly, ma'am."

Natasha nodded and made her way to the door. Thor got up to do the same when Tony tried to get up again, until his friend gave him a stern look that made him settle back down.

"I'm an Avenger too, fatal injury or no fatal injury!" Tony called out to Thor's retreating form, who turned mid walk, grinning at him,

"Yes, but Steven is staying put in his room, I suggest you do the same, Tony." With a wink, Thor strolled down the corridor and jogged to catch up with Nat until they disappeared from view.

Steve.

Oh shit, how did he forget Steve.

Tony craned his neck to get a better view out of the door, deciding the coast was clear and he pried himself off his bed. Looking down, he was relived they'd put him in scrubs, not the usual medical gown. After the ordeal with Clint, who protested profusely at the medical staff for baring his ass to everyone without his knowing, S.H.I.E.L.D medical had been reluctant to have a repeat of the incident.

Tearing out his IV (his internal Grey's Anatomy fan was screaming at him for doing so), Tony skunk out into the corridor, medical mask and all, and began searching the corridor for Steve. The Helicarrier's medical wing wasn't too extensive, so it didn't take long. Though they were certainly used to Avengers getting out of bed long before what was medically recommended, so the mask hid Tony's identity somewhat - hopefully long enough that he wouldn't be caught.

C'mon, c'mon, Steve where are you- ah!

Steve lay in a large medical bed - larger than his he noted irritably, favouritism, much - looking more peaceful than he usually did nowadays. Hobbling over to Steve's side, Tony nudged the door closed behind him with the heel of his bare foot.

Ignoring the way his stitches burned at the motion, Tony sat down on the edge of the chair next to Steve, propping his chin on the mattress. Closing his eyes, Tony's mind wandered back to the battle.

Watching Steve fall to the ground, blood gushing from his head, looking as lifeless as he did in Tony's visions. God, this was his fault, not fast enough, the body armour didn't protect him enough, not good enough for Steve. He wasn't good enough for Steve. The shock of being stabbed, dragging Steve through the rubble as fast as he could, the bombs inside the bots flickering too close together now, the explosion, the debris, Steve wasn't breathing, breathe for Steve, beat Steve's heart, Steve still wasn't breathing-

"-Tony?"

Tony's head shot up so fast he almost gave himself whiplash. Steve was awake, and smiling at him. Why, why was he smiling? Tony wasn't fast enough, he could have gotten Steve killed-

"I'm sorry, Steve, I'm so, so sorry you wouldn't believe - that rhymed, sorry, I'm not trying to be clever of whatever - shit, again, with the rhyming, I didn't mean to, this is very serious and I'm so sorry pleasedon'thateme-"

"Jesus fuck, Tony, do you ever shut your goddamn mouth?" Steve said hopelessly, eyes swimming with mirth.

Tony let out a deep sigh, and tried again.

"Are you- I don't know- okay? Angry? Sad- are you sad, I don't know how to deal with Sad Steve. And watch your language"

Steve eyed him, bewildered by everything coming out of Tony's mouth.

"You're crazy, you know that- wait, are you on morphine?" Steve chose that moment to glance down at Tony, at his current attire and his bare feet, before groaning.

"Tony, you should be in bed right now, God why are you here?!"

Tony looked momentarily hurt, before Steve signed and lifted his own covers.

"Lie down." He ordered, looking at Tony expectantly. When Tony stood up, Steve's eyes widened at the growing patch of blood emerging from Tony's abdomen.

"Oh for the love of- Tony, are you walking around after just having stitches." The statement wasn't really a question, Steve had already lifted up the other man's scrubs to reveal that yes, in fact there were recently sewn stitches and yes Tony had pulled them enough to bleed considerably.

Tony slid into the bed next to Steve, feeling a sense of comfort at the warms radiating from his chest. Steve sighed in frustration and pressed the assistance button next to his head.

"You're going to be the death of me, Tony Stark," there was anxiety in his tone, but he seemed comfortable enough that Tony could stay. They were in a hospital room after all, just not Tony's.

The morphine had begun to wear off the moment Tony ripped out his IV, which he kind of deserved for doing so, and he clenched his teeth impossibly tight trying to suppress a groan from the wound, with was now leaning less toward 'uncomfortable' and more towards 'really fucking annoying'. Steve noticed, pulling Tony closer to his body and brushing a hand through his hair - it was getting long now, he noted, flopping over his eyes half the time.

Tony was drifting off to sleep by the time a doctor waltzed in, clearly not imagining Steve would be in any urgent assistance, and her eyes widened then squinted as she pulled her face into a frown.

"Mr Stark! You were under strict bed-rest until further notice-"

"Well I am in a bed-"

"You shouldn't have moved beds at all!" She sighed, frustrated but compliantly, as she moved around the side of the bed Tony was on, only to sigh again when she noticed his stitches.

"For this, forget about me using morphine this time round" she drawled without much heat, when Natasha came bursting into the room, followed by the rest of the team.

"Ty sukin syn, Tony, you were stabbed - through and through - and you're more worried about Steve?" Natasha hissed, pointedly glaring at him again when she noticed the stitches.

Natasha asked the doctor if she could do it instead, staring Tony down, eliciting a nervous twitch from Tony. The doctor merely snorted and carried on - Nat hadn't been serious anyway, but the threat carried through.

Turning his attention away from Natasha, Tony felt Steve's eyes burrowing into the back of his head. Waving his hands around in leu of a remark in his defence, Tony met Steve's eyes and regretted it upon seeing the hurt in them.

"It didn't even hit anything important, don't start getting worked up about it-"

"It hit you. You're important, Tony," Steve bit out, actually leaving Tony temporarily speechless - a rare occurrence in itself.

Bruce watched the exchange and motioned for the other to give them some privacy, Sam obliged, rolling his eyes when Nat, Bucky, Thor, and Clint all hesitated, clearly more than interested in the exchange.

After a few minutes of uncomfortable silence, the doctor finished redoing the stitches Tony pulled, then applying a fresh gauze over them, secured with a bandage wrapped tightly round his torso. She took off her gloves, balling them up to throw away into the biohazard bin, and said casually without looking up once, "If you touch those again I'll kick you out and leave you to bleed on on the curb. You're not making a mess in my medical suite again, Avenger or not." 

With that, she was gone.

"Why did you engage with Doom without backup?" Steve asked in a disturbingly calm voice, as if holding back from exploding in a fit of anger, avoiding  eye-contact all together. Steve had fished the StarkPad off his bedside table - Sam must've left it for him - and was skimming over the mission report.

"I was unconscious and your armour was compromised, Thor said he was on his way, so why didn't you just wait-!"

"It would have been too long!" Tony interrupted, feeling his own anger boiling in his gut, "Thor and Hulk were being bombarded by Doombots, you needed to get somewhere safe yesterday, and I was not gonna let that asshole just get away!"

Steve chewed the inside of his mouth, thinking of what counter argument to say next, so Tony took the opportunity to carry on.

"If I hadn't have stepped in, Thor would never have reached Doom in time and he wouldn't be sealed in interrelation, ready to be held trial for what he's done. Civilians died, Steve, you could've-"

"Alright." Wait, what? Tony said as much to Steve. "You're right, he shouldn't have gotten away, but your attack on him was thoughtless, Stark, I thought you were over this who goddamn lone-ranger recklessness on the field! You're on a team! You only had to hold him off 'til backup arrived, what the hell were you thinking?!"

Steve's voice had risen beyond a stern to full out yelling, earning a few concerned stares through the door from passers-by. The door mysteriously closed, and Steve sighed. One of the team must of closed it, meaning all of them were listening in. Fantastic.

"If I see a single one of you listening in outside this goddamn door in the surveillance tape later I will personally have you put on paperwork duty for the next fortnight," Steve said plainly. The sound of shuffling stirred up and eventually faded out down the corridor.

Steve sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, before continuing.

"Star- Tony, earlier - on the jet, I was conscious enough to see what happened, what happened to you, and I-" Steve seemed to think carefully about his next words, swallowing the lump in his throat and licking his bottom lip, avoiding Tony's gaze. Not that Tony was looking at Steve either. Boys.

"You were so pale and there was just blood everywhere- it was, brutal, seeing you like that. You looked so small, Tony."

