The Gates of Slumber - Jason McCash R.I.P.

Well its been a week now since the Gates of Slumber lost their brother in Doom bass player Jason McCash. the sadness and loss is still felt strong,I've seen many posts on facebook from the Doom Metal community who have streched arms wide to mourn the loss of a great man and father, who liked his doom metal and swords and sorcery/occult books(i.e.Ron Howard,H.P. Lovecraft)he also liked his sports football in particular. My deepest sympathies go out to his family and friends!! i feel truely blessed as a fan of doom to have seen Gates of Slumber twice in Montreal! once in 2009 and again in 2012( if you wonder what i did in 2012 i was out seeing amazing doom bands!!). The first year i saw the band i met and talked to Karl the singer and guitarist, we sat and drank some beers talked metal a little then they hit the stage and afterwards i went to Jason and told him i was really amazed at the set and that they played real well!

the second time i saw the band again in 2012 i took my video camera to film the show. I arrived at the venue somewhat early. I remember seeing Jason McCash walking back to the venue as i pulled in the street where the venue was located. I think he had went to a store to buy a slushie or something cold to drink if my memory serves me right. The boys kinda joked and giggled like kids as he arrived, saying something like you needed to have a sugar fix before the show huh!? haha I asked them all then if it was okay i take my camera in to film the set and they were all very cool with that.Very nice guys, i talked to Bob Fouts the drummer this time and also Karl. and also talking to Jason felt a bit mysterious and seemed like he had a very shy timid personality and i never really got to know him all to well but i sensed he had a kind heart. And his writing abilities and organizing skills will be sorely missed in the Doom Metal scene. i will leave you all with the video from the show in 2012. Blessed be those who are within grief !!

The TCHORT video!!

Well it's certainly been awhile since i posted anything!! haha well today i have good reason to post something! here is the Tchort video for Handsome Gruesome that i transfered myself from VHS tape the quality isn't the greatest but not all that bad.Still a rocking tune in my opinion! now if i could find some live footage somewhere!!

sHEAVY

The band sHEAVY formed in St Johns Newfoundland,Canada in 1993 as Green Machine which the band later found out the name was already taken by another band.So they opted for the name sHEAVY instead.It started as a band that played around with some Kyuss covers and a few originals.They recorded two demo tapes Reproduction E.P. & Slaves To Fashion in 94-95 and the Dalas tar 7" also came out in 1995.It was also the same year they recorded Blue Sky Mind.After this they signed a 3 album deal with Rise Above records.It was in the summer of 1997 "The Electric Sleep" album was recorded.The reviews for this album in the UK were saying "the best Black Sabbath album in 25 years." This was a great time for sHEAVY they played at the Dynamo festival in the Netherlands.In 1999 the band recorded "Celestial HiFi" in Ren the drummer's parents workshop.This was a great album with the epic doom anthem "Tales from the Afterburner".And then in 2001 the band found themselves in Alberta,Canada and all the way to Belgium to record "Synchronized" which is another great album with a alot of fast punchy grooves! songs about fast cars and whatnot "Firebird 350" etc.This was the last album with original founder/member Ren Squires who silently stepped back.It took a few years for the band to pick up again, but i saw them play live in 2003 here in Moncton and caught the whole set on VHS.the line-up at this show was a rare one and hasn't really been documented as an official lineup. And then in came Kevin Dominic on drums and Tommy Bolin on guitars then "Republic?" was recorded in 2005 along with a live dvd filmed at the Masonic Temple in Newfoundland.Two years later in 2007 "The Machine that won the war" was released.And amazing concept album based on the science fiction book of the same name.It also came with a live dvd concert which is amazing,In 2009 longtime founder/member Dan Moore resigned from his position as guitarist,but not before leaving a contribution to the album the band was in the works of recording at the moment.In 2010 the band issued to albums ''The Golden Age of Daredevils'' & ''Disfigurine''.The band is still rocking hard and also fans of sHEAVY should check out Dan Moores other band Wizards of Kaos.

Tchort (can)

The band Tchort were from Toronto,Canada and formed sometime in 1992.This band always stayed obscure and even in Canada they were a rare sight to see.Their sound was pretty much a blend of space stoner cosmic doom with some minute elements of alternative/grunge and traditional metal influences.Something the band was known for is their writing abilities to never use the same riffs in a song to much.So in 1992 the first Tchort demo was recorded entitled "Unwritten Doctrines".Also in the early days the band went with a longer name "Tchort the family mantis" in 1996 they recorded the first full length "Nightside of Eden" under this moniker.2 years later "The heavens are showing the glory of Tchort" came out.The band played extensively live for years even prior to this.It was after 1999 when "Love Metal/Government Issue Rock n' Roll" came out the band started playing shows around here in the maritimes.Each time they came i missed them which kinda irks me but ohh well...what can you do ? haha Anyway discovering this band is something a rather invigorating experience, each time you listen you notice new things you hadn't noticed there before.I still remember when much music used to air the "Handsome Gruesome" video.I have this taped on a vhs tape here somewhere lol. still hoping someone will upload this to youtube one day.Anyway here is the video i made to "Ace of Shrooms" from the Nightside album also check out the myspace page.Should also be noted that this band broke up not long after releasing their last ep "Government Issue Rock n' Roll vol 2" in 2002.The Remaining members Nick, Leslie and Mike went on to form the band The Illuminati.The Illuminati broke up in 2006.Lead singer Eric "Tchort" Couke is know known as Ash Lee Blade and still performs with his 80s style metal band under this name.Also worth checking out!



