I hope you all made the wise decision of strapping on your rapture helmets this past Saturday, as DOOMSDAY descended upon the Lookout Lounge in Omaha. I, unfortunately, was preparing for the second coming whilst doing some emergency maintenance on the BadassConcert.com helicopter. I did have a lamb’s-blood pentagram emblazoned on my chest just in case there was any confusion as to which way I should go… safety first!
Despite my absence, and the absence of any white-robed, long-haired, Jewish carpenters falling from the sky, The Lookout Lounge was shaken to its foundations with the rifftastic sounds of Rift, Megaton, Super Moon, Wet Radio, Superchief, and TenDead.
With all this talk of doom, I thought to myself, “What exactly does ‘Doom’ mean?” I thought it would be best to ask the doomists themselves. This is what they had to say:
“I consider doom to be a genre that pays homage to the heavier, darker bands of the late 60’s and 70’s. Slowed down, distorted, heavy riffs. Bands like Black Sabbath and Pentagram, just to name a couple. They influence some of today’s heavier acts such as Down, Crowbar, The Pilgrim, and Triptykon. And some of those bands from “the day” are still doing it just as heavy. One of my favorite bands, if not my favorite, BEHEMOTH, an extreme metal band, even showed a heavy doom influence on their last release. Doom is alive and well, and it will be forever.” – Tripp Stevens of TenDead
“Doom, is slow, plodding, fuzzy, heavy and evil. Basically, all kick ass things.” –Jason Monroe of Superchief
“…in my opinion it’s the droney, chest shaking power that really transcends the emotion put into the music. It’s raw, it’s scary, but it has a passion engrained in the low fuzzy guitar riffs, and the pummeling rhythm section.” – Nik Carlson of Super Moon
“I’d describe doom as riff-based music, conjuring the spirit of Black Sabbath, focusing on a loud, dark and heavy sound.” – Steve Smith of Megaton
“To me, doom is slow and low. With the song “Black Sabbath” by Black Sabbath being the archetype.” – Glen Olsen of Wet Radio
“Of all the types of music out there, classical and heavy metal are really the most diverse (when is the last time you heard people passionately arguing over the subtle differences between Bieber records?). So of all the types of metal out there, doom is essentially the natural evolution of its origin. If metal music was a tree that contained every sub genre, doom is in the dirt growing out from the base. We stay rooted in blues music, the guitar sounds are more tone-oriented than they are technical, the drums sound wide-open and big. Most of the riffs and fills come in some form of triplet as opposed to the barrage of 16th notes in more mainstream ‘heavy music.’
In short, doom is the continuation of the music that first started the whole genre in the late 60s and 70s.” – Nate Christensen of Rift
Slow? Fuzzy? Dark? Iommi worship?
I’ll take it.
Since this is a show wrap-up, we’d probably better rap about the show a bit, eh? Lucky for you, I went straight to the man himself for the lowdown.
Damascus Wootz: Tripp, how did the show go? Was it well attended?
Tripp Stevens: Overall, the show went well. Keith from the Lookout understands time and how to run a show smoothly, so he is always a big help. Attendance, well, it was a doom/stoner/sludge show, so it’s pretty hit and miss on attendance. It’s a growing genre, starting to pick up popularity in the Midwest, but the problem was most of the people that would have attended were playing in a band on the show, haha. I have other things I could say about that, but let’s just close that chapter.
DW: Most of the Clenched Fist shows cover many different styles of metal; what inspired you to put together an all-doom show?
TS: I’ve been wanting to put one together for a few years now. My band TenDead covers the spectrum of doom/stoner/sludge. We generally get booked on shows with heavier bands who cover more of a death, thrash genre, so I wanted to put together a show where like-minded bands were on the bill together.
DW: Was this a one-time-only event or will you be doing it again in the future?
TS: I would like to do it again. The show itself was one of the least stressful shows I’ve put on, and the people that did attend had a really good time. Also, I had no idea the CWS was taking place this last weekend, so most of Omaha was downtown.
DW: What do you think about the changes over at 320 S. 72nd?
TS: I think Kyle and Keith are doing a great job with the place. For one thing, the sound in there has improved dramatically. I asked them if anything changed with the setup, and they said that nothing changed. So it just goes to show what it can sound like in there when you have a good sound guy who actually gives a shit.
Well, here at BadassConcert.com we take giving a shit seriously. In fact, we give a shit what you think! Which do you like better, metal shows that cover a wide range of sub-genres, or when there is a common thread to the sound of all the bands? Tell us in the comments!
We’d love to hear what you think, but your opinion doesn’t count for shit unless you…
…get out and pay some cover charges!