"Steve-"

"The thought of losing you because you were saving me that kills me, Tony. Why didn't you think of-?"

"I wasn't thinking!" Tony burst out louder than expecting, "Christ, Steve, with you I don't think, it's one of the only times I don't think and calculate all the variables to the T, with you its, it's like, like ritual." Tony finished, heart racing but feeling a lot calmer than a few moments ago

Steve bobbed his mouth open and shut, at a loss of what to say. Tony smiled softly, took pity on the man and gently lifted his hand, closing Steve’s gaping mouth, tilting it closed by his chin. Steve gradually leaned into Tony's touch, closing his eyes and sighing contently. Tony let his hand linger over Steve's cheek, then settling softly cradling his jaw.

Steve met his eyes, and Tony carried on talking.

"It's like, I don't need to think, I just do, and I just reacted. It's what I know, it's just there and- I'm kinda going off and a tangent here with this analogy so please feel free and step in so I stop talking-"

Steve tilted his head and kissed the palm of Tony's hand, clasping his own hand over Tony's. Tony wet his lips and started to shuffle, adjusting the way he was led. Steve flushed a soft pink, stomach lifting into his chest as the ends of his fingers began to tingle with anticipation.

Tony closed the gap between them on one swift movement, bringing their lips together tenderly. Steve got with the programme quickly, and kissed back, bringing an arm round Tony's waist, drawing him closer. Tony deepened the kiss and Steve moaned softly into his mouth, letting his mind drift upwards. He'd wanted this for so long, it ached in his chest and throbbed around his body. He tilted Tony's head backwards gently, kissing Tony deeper and leaning over his body slightly, letting Tony lay back as Steve gently climbed over him, careful of his stitches.

They kissed for what felt like hours, touching each other intimately, stroking hands through each other's hair. Tony ran his hands over Steve's biceps and his chest, Steve gingerly placed a hand over the scars left by the arc reactor, feeling the curves of his waist, pulling their hips together.

"That's bad for the stitches."

Steve dropped his head onto Tony's chest with a sigh, closing his eyes as if to say why me, why now. Tony snorted gently and dipped his head forward pecking Steve's forehead. Steve sat up and turned to look at the voice coming from the door, eyes already rolling back good-naturedly.

The team stood in the doorway, poking their heads through at different angles comically, grinning at the pair.

"Alright thanks for stopping by, you can go now"

"Aw, Cap c'mon, it's visiting hours! We all wanna see how our leaders are doing," Clint said with a smirk on his face, already strolling into the room and plonking himself into an armchair my the bed.

Steve sat up, gently helping Tony into a sitting position, smiling at him sweetly.

"Ugh, please stop doing that"

"Doing what, Buck?"

"That- thing where you look at each other nicely. Disgusting" Bucky mock-grumbled as he sauntered in, dropping himself on windowsill, followed by the others pizza boxes in hand. Steve just tossed a pillow at the guy’s head.

The others filed into the room, taking up respective places, perched on windowsills, plastic chairs, and at the foot of the bed. As the others joked around, throwing pizza crusts at Steve when he got doe-eyed, Tony settled back against Steve's chest, and smiled.

[joneswilliam72]

Songs Of The Week feat. SASAMI, AUGUST 08, Weyes Blood, Pecas, Samia and more

SASAMI - 'Free' (featuring Devendra Banhart)

From the opening guitar squeals and the intonation of SASAMI singing "I'm sure this happens all the time," we're immediately in the scene of a heartbreaking conversation between incompatible people. He's older and has "a good thing back at home," she's maybe a bit more naive, stating "I don't care what tomorrow brings," but the fact is that it's got to end, as painful as that can be. Devendra Banhart's vocal coils itself around SASAMI's smoothly, perfectly offering up the spectre of this attractive older person who's pulling away. Mid-song, those guitar squeals leer up again, portraying the roiling emotion of the moment, only to be forced back down. By the end of this excoriating scene, SASAMI seems to have reached some kind of acceptance, singing "you don't know what it means to be free," and leaving the listener to hope that she'll find a happier conclusion in the near future. - Rob Hakimian

W. H. Lung - 'Simpatico People'

As the opener of their debut album, 'Simpatico People' quickly sets out W. H. Lung's intentions: they're taking us on a trip into a cavernous studio creation that has the claws and muscle to become a fierce live force. 'Simpatico People' is kraut-indebted, beginning as a lightly hovering jam, before hitting its stride and chugging along on arpeggiating synthesizers throughout. This is the fuel that is burnt by propulsive percussion and some scorching guitar lines that push the track well out into the far reaches of space. The track is so hypnotic and exhilarating that you'll be 8-minutes deep without even realising, at this point Joseph E. is repeating "Am I on my own? Am I on my own?" as he's so far into the void that no other life is apparent - but any listeners to 'Simpatico People' will be right there with him, having been hauled into this realm by W. H. Lung's musical sorcery. - Rob Hakimian

AUGUST 08 - 'Blood On My Hands' (feat. Smino)

To say something is "a mood" is a meme that seems well past its expiration date, but there's hardly a better way to describe the haunted R&B of August 08. On "Blood On My Hands," his new collab with St. Louis MC Smino, August 08 finds him stuck between two loves and shouldering a burden that increases with time. Smino's tight verse and the thumping, echoey production courtesy of Sad Money make this as good of a reason to go for a pensive night walk as any. - Brody Kenny

Peter and Kerry - 'They Know God (But I Know You)'

Outside of some unintrusive keyboards and minimal vocal effects, the arrangements are stripped to Leatham's voice and gently rolling pianos with the sound bare enough you can literally hear the keys being pressed. Leatham has always possessed a stirring and gorgeous voice and in these settings, it flourishes untethered. A far cry from their comparatively restless debut, the added focus, and breathing room reveal how much their collective songwriting has grown. What's also gratifying about it is, despite how much time has passed since we last heard from them, Peter and Kerry sound as if they were here all along. - Jerome Monroe

Neon Prayers - ‘Incomplete’

What begins as a piano-backed ballad morphs into a droning electronic number, maintaining its dramatic flair. At two-and-a-half minutes in, cogs begin whirring with kinetic energy, losing speed every measure to entropy. It is a chrome ride, dwelling on feelings that can launch a downward spiral of thoughts. Eventually, the spinning slows for good and we are carried to the outro, which provides no extra comfort. - Zoë Elaine

Light Conductor - 'Light Conductor'

Amidst rippling piano and refracting percussion, a surging current of guitar cuts to straight to the point, like rocket boosters suddenly engaging for a return journey. The joy at the moment of departure is captured in the vocals (featuring Young Galaxy's Catherine McCandless), which radiate like ultraviolet beams across the sky. With the all-clear given by the 'Light Conductor', the band is ready to escape our atmosphere. - Rob Hakimian

Weyes Blood - 'Everyday'

New track 'Everyday' is Weyes Blood's record of the tricky trail through the world of modern dating. Her voice is radiant in its weariness at the endless longing, but 'Everyday' takes that dejection and spins it into gold through the brightness of '70s organs and choral backing vocals, ascending and descending through an utterly jovial chorus. Even though she runs through a series of disheartening encounters with prospective partners, she still maintains a positive perspective, assuring us that "true love is making a comeback." The winsome sound of Weyes Blood's new song is a true tonic for the modern blues, in which we "need love everyday". - Rob Hakimian

INTER ARMA - 'Citadel'

Last seen on UK shores supporting everyone’s favourite crossover black-metal band, Deafheaven, Inter Arma's reputation has grown and grown over their last couple of LPs, especially since their 2016 masterwork, Paradise Gallows. This week they announced their fourth record, Sulphur English (out April 12 via Relapse Records), and unveiled 'Citadel;’ a song that thrillingly embodies the terrifying inferno that roars across the new album's cover.

Inter Arma have always skilfully juggled the stylistic signifiers of various sub-genres of metal, to the point that they’re basically a genre unto themselves. On 'Citadel,’ we get the funereal chug of sludgy doom, the growl-and-riffageddon of death, the relentless blast beats of black, and the shredding, balls-to-the-wall soloing of good ol’ heavy metal. All in service of a song that in frontman Mike Paparo’s own words serves as a “clarion call to [himself] about overcoming depression.”

Every Inter Arma song feels you’re on some mystical ship captained by a bellowing madman, at the mercy of the push and pull of stormy seas; with its swaying rhythm and relentless violence, ‘Citadel’ is no different, except this time, the goddamn ship is on fire. - Andy Johnston

Honourable Mentions

Why you should listen: Because it feels like you're trapped in a dream.

Why you should listen: Because it feels like walking through a newly-discovered city at night.

Why you should listen: Because it feels like the song you hear in a movie where someone overcomes all the odds to win.

Why you should listen: Because it feels like the song you hear in a movie after you hear the song above.

Why you should listen: Because it feels like a glass of rum underneath a neon sign that says 'HUGE VIBE'.

Why you should listen: Because it feels like familiar ground yet entirely unique.

Why you should listen: Because Taliwhoah's voice is so damn good.

from The 405 http://bit.ly/2tp4KV7

[cnox]

Interview for Skaventhrone issue two. Copies on the way to Hollow Myths* soon!

S: You were recently featured on Never Stop the Madness - Black Metal Radio and had an impressive line-up of releases for the coming months. How has the exposure been?

C: Eve Skaventhrone, thanx much for this chance to further spin our web. Hails to NZ AC DS! We are psyched by the response from the NSTM - BM Radio Special and thankful to have been featured. This was a grand opportunity to get more airplay for our artists and tell a bit of what is to come from Hollow Myths*. We look forward to doing it again this winter.

S: A fellow conspirator has added that your release schedule for the year is quite evenly paced, what makes this different from your previous approach?

C: That may be a bit of misinformation because we will be like a bat out of hell yet again. Our upcoming releases have been stirring in the pot for some time, so we have had many moons to plot and plan. There will be unexpected surprises as we don’t tend to spell things out nor give away too much. So, please do keep watch. We have also put a new CD-R series into action in which we will be offering even more outsider music. And introducing new artists and their first works. We have a grip of sick releases in our trick bag already for this venture.

S: To talk about the name 'Hollow Myths'; A cynical person could read this as being lacking in substance, what are your feelings towards this?

C: When we say hollow, we mean a dark valley in the forest or hole in an old tree. Our workings should be considered as mythology or folklore that seeps and creeps out of the fog and cries out from the blackest of nights. We bring forth new legends and modern myths. “The Hollow Myth” is also a book I wrote long ago. We have shared some of this story and will be telling this tale over the years to come. The introduction came with the Bestiary Vol. One Compilation and Issue 1 of our zine is first in a series of character guides. Our antics are always subversive, so it should be obvious there is a hidden double meaning to our moniker, one-part existentialism and one-part absurdism.

S: Going back to releases; Your output last year was quite prolific and featured a wide gamut within the established DS scene; What do you look for in an artist?

C: Thank you for the fine words. We shall do the same this time around and then some. For us, it must be unique, sad and true. Unabashed, sinister and the synthesizer is key. We like to work with artists whom are free, patient and have a grasp on the big picture. Loyalty and trust is something we also look for in our creative working relationships.

S: Similarly, each of these releases has a very personalized approach. Is this something you find important to differentiate from other labels or distros?

C: We appreciate you taking notice and set out to do our own thing indeed. The music of our artists is so very personal, as it is to us, so we try and convey this with the presentation. The artwork, packaging and magical extras are all part of the experience we try to give. Sight, sound, smell and even touch. From the vintage cassettes, cases, paper, fabric and tie, to the natural accoutrements, candles, incense and wood - we want our releases to be something to have, hold and cherish. Nearly everything we create has been made by hand. There is art to hang on your wall, jewellery and badges to wear, talismans to take with you about your travels. In this, the music and ideas carry on with the you even when not listening but still in one’s heart and mind's eye.

S: I understand that yourself and your partner also have a project together. It's been described as a cutting of recording errors and artefacts from analog or older technologies.

C: Cristahel and I are Rowen. We make mythical electronic music and use analogue equipment. We record live with synths, drum machines, percussion as well as capture field recordings. We plug in, press record and play, do some mixing and then share these aural documents on our Plexus Station the evening of. We were lucky to have been picked up by Personnel Records, a division of the Black Metal label, Seedstock just after a couple of songs. They released our first demo “Ashen Spirit” on pro-tape and we are now composing a new album. An east coast wing of shows are in the talks for this summer and we are aiming on touring Europa this fall.

S: There seems to be a shift in the scene from those maintaining the traditional nostalgic approach to Dungeon Synth and those moving towards what could be considered a 'Ritual Ambience' in some cases with a stronger focus on minimalism and natural sounds; What are your thoughts to this?

C: We see it in three ways: originators, innovators and imitators. We lean more towards innovation. With experimentation comes inspiration and for us is the most interesting. Of course, we hail the founding fathers and tradition is to be respected. But, we want to hear something different and new. The ritual and ambient approach draws from magic which can manifest at the same time be happenstance. This is pure and exciting.

S: It certainly is, and it's great to see you're encouraging and creating a space for artists to do so.

C: We surely try.

S: In our search through the more historic artists on Hollow Myths, such as Apeiron, Depressive Silence, and Arthur, we get a feeling you've probably had an earlier connection with these composers. When did you first get involved with this area of the black metal underground, and these projects? And how did these interactions eventually lead to the creation of Hollow Myths?

C: In the 80's I was steeped in Heavy Metal music, having gone to countless stadium concerts for legendary acts such as Dio, W.A.S.P., etc., later to shows; Cro-Mags, Suicidal Tendencies, I could ramble on. In the early 90’s I went to a boarding school in the woods of New Hampshire and was cut off from T.V. and the goings on of counter culture. So, we made our own. Being up there, I sort of missed out on the first wave of Black Metal and The X-Files. In turn we took drugs, listened to a lot of Black Sabbath and N.W.O.B.H.M. and spent all our time in the trees. Though already a fan of Celtic Frost and much early Death Metal, it wasn’t until I came off that mountain and ended up back in the cities, did I discover some of what I had been missing. I was given a promo copy of the Gummo soundtrack and that crystalized things for me. Ever since then, I was hooked and dug as far as I could into the Black Metal and Dark Ambient Underground. I used to make a UG BM zine which led to many contacts with bands, labels, distros and made tons trades and orders along the way. Some mail correspondence comrades I have had for two decades now. I also had a dark electronic band and toured the world a few times which broadened my knowledge and network. One day it dawned on me to turn my passions and obsessions into my trade.

S: Dungeon Synth, and its surrounding genres, has a huge online presence through bandcamp, social media, and a large facebook group with over 3000 members, of which you're one of the admins. How has the online world affected the artists 'mystery' or even integrity, in your opinion? And is the responsibility of maintaining civility on the forums a burden at times?

C: I dislike speaking of the internet in printed zine interviews but understand this question cannot be ignored. There was rift a year or so ago that drove a wedge in the Dungeon Synth scene and I was made an admin of the main group to keep the peace as it were. And to save it from an impending doom that it is was facing as some sought to destroy the fortress wall that we had been building for so long. I have been manning it for the past couple of years and worked very hard to instill an ethic of friendship, honor and support. Drama, memes and off topic materials are not tolerated in the attempts to keep it focused and Dungeon - not a trash heap or place of trolls. I never intended to have this role, but it became a necessary evil. Our lands were being raided so, I stormed the castle and seized the kingdom for the preservation of all things DS. This being not unlike the mid-era BM scene where things got ugly, full of posers and rip-offs. But that’s another story. DS is now an entity of its own and I try to promote an atmosphere that is welcoming, and nurturing opposed to jaded sorts dictating how other artists and musicians should create. We are grateful to have a tight knit cast of active members with new folks everyday - things seem to carry on without any trouble. Any problems are just simply removed without much thought - forward march. As far as artists wanting to be anonymous, to each their own, I don’t see the need to hide.  

S: As a collector, I'm sure you have many boxes of rarities hidden away from the public eye, what are some of your most prized and cherished?

C: This is true. Some things, I just don’t share and like to keep very close. All my collection is prized. I don’t do filler or bad condition. I obsess over the most obscure and often the overlooked and discarded. Not as much rare and pricey, rather merely special to me. Some of my favourites are looked down upon by most so, I won’t bother mentioning them here. I’m a stickler for collectability and keep it all mint. From limited 7”’s to etched and coloured LP’s, cult Cassettes to OOP CD’s. I also collect shirts, patches, badges, zines and have an extensive VHS library - mostly horror and sleaze. I am constantly buying, selling and trading. Out with the old in with the new. I only hold onto things I listen to, read, wear and watch over and over.

S: You mentioned a possible Europe tour, are there any particular destinations you're hoping to visit? Any artists you are planning to perform alongside?

C: We want to get back to Germany, then go to places we have yet to; the Scandinavian countries, all Eastern Europe and of course, New Zealand and Australia. We will play anywhere and everywhere though we will focus on night clubs, art galleries and uncommon venues. We also plan to do DJ sets, show our artwork, clothing line and spread our wings as Hollow Myths*.  We hope to perform alongside old and new friends and intend to drag out some of our artists for these occasions.

S: We thank you for your time, and we're looking forward to the upcoming releases! Any parting words for our readers?

C: Art, music, nature, magic. Don't take any wooden nickels, don't play second fiddle, and don't roll over and play dead for anybody. Walk the endless corridor and shatter the Hollow Myth.

Thanx yet again. Dehails!  - Canrith Knox of Rowen from Hollow Myths*

[doomedandstoned]

Maryland Doomers Yatra Begin Conquest of Europe

~By Mel Lie~

It is a typical late summer afternoon here in Northern Germany. Sun and clouds alternate in a rush and a harsh wind blows around the corners. I'm sitting outside in my favorite deck chair, burying my ears deep into the latest album 'Death Ritual' (2019) by Maryland-based band YATRA. This ritual carries me into the best mood as I prepare to interview this impressive doom trio.

It was a blend of mythical, heavy, pitch black doom vibes and mountainous riffs, excellently paired with Stein-Schlag drumming and harsh vocals from a skull dipped in the blackest ash, that accompanied my dissection of the band, comprised of singer Dana Helmuth, bassist Maria Geisbert and drummer Sean Lafferty.

The more of myself I sunk into Yatra's sound, the better I understood the band's mission to spread their doom-ridden plaque to the farthest reaches the planet.

Yatra's journey began earlier this year with the immensely well-received debut album Death Ritual on Grimoire Records and continued with a momentous tour across various stages along both coasts of the US, hitting festivals like Grim Reefer Fest, Ode To Doom, New England Stoner & Doom Fest II, Monolith On The Mesa, and Electric Funeral Fest, among others. But that‘s not all! Yatra have taken their song "Sailing On" quite literally. In October, they’ll storm Europe supporting Poland's atmospheric-doom heavyweight Sunnata, hailing over to Norway, Sweden, Denmark, the Czech Republic, Italy, France -- bringing Into The Void Fest in the Netherlands, Desertfest Antwerp in Belgium, and the Satellite and South Doom I festivals in Germany to their knees.

Yatra intend to continue on towards world domination, recently dropping word that a second album is in the making, releasing later this year. It‘s still too early to give details about that, but maybe the trio will leave some information in the course of the interview that follows.

Long story short, I'm thrilled that I could catch the trio in the midst of their immense journey and talk with them about their tour and future plans.

Death Ritual by Yatra

An Interview with Yatra

I'm pleased as punch to meet up with you here, guys! Your activities this year have been incredibly impressive. It looks like you have both feet on the gas pedal! What is it that spurred you onlong on this intrepid journey?

We are happy to meet you, too, and very excited to play in Europe! Thanks for the kind words and I guess we can only say that we really believe in ourselves and Yatra, and we are extremely hard workers. Maybe it’s focus and passion together that are the two feet on the gas pedal you mentioned.

Due to your huge US tour, your band life is pinned around the clock. I imagine this costs a lot of energy and requires a lot of stamina. How do you recharge your batteries to keep it up?

The shows and the people really get us excited and motivated. In the US there are some big open spaces and sometimes we have ten hour drives from one night's show to the next. It’s that desire to want to rock again for another crowd that makes it worthwhile to us.

What impressions have you "brought home" from your numerous gigs and festivals in the US?

We have made lots of great new friends and had countless fun and crazy experiences.

Is there a special strange or funny thing in your mind that you have witnessed while touring?

Oh man, every day for us! (laughs) We’ve gotten lost in caves, have met skinwalkers in the desert, gotten attacked by mutant coyotes in California, talked to giant seals on the pacific cliffs, woken up with buffalo in the mountains. We live it to the fullest, every day.

In October, Europe will see you for the first time live on stage at various concerts and damn cool festivals. Hell, yes! Wait, I have to prepare confetti rain, drum rolls, and hellish fireworks! How does that feel to you and what do you have in the luggage for European fans?

Yes! We are really stoked to play on European stages and bring our heavy metal to everyone that comes out. We will be playing mostly the new album and are very excited about it and the responses we got from these new songs on our last US tour. It’s going to be a great tour!

After completing your monstrous road trip, will we then find you cocktail sipping in the South Sea Islands? (laughs) We are chomping at the bit to learn of future plans in the pipeline for the remaining months of the year 2019. You have dropped the word that there will be another album recording? Can we elicit you some information about it?

Yes, I think we will have a two week tour at the end of November, but not positive on the details. And yes, last month we completed a new full-length album of eight songs for STB Records, entitled Blood of the Night, which will be released in January worldwide on vinyl and CD, as well as all digital formats. There will also be some special edition vinyl. We recorded with Kevin Bernsten at Developing Nations and it was mastered by James Plotkin. It sounds really great. STB will also be re-releasing our first album Death Ritual in the future, which we are almost sold out of the first pressing.

Now, feel free to give few concluding words for our listeners and your fans on the way out.

We are really looking forward to this tour! We haven’t had any of our records or t-shirts or any merchandise available anywhere in Europe, so it’s great that people will be able to get that stuff on this tour without paying ridiculous shipping from the US. We hope to get to talk with and meet as many people before and after shows as we can, don’t be shy. See you out there!

Thank you guys for taking the time to answer our curious questions here. We are looking forward to you implementation of further world domination plans! Have a great time in the EU. We hope it will be a blast!

South Doom I in Hamburg

By Simon Ballnat, organizer

I'm eminently pleased that Yatra will also spread their doom-ash vibes over the first South Doom at Hamburg's Stellwerk in Northern Germany, my home county! This event is something new and special of its kind and may be a signpost for the heavy underground scene in Hamburg! I got the opportunity to catch Simon Ballnath, one of the supporting heads of the heavy music scene in Hamburg and co-organizer of South Doom I, in my clutches. He will give us more information about this project.

For a few years now, the stoner rock, doom metal, and heavy music scene overall has grown and grown in several cities in Germany. Stoner-doom is perhaps the only underground subgenre of metal that has become mainstream without selling out. A huge amount of national and international bands take big efforts and commitments to present their music all over Europe, especially in Germany's biggest cities Berlin and Hamburg, where the sound is popular like never before. For those bands, it's sometimes very hard to fill their tour schedule with midweek gigs, so the bigger cities are attractive in that they have the venue infrastructure and population density to offer shows to those hungry musicians in the middle of the week.

On the one hand, it's fine for those bands to avoid off-days and find some place to perform and maybe sometimes a place to sleep for free, but there is a dark side to those big cities. On the other hand, a lot of bigger bands stop there to play shows, too, and in Hamburg you can visit a stoner-rock, doom metal, or heavy blues concert nearly every night. This overdose of shows leads to a disregard and devaluing of the most awesome small shows in lousy little venues for up and coming bands.

South Doom with Sunnata and Yatra is the first collaboration of promoters with fanatical supporters of these scenes. The Droneburg, which offers a yearly recurring festival for doom, sludge, and other outlying subgenres, works together with small, non-venue promoters like Brandlaut, Desert Hazard, and the Plattenkiste a local record store which is known for their in-store gigs and support of the local metal scene in Hamburg.

The Stellwerk in the south part of Hamburg offers the venue, takes the main part of the organization of the show, and a lot of volunteers are also involved in this project. In the last ten years, there was no liaison of this kind in Hamburg and its hopefully not the last time different promoters and actors in this great scene work together to bring you some amazing bands -- keep an eye out for South Doom II!

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[doomedandstoned]

The Doom Doc Traces Metal’s Heaviest Genre To Its Roots

~Review by Shawn Gibson, with Billy Goate~

The story of doom begins two generations ago in the UK with a band called Black Sabbath. An important new film, titled The Doom Doc, seeks to connect the dots from those early days to the present, just one city away from Ozzy, Tony, Geezer, and Bill’s Birmingham roots. Directed by Connor Matheson, the Sheffield documentary was released the same year as Black Sabbath played their last.

DOOM /do͞om/

noun

      death, destruction, or some other terrible fate

verb

      condemn to certain death or destruction

The Doom Doc made its timely appearance in 2017; the year Birmingham legends Black Sabbath decided this was (really) The End. Roughly an hour-and-a-half north, we’re met by the hustle and bustle of Sheffield, England. Traffic is awash in a glowing red hue. Pedestrians going to and fro in crowded movements reminiscent of a group of ants.

Sheffield is home of Def Leppard, Human League, and Pulp for the mainstream. For the underground, it’s home to Kurokuma, Regulus, Ba'al, ARAE, and a steady swell of others who are making sure the UK doom scene stays on the map right where Black Sabbath left it.

We hear the voice of Craig Bagshaw, who lives in Sheffield and also fronts Holy Spider Promotions. He tells a tale of going to a party and one of his mates answering the door with a screwdriver in hand and a wild look in his eyes. Upon entry, Craig's friend tells him that he's got some MDMA and he's already toasted. There is an argument about quality of said MDMA. Craig's friend then takes his belt off and starts whipping his mate’s asses as if he was their dad! He screams some twisted gibberish about the Holy Order of the Spider.

Most everyone reading this understands how DIY metal is and even more so with doom and sludge. Jack Newnham of Slabdragger argues, "You’ve just got to make your own scene. You've got to make it happen! If you don't, there isn't a scene." Not surprisingly, heavy music for these folks has become a lifestyle. "It goes beyond hobby to a lifestyle," insists Slabdragger’s Sam Thredder.

Doom may mean different things to different people, but to George Ionita of Kurokuma and ARAE, "Doom’s like fucking apocalypse! It's like when it rains down on you, like when it's so heavy...When we come out with a heavy riff, we'll take off our plugs and stuff and just fucking mosh. That's what doom is! It's the pleasure inside, when I close my eyes playing the song and I see visuals.” George has an example in mind for us, too. “We've got this song about a fucking volcano. I close my eyes and I think about the volcano. I see the volcano overflowing, exploding. It's boss! It's all I've got to say."

Bandmate Joe E. Allen chimes in: “You don't go to doom-sludge shows to hear nice melodies and to hear someone singing nice songs. You go because you want feel like something heavy hitting you in the chest and that's the kind of shows we put on with Holy Spider. We don't want something that feels like a normal metal gig. We want to do something that feels like you’re on some other plane of existence. It's just mashed together into this experience of really loud, really. Really extreme heavy, affecting music."

Sheffield-based writer Rachel Genn serves as narrator of The Doom Doc, tracing doom metal all the way back to the almighty Black Sabbath.   Sabbath changed everything and influenced everybody. They’re the first band to tune down, she recounts, because Tony Iommi had to in an attempt to play guitar after an unfortunate industrial accident clipped several of his fingertips. The incident is recounted in Tony’s own memoir, Iron Man: My Journey Through Heaven and Hell with Black Sabbath (2011).

"That started the whole thing," affirms drummer Vinny Appice of Black Sabbath, Dio, and Heavy & Hell fame. "Tony plays in the pocket, playing these chords. You wanna hear doomy chords? Just let Tony riff for a little bit. It's amazing! That's why we call him Mr. Riff -- The Riff Doctor!"

"Yeah it's all about Sabbath really, isn't it, to be honest?” turning back to Slabdragger’s Sam. “Like, they just smoke weed all the time -- so did all the bands in the ‘60's -- and they make the music we pretty much make."

Rachel sums it up nicely for us all: "Doom metal is a subgenre of metal and involves very slow tempos, extremely loud volumes, repetitive, sometimes psychedelic, riffs, and long compositions. Lyrics dealing with evil negativity, spirituality or fantasy. It’s the musical equivalent of wading through black treacle."

I’ve not had an experience with black treacle, but it sounds tantalizing.

"I think like one of the main things with like the Conan guitar sound is, in general, that the fact that the guitar is tuned to drop F, which is totally, ridiculously low,” Says Chris Fielding of Conan and Skyhammer Studio with a chuckle.

Breaking down doom even further, the documentary tells us where the subgenres of sludge metal and stoner rock fit into the equation. "Sludge is like a wilder, greased-up version of doom,” we’re told. “It was Melvins from Washington who first begun the sound." The Seattle band, of course, famous for its punked-up doom tendencies. Other bands like as Eyehategod, Sourvein, Thou, and Crowbar would go on to define the genre even more distinctively.

Speaking of which, the great Kirk Windstein now makes an entrance to tells us about the sludgey roots of the venerated NOLA band Crowbar. "We had come from thrash backgrounds and all that kind of shit. We were like, We just want to do something completely different. We're burned out on it. We kinda just did the opposite of what everybody else was doing. Everybody else was tuned to E standard, playing 1000 miles an hour [so we] tuned it down to fucking B and drop A, playing super slow. We felt it made it a lot heavier.”

It appears that Kirk has been caught up in the Spirit at this moment in the interview, as he then exclaims: “God it's so fucking heavy! There's no way to describe it. I love heavy music!"

Cheers to Kirk Windstein and his earth-shakingly heavy riffs.

In the '90s there was another scene that must be mentioned to understand the evolution of doom metal. Several states down from Washington, another important development in heavy music was taking place in the much sunnier terrain of the southwest. Most famously, bands like Kyuss and Fu Manchu dabbled in fuzzy, tuned-down rock ‘n’ roll, which we simply call stoner rock. Stoner bands began appearing not only in California, Arizona, and Texas, but all around the freaking world.

Rob Graham of the Sheffield-based Wet Nuns and Drenge mentions being a little irked by the term stoner rock. “I think it's sad when any form of expression becomes just about the drugs that the people are into,” he says, while also noting: “It's pretty cool to smoke weed and listen to heavy music.” A better word to focus on? Blues. “To begin with we were sorta just a blues band. Like we were this thrashy kinda garage blues band. Bored, creative people that wanted to really [make] fuckingly stupid loud music.”

As the conversation goes along, we stumble upon a familiar theme: “Somewhere along the way we stumbled across this like kinda thing heavy, so heavy!” Rob says, notably enthused. ��That's what we're about we were trying to be as heavy as we could be. It's like trying to run in a swimming pool! It's like being stuck in a tar pit and melting. That's what it conjures to me, anyway."

Anyone up for little skinny dip in a lake of treacle?

While “stoner” may be used in a derogatory sense, there’s no denying that marijuana has been a huge influence for doom metal and stoner rock bands alike, leading to the advent of stoner-doom. If Black Sabbath started doom’s love affair with their ‘71 single “Sweet Leaf,” bands like Electric Wizard and Sleep (with their monumental opus, Dopesmoker) forever married Mary Jane to The Riff. Others, such as Weedeater, Weedpecker, Bongzilla, BelzebonG, Dopelord, Dopethrone, have become important mile markers for the scene.

"Yeah the two seem to go hand in hand," says Kez Whelan of Terrorizer Magazine and Nottingham doom-grind act Shrykull. “Even though it's associated, that sweet leaf is the influence it isn't for everybody in the doom scene.”

Not everyone is down with the dope, however. Craig and Joe’s counterpart in Holy Spider Promotions, Terry Larkin, is introduced to us next. A UK doom fan, he is quite; a marijuana fan, not so much. "I was never really into the whole listening to music and smoking weed. It doesn't affect me nicely at all!” He does seem to contend that we can get high on the music composed by a musician under the influence. “They can actually channel it into the music effectively giving the listener that same feeling, too." Music makes you high? That’s a thesis we can get behind.

Kirk Windstein returns, because you know he has stories to tell from all those years hanging with Phil Anselmo, Pepper Keenan, Jimmy Bower, and the rest. "A lot of the guys did smoke weed,” he recalls, “so we were very creative sitting in a circle together with a good buzz, you know, coming up with shit that ended up being great. Down was much more of a collaboration and a jam session type thing. So we jammed from fuckin’ in the afternoon until whenever -- fuckin’ two o’clock in the morning. By then, everybody was tanked or high or whatever might be. We were able to come up with some great music doing it that way!"

By this point in The Doom Doc, we’re clear on at least one thing: doom, whatever the flavor, is about keeping it real. You’ll never be short of songs about the despair, depravity, and greed in this dog eat dog, eye for an eye world of ours. Doom metal bands are straight shooters. Whether it concerns religion, politics, or human nature, they call it like they see it.

"Bands like us and in our genre and the whole nine yards, we write and speak about reality," Kirk says. "A lot of people are scared of reality. The truth hurts. A lot of people try to sugarcoat it [and] sweep it under the rug. I think it's important. People always ask me, you know, ‘Can we talk about this, can we talk about that?’ I’m like, you can ask me anything you want. I might not answer, [but] chances are I'm gonna.” What he says next really resonated with me, as I’m sure it will with many of our readers: “I think it’s really for people struggling, you know, with depression -- or its alcohol and drugs. It's very important for them to realize they’re not alone and other people have been there."

Ethan McCarthy of Primitive Man chimes in: "We're writing about real life stuff, you know, so it's like a way to release bad feelings about life's shit, if that makes sense." It makes good sense to me.

"I don't know what we're into, but I fucking like it!" proclaims the great Bill Ward, adding: “You know, for me, playing in a loud, aggressive band, which is what Black Sabbath was, it’s the most comfortable, sonic, and heartfelt place one could be.”

Doomed & Stoned’s Elizabeth Gore and Hugo Guzman were fortunate enough to contribute to this portion of The Doom Doc, visiting the Black Sabbath drummer at his studio in Los Angeles.

This scene we invest in. We choose to nourish this garden.

"Doing a live gig,” Bill Ward says, “I need to thrash and to play and get everything out of me and reach that place of satisfaction inside. I like to come off the stage wasted...It’s very sexual. It’s like, you know, it’s the same thing we have to do when we get together and have sex!" Oh, Bill. You do have a way of leaving us speechless.

“Playing live on stage gives me that same feeling," Bill continues. "That's what music is supposed to do! It's supposed to go wherever it's supposed to. It’s pretty simple. I find no faults, no judgement, you know. Leave that to someone who’s more righteous. As far as I'm concerned, metal's fucking metal!"

Returning now to Joe E Allen from Kurokuma: “I remember Conan being extremely atmospheric, extremely heavy, extremely loud -- and that was only amplified by the way we were feeling. It was almost a transcendental experience. I was touched by the finger of doom that night!"

As a vested fan of the genre, this was pretty much my “Hell, yeah!” moment of the documentary. From start to finish, The Doom Doc is an evident work of passion. For fans of doom, it should be required watching. I’m not sure how newcomers to the genre will take it -- it’s hard to be objective when you listen to it, write about it, play it, and live it. Nonetheless, this 90-minute film is a welcome entry into a fairly small collection of documentaries on the heavy underground. Hopefully viewers will be inspired by it to dig into their own local scenes and do a little riff-mining of their own.

Upcoming Screenings of The Doom Doc

International Film Festival Rotterdam (Holland), January 2018

Desertfest London (UK), May 2018

Bristol (UK), May/June 2018

Brutal Assault (Czech Republic), August 2018

Look for The Doom Doc on DVD by this summer at www.theDoomDoc.com

UPDATE!

The Doom Doc DVD is now available pre-order, with worldwide shipping and streaming options availalbe.   Visit: thedoomdoc.bigcartel.com

[doomedandstoned]

Doomed & Stoned in Russia with Neuropolis

~By Billy Goate~

Photographs by Darja Fetisova

I like to keep my finger on the pulse of scenes around the world, especially those that are lesser known in the light of the mainstream. For the past three or four years, for instance, we've been covering events like the Sludge Convention and Tune Low, Play Slow in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Russia has a thriving heavy underground that trends towards dark, dank sludgy doom, much of it with a hardcore or southern rock twist.

Support for local gigs is robust compared to what most bands experience in the States. Alice in Chains just played their first gig ever in Moscow and it was incredible to see the fast crowd singing along with every song (yes, even the new ones). Bands in the doom-stoner scene such as Acid King, Eyehategod, and Elder have, in recent years, taken the long trek into what was once forbidden territory to perform before a most grateful (and highly involved) audience.

The homegrown scene is no less impressive, though much of it is tragically unknown outside of local circles. Some have broken free from obscurity, like The Grand Astoria, and more and more people are sharing the likes of The Re-Stoned, Dekonstruktor (formerly The Moon Mistress), Pressor, Stoner Train, Tsygun, Without God, Lord of Doubts, ИЛ, Illegal Ones, C.X., Phantomass, 609, and Fuzzthrone on the socials.

This is the point at which we're introduced to a fresh face in the doom scene, a six-member crew called NEUROPOLIS. I happened upon them while browsing a Russian-language metal forum one afternoon, which led me to a YouTube video for the EP, 'Temptation' (2019), which itself was quite the unexpected emotional odyssey of peaks and valleys. Take a listen for yourself:

Temptation (Искушение) by NEUROPOLIS

Perhaps the band got lucky their first go around and composed a masterpiece of doom with deft touches of death. Perhaps there is more greatness awaiting in the creative well of these young musicians. Regardless, the time is ripe to get to know them all better. In the process, we're afforded a rare window into the St. Petersburg heavy underground and the cultural distinctives that are shaping the Russian doomers of today.

Doom resonates with our worldview and perception.

It has already become an integral part of us

Take us underneath the soil, into the roots of Neuropolis. How did it all begin for you as a band?

Now it is difficult to note any one of the band's stages of existence as an absolute foundation point. Every one of us has been creative, mostly in music, before we became a band. The first crew, from which our band slowly began to develop, was formed approximately five years ago. It was a naive time of experiments and searching for sound. Kim, Freakedelic, and Dmitry (the former vocalist of the group, whom we jokingly call Maestro), arranged jam sessions together, tried and eventually learned to play instruments, and worked on their first songs ("Heaven in Hell," "Secret Paradise," "Killing Machine"). Then the guys gave their first concert in a bar called ZIS and got a couple of whiskey shots for their fee.

After this, due to internal contradictions and uncertain life circumstances, Freakedelic left the band, devoting himself to spiritual practices and psychedelic experiments. Our band hasn’t got him back for a very long time. In those days, the number of session musicians, bassists, and drummers has changed and two concerts were given in clubs Ulitsa and Money Honey. None of the invited musicians, however, could find their place in the group.

In 2017, Freakedelic, who achieved enlightenment, returned to the band together with his wife, Miroslava Antonova (aka DegraDante), who began to play keys, and Maestro brought in a new bass guitarist, Sergey Berezhansky (aka Sotona, aka Diversant). In such a composition, the band recorded its first single in mid-2018: "Surf (Priboy)." This was an important stage in the history of the band, which can be considered the moment of foundation.

By that time, the name of the band had already existed -- Neuropolis. After the release of "Surf" online, a concert was held in the club Banka and one was planned in the club ROUTE148, but difficulties arose. Maestro was fired from our band for his inappropriate behavior and his personal ambitions based on nothing. A week before our concert, the band was left without a vocalist. Sotona invited his old friend Vladimir Alekseev (aka "V") to scream into the microphone at the rep and he immediately made an impression on us with his pitch, and especially the frail, deep lyrics that he immediately wrote for three old versions of songs. We decided that V would perform at ROUTE148 with Neuropolis.

In just a week, a new song was written and the old material was reworked. It was the beginning of the modern history of Neuropolis, which lasts to this day. At the end of 2018, rhythm guitarist Valentin Rebrov (aka "Verghil Alighieri") joined our band. He was invited to our concert by the keyboardist, having just moved from Sakhalin (almost from the other side of the world). He had few friends, so he was interested and offered to write an Intro to one of our songs. Then he decided to become our rhythm guitarist and contributed a lot of good stuff to our band and music. Given the crew we work with today -- and the release our debut EP, 'Temptation' (2019) with V’s lyrics -- there isn’t any reason to for us to break up the band.

This is our sad six-person party in the basement

What was you goal in creating new music together? Did you specifically choose to play music in the doom genre?

We do not think that each of us himself has chosen doom as a genre. Many of us like heavy music: someone is fond of black metal, someone of thrash, someone of death, and someone likes specifically doom. You may like different music, but when you start to create it, it is so-so -- like it comes out of you and if there isn’t one person in the band, the result depends on the preferences of each, so it is a kind of the general mood quintessence. We made doom that sounds quite old-school.

In the end, each of us has his own interests and motivations: for one it is a hobby and profit, for another a leisure time with an instrument in his hands, for the third it is an opportunity to work in a certain genre niche, the opportunity to improve his composing talent. For still others of us it is an opportunity to express emotions in a musical and poetic form. The atmosphere of the genre, its emotional component, is sometimes striking, and in some forms of this genre -- from the smallest detail to the greatest effort -- is worth it to do.

The musicians who love all of these different styles have met and have made doom, therefore it must be fate. The most interesting thing is that doom never bothers us, it resonates with our worldview and perception, it has already become an integral part of us -- minor viscous riffs, powerful drums, texts permeated with doom. This is our sad six-person party in the basement.

Air here is saturated with the fall of several empires and thousands of crippled destinies of young people.

'Temptation' has some very sad and moving moments, indeed. What inspired you to write this pair of songs?

Our first EP is imbued with the spirit of the city we live in, the spirit of St. Petersburg. Life here leaves a certain imprint on perception. We live in a rather shitty climate between the Gulf of Finland and Ladoga Lake. It is cloudy and rainy here, with sunny days in the year limited to about 50. This northern city is considered one of the most depressing in Russia, while it bears the title of the cultural capital of the country. This explosive combination -- depression and creativity -- such mood is close to Scandinavians (Swedes, Norwegians, Danes). But, in addition to the weather, we have a huge area decorated with monuments, cathedrals, buildings, and grotesque mythical figures of granite, which lie on a huge variety of islands, canals, and stone waterfronts.

The air here is saturated with the spirit of the fall -- the fall of several empires, thousands of crippled destinies of young people. The soul of this location is impossible to express through the textbooks. It penetrates inside of us throughout life. Through our creativity we broadcast it.

In addition, if we exclude the influence on our music of recognized masters of doom metal (and their influence is undeniable), such as Candlemass, Saturnus, Katatonia, Saint Vitus, and Black Sabbath, there is something else that inspires us. Here is just the question of whether we will draw inspiration from life. Yes, we draw it from the experience of our own lives. It happened so that each participant of Neuropolis has had quite a difficult fate -- alcohol, drugs, hospitals, wars, suicide, loss. We have seen some shit. Almost every living inhabitant of the planet Earth is faced with these things. This, of course, could not but affect our music and our lyrics. The lyrics of our songs are always permeated with references to both religious texts and masterpieces of classical literature. It's not as easy as it might seem. We're working on every word. And Kim and Verghil sometimes just write good riffs.

This seems like a good time to introduce us to the individual members of the band and tell us what instruments, gear, and amps you all use.

Vladimir Alekseev (aka V) -- vocals, lyrics. Before meeting the musicians, Neuropolis wrote sad lyrics and worked on a solo album in the genre of psychedelic rock. Suddenly, he felt a desire to experiment with extreme vocals and to play old-school doom metal. Microphones: Oktava MK-319, Shure Beta 58A.

Valentin Rebrov (aka Vergil Alighieri) -- guitar, arrangements. Arrived from the other end of the world and joined Neuropolis in late-2018, proving himself as a good sound engineer, reliable guitarist, and talented arranger. Guitar: Schecter Omen-7 Walnut with stock pickups. Pedals: AMT Heater + AMT B2 + AMT Pangaea CP-100

Alexey Antonov (aka Freakedelic Anvy) -- drums. Our drummer is also one of the band's founders. This guy really has seen some shit and in some shit had to play. His custom-crafted drum kit was used to record our Temptation EP, with its iron ED Cymbals Legat and Pearl Eliminator Redline pedal. In everyday life and for gigs he uses a hi-hat Paiste 303, 201 Paiste ride, crash Sabian El Sabor, and Pearl Eliminator. "There was some experience using Axis," he says, "but the chain drive was closer to me."

Dmitriy Kim (aka Kim) -- guitar. One of the founding fathers of Neuropolis. The most beautiful riffs are his job. Guitar: Epiphone Les Paul Custom with prophecy Pickups - EMG 81/85. Guitar processor: Zoom G5n.

Sergey Berezhansky (aka Sotona, aka Diversant) -- bassist, millionaire, playboy, philanthropist. He has two bass-guitars -- the first very strange ESP The Surveyor (there are doubts in originality) and Fender Precision Bass'82 -- plus a rather unique "craft" guitar. Despite its mystique, the ESP sounds pretty good for its price. "Well, Fender just made me happy with a single touch to the strings," he remarks. "In general, this is the very case when playing the guitar, is the great pleasure of the instrument. I use processor Boss GT-1B. It satisfies me completely. I used the delay pedal, but with the help of the processor, this no need to use a separate pedal. And the presence of preamp removed some inconveniences with connecting to different guitar speakers in different rehearsal rooms."

Miroslava Antonova (aka Degradante) -- vocals, lyrics, keyboards. Originally from Ukraine, she met Freakadelic in a chat and moved to St. Petersburg. Instruments: Diapason (mezzo soprano), Akai MPC mkII MIDI keyboard, PC, and reaper. Microphones: Oktava MK-319, Shure Beta 58A.

Some delicate ears do not stand up and bleed a bit from what they hear.

Well, you are certainly loaded for bear! Have you turned your attention to composing new material for an upcoming record?

Good question. We don't want to work on anything else, but it seems to be necessary, because it is stronger than drugs. (laughs) At the moment, we are working on a new EP, Golem, which we plan to release in the fall. This release will be different from EP Temptation, with a sharper, heavier sound. Presumably the Golem will be four new killer songs in the genre of death-doom. We have already recorded some demo tracks for the new EP. Some songs have lyrics, but there is no music and vice versa. Some are completely ready for studio recording. We hope to surprise those who liked our first release.

We want to bring doom metal out of the underground.

What is life like for a heavy music artist in Saint Petersburg? Do people understand your music or is the heavy music scene more of an "underground" phenomenon?

The life of a musician playing heavy music in St. Petersburg is like trying to give people vitamins, while everyone wants to eat a triple burger with sauce. Some delicate ears do not stand up and bleed a bit from what they hear. It's not bad, we love blood -- it's beautiful.

Music takes a lot of time and money, especially when you do something ideological and conceptual, not mainstream. The genre in which we play is not common here. Our music can really be called underground. This is the trend of our time: there is more in fashion pop music and light indie rock, which is convenient to play in bars and clubs. Such music helps the owner of the clubs to sell more alcohol. But we are still a young band, we hope to find like-minded people and organize concerts together. After the release of the second EP we will pay a lot of attention to concert activity. We want to bring doom metal out of the underground and are ready to make a lot of effort, not only in terms of sound, but also in terms of visual performance.

They come to us after the concerts to thank, praise, and even scold us.

Take is into your scene and tell us about some bands you play with that you might recommend to our listeners.

Freakadelic recommends cool Moscow guys Kamni. They play great stoner metal, although in recent years they trend more and more towards psychedelic rock. V recommends Arkona. This is a well-known Russian band. We haven’t not played on the same stage with them, but maybe someday we will be lucky to do it. Arkona's guitarist helped us with the EP Temptation, as we are close to his vision of heavy music. Degradante recommends a wonderful St. Petersburg band Theodor Bastard. Although it is not metal, the guys are original, with a gorgeous sound and interesting vocals. And also black metal collective Second To Sun.

We played with different bands, but we have never met anyone like us. Sometimes we saw a lack of understanding in the eyes of the listeners who came to have a rest after a hard day, but sometimes we saw interest in their eyes. There are all kinds of feedback: they come to us after the concerts to thank, praise, and even scold us, so we are doing something right. This world needs us.

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[doomedandstoned]

Italian Wrecking Ball NAGA Emerges With “Worm”

~Doomed & Stoned Debuts~

By Billy Goate

We’ve got a double-whammy for you today!   Celebrated Naples threesome NAGA are back with an exclusive track and are opening up for their first interview in a while.   If you’re new to the music of Lorenzo De Stefano (vocals/guitar), Emanuele Schember (bass), Dario Graziano (drums), I can’t think of a better description than their own: “…distortion, heaviness and nihilism to your ears.   No concept, no bullshits, no happiness, just sound anger and frustration to exorcize and reflect the greyness and despair of contemporary world.”   Now that’s something I can really raise my horns to.

Naga’s second album, ‘Inanimate’ (2016), is absolutely crushing (I raved about it in our quarterly ’Doom Around The World’).   Since its digital release, the band has been picked up by Everlasting Spew Records, which is releasing Inanimate on CD on March 25th (you can order it here).   For this special edition, NAGA has recorded a new single, which Doomed & Stoned is premiering today.

“Worm” opens with sparse textures.   A dissonant theme is introduced in single string plucks.   Soon, this erupts into a storm of cacophony.   The vocals are ravings of madness.   The dense atmosphere is one of opaque gloom, with sheets of rain pouring down from blackened, low-hanging clouds.   NAGA has orchestrated a mood of perfect doom, something that echoes entirely throughout Inanimate.

Give ear…

An Interview with NAGA Frontman Lorenzo De Stefano

By Mari Knox

Doomed & Stoned Italy)

You started playing music together almost 15 years ago, in the beginning with a band called KTER (Kill The Easter Rabbit) and later, in 2013, you have founded Naga.   A long evolution that brought you good feedback since the debut album 'Hēn’ (2014).   Your musical path is clearly the result of a strong partnership, something that’s hard to find. What does unite you? And what pushed you to start a band?

Basically, we are friends, kind of brothers, so it was completely natural to stick together and start up a band. We just share the same idea of music and life in general.  We met in Lyceum and, at that time, in Naples it was not that easy to find someone to share the same idea of music with, and still this is the case.   We both liked heavy stuff like Motörhead, Melvins, Slayer, and Electric Wizard so It was natural to come by and say “hey let’s start a band together.”   Basically, we feel music in the same way and that’s what unites us.   Then we found in Dario the natural 3rd part. I’ve played with many drummers, but Dario is the best one.   He shares our musical tastes, he’s a really clever and skilled musician, and above all a dear friend.   Now we have a clear idea of how our band has to sound, and that’s it.

Staying on topic, tell us how your songs come to life and what inspired the 'Inanimate.’   Is there a theme, a concept, to your song writing and how do the lyrics tie in?

We have to distinguish the musical composition and the lyrics.   The writing process is really natural like, “Hey guys, I have this riff. What do you think?”   A major impulse comes from Dario, who I always say is the best guitar player of the band.   He’s amazingly creative and our ideas really fit together.   Basically, we develop every song from a riff then we add parts to that.   I organize the structure and only at the end comes the vocal part.

I am the only writer of the lyrics since we started and, no, there’s no concept.   Maybe I’d like to write a concept in the future, but right now I’ve got no time.   The only remarkable theme of our lyrics is nihilism, but sometimes with a sort of bright side outside the Abyss.   I am mainly inspired by my personal life and my lectures.

'Inanimate’ was initially released by Lay Bare Recordings in 2016.   This year, you have chosen to reissue it whit a new track, “Worm,” on the thriving Italian label, Everlasting Spew Records.   How did you get in contact with them and with this repress, what kind of improvement you have brought to the album?

The EP sold out in just a month.   Lots of people asked us for a repress, so we just looked for someone interested in re-releasing our work.   Luckily, we found Everlasting Spew, thanks to our manager Tito Vespasiani, who set up everything with the label.   We have found in Giorgio from Everlasting a really helpful and cool guy.   The label is young and ambitious just like us, so we can grow up together.

Obviously, we want to reprint to be something special, so we recorded the new track “Worm” that sounds more death metal oriented, in order to increase the impact of the album, and decorated everything with a brand new master by the almighty James Plotkin.   You can’t go wrong with him.

Talk aboute bands or the records that have influenced you most as musicians and helped you develop your personal sound.   Are there other kinds of influences, like art and literature, as well?

Speaking of the bands or albums I love, I have to mention, of course, the first five LPs of Black Sabbath, 'Abbey Road’ by the Beatles, '1969’ by The Stooges, 'Hell Awaits’ by Slayer, 'Bleach/In Utero’ by Nirvana, Celtic Frost’s 'Morbid Tales,’ 'Transylvanian Hunger’ by Darkthrone, Carcass’ 'Necroticism,’ Sonic Youth and, naturally, Neurosis and all the doom, sludge, and black metal stuff.   We like also old Swedish death metal and some newer stuff from God City studios, Converge Nails, H.O.F. and so on.

But I have to say that no particular band has inspired us in our style.   We try to be personal and evolve by ourselves in shaping the sound and in the creative process.   Then, I really like to see live bands, most of all I am a music fan, and I like to capture here and there things I like in order to incorporate them in our music.   It’s an important part, I’d say pedagogical, in developing our style.

Apart from music, I read more than I play guitar, so of course my interests in philosophy and literature are a huge part of my life and give me inspiration for my lyrics and atmospheres.   I am not really into this occult or movie stuff, it’s just a cliché of our music genre.   I prefer to write about my personal life and something that really touches me or that has influenced my life path, hybridized sometimes with philosophical themes.   Nietzsche, Jünger, and Heidegger are a big influence for my lyrics, just like Sabbath are for my playing.   I am just tired of bands that sings about voodoo magic, weed, barbarians, and fantasy stuff.   It’s a little prosaic, or at least it does not work with us.   Instead, I like Neurosis or Amenra’s lyrical approach.   “Thrives,” “Hyele,” and “Worm” from Inanimate are a good example of that.

Photographs by Francesco Guerra

At the moment, you’re ready to play with Candlemass in northern Italy and this summer you will play in a big festival in Iceland (with a lot of important acts like The Dillinger Escape Plan, Neurosis, Sólstafir, Misþyrming and many more).   How do you feel about playing live? Are there any past gigs that you think have been more important than others, something you still remember as “special”?

Playing live is the most important part.   I really dig bands that kick ass live.   We just try to be natural, to play at the loudest volume possible, and to be violent.   We stay simple.   We aren’t the band that takes too much time to sound check monitors and stuff like that.   We like to be “in your face,” to come out and play.   That’s why I regard NAGA basically as a punk/hardcore band, concerning the approach and attitude.   We do not have any filter -- we like to play straight and direct, that’s all.

Concerning the past live shows, I would mention the Watchtower Festival in Pisa with Napalm Death, Church of Misery and The secret, where we met those amazing guys Michael, Lorenzo and Marco (from the Secret/Hyerophant), the Glue lab in Ancona, Tetris in Trieste, and two concerts in our city Naples, the first at Cellar with Marnero, and another on a harbor in the middle of Naples’s gulf called Molosiglio, two D.I.Y. concerts, fully packed with 200-300 people and lots of friends. Do not ever underestimate Naples’ scene. We belong here. It’s a lot better and hotter than others although not publicized.

During your musical career, you have seen lots of changes, first of all the “social-media” revolution, which can help bands to expand their possibilities outside their own country. What do you think about this and have you noticed some differences between past and present? What do you think about the current musical scene in Italy and abroad?

Social media are a double edged sword. It allows bands to spread their message and music around the world, but it’s something that could saturate the scene too. The problem with social media is that now you have to take care of lots of other stuff apart from music, the image, the posts, news and so on. I do not really like this aspect. Emanuele is a little more skilled than me in this, I am not good at it. But, of course, Facebook and Bandcamp have been helping us a lot, same goes with Discogs and eBay where you can spread your music worldwide. I knew our first record Hen was in the hands of Tad Doyle of Tad/Brothers of the Sonic Cloth or in the ones of Mike Scheidt of Yob and it was pretty amazing, since I’ve been listening to these bands since I was 15.

About the scene, I think that now there are many good bands around not only in our genre, the problem is sometimes the public and the live culture. In Germany, where I am at the moment, people go to see live shows buy merch and so on. In Italy, things are going slower, you have to plan carefully every event and so on. But I can not complain about Naples and Italy. In general, we have always had an amazing audience and a good feedback.

Speaking of Italian bands I’d mention above all Grime, Hyerophant, Messa, Caronte, Profanal, Fuoco Fatuo,Zippo/Shores of null, La Casta and Marnero, there are many others but these are the first coming to my mind right now.

Any closing thoughts for the Doomed & Stoned readers?

No hope, no joy, worship Naas.

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