http://www.myspace.com/oldtchort

Orchard

Orchard was formed in late 2007 in Sackville NB,Canada inspired by bands such as Kyuss,Sleep and Cathedral.The original lineup was Marcel B. - Vocals,Bruce Zwicker - Drums,Kyle Arsenault - Bass and Sylvain Francoeur - Guitars.There were many practices during this lineup and songs started taking structure fast,i was there for a few jams and engineered their first recording,pretty soon we were talking about me joining in on second guitar.We tried this out once and i found the songs structures on guitar a bit to advanced for me,though i was certain i could pull the vocals off.As the band covered "Utopian Blaster" by Cathedral and me being a longtime Cathedral fanatic they eventually parted with Marcel and took me in as singer.It was in 2008 that we made the recordings with my cousin Ian Ryan of Slough of Despond days as engineer.Things didn't go all that great with the recording, there were a few complications and we did the best we could with what we had to work with.The end result was really poorly mixed and uploaded on myspace anyway and it did get us some notability.In February of 2009 we played the first and last show with Orchard,not really knowing it was gonna be our last.Though the show that nite had went down extremely well for us,our plays on the myspace player went up a considerable amount and there was a buzz going around the Orchard name for a bit.Bruce and i had done a interview with Earthdog promotions (aka Doommantia) prior to doing the show.Well its really sad to say that Orchard didn't live on to make a full length album as tensions with members arose and a spiraling demise was evident.Bruce and i have continued on playing doom metal with Father,while Sylvain went on to join his cousins band Dischord and Kyle played with These Colors Bled.Recently i put the songs through a small editing process cleaned up what i could and added bass and compression to the mix.I think it turned out ok definitely better then the first mixes so i updated the myspace with the new revamped tracks.Here is a video i made with pictures of the show we played and the song Ride through the decay.

Cathedral

Alright folks a lot has to be said about Cathedral,as some of you know this year will be the last year for Cathedral playing live.After being a band for 22 years the band has decided to call it quits.With 9 studio albums and a handful of ep's and singles the UK doomsters have had quite a prolific career as pioneers of doom metal.I remember hearing Cathedral in around late 1993 for the very first time.The video single for "Midnight Mountain" used to air alongside Monster Magnet's "Twin Earth" on Much Music's Power Hour and i remember really digging it then, i just didn't know where to get this music from at the time being only 13.It was only years later in around 1997 when the "Supernatural Birth Machine" album came out.I read a review of the album in Exclaim a free publication news paper here in Canada.All i remembered and thought to myself,this was the band that i used to sing along to their disco doom style video on tv.So i then proceeded to go out and buy this new album,this is where my interest in collecting and discovering doom metal bands started.I got my friend who was a long time fan since Cathedral started to sell me some of his Cathedral stuff.I basically got all the early stuff that i was missing and after that point i followed and bought each album they released.It also should be mentioned that they opened many doors musically for me.From reading Gaz' cosmic vibes list of obscure 70's proto doom bands, i made it my mission to discover each one of these bands.Each album that i got of Cathedral was always an exciting experience,because i would always want to examine the Dave Patchett artwork while listening to the album.I found that it made listening to the album an experience one doesn't forget so easily.The band has also been a metamorphosing entity right from it's inception in early 1990 to this day.There had been quite a few lineup changes and collaborations over the years,working with names like Pentagram,Trouble,Venom and Repulsion members.In the late/mid 90's they started writing songs based on some of their favorite cult horror movies mostly Hammer horror movies like Witchfinder General and Italian horror trilogy Tombs of The Blind Dead.Some other movies like Planet of the apes and Captain Clegg were also points of inspiration for Cathedral's evolving sound.Since 93' Cathedral had always wanted to produce an album like a YES album,colorful and progressively orientated.It was on 2006 "Garden of Unearthly Delights" and mostly 2010 "The Guessing Game" they finally achieved this concept in my opinion.Both albums were released on Nuclear Blast USA and was a little bit more prog oriented as their previous albums.Last year the band celebrated a 20th year anniversary with two sets @ 02 Academy Islington (London) the first set of which they played the first album with original recording line-up, a second set followed up with current line up.As it stands today from what i read Scott Carlson of Repulsion is back on bass to finish up the last few shows with the band and a new album is in the works for 2012.Until then i will anticipate the release of this last album and i am utterly grateful for having discovered this timeless doom band.Listening to Cathedral broadened my horizons up, from getting into acid folk to 70s proto metal and nwobhm.I am ultimately blessed to have heard their music growing up.And i will cherish my collection until my death,until then i will keep on blasting the utopian sludge.Eventually i will dedicate a whole program on my Doomedimension Radio show as a tribute and celebration to this long lasting UK band.I will make a announcement of this once i organize everything,for 4 hours or more i will try to encompass the whole discography as well as the various rareties and singles.Also as i am posting this last nite was Cathedral's last show in America @ mdf 2011 hopefully we will get to see some decent footage of the doom masters laying down the concrete soonish.I only wish i could have had the chance to see this splendid & majestical band live once, but travelling outside of Canada has always been quite impossible for me to afford.Also was hoping to catch Pentagram in August in NY, but if i couldn't to go to Maryland to see the mighty Cathedral i sure hells cant afford to go to NY to see the mighty Ram's head!! such a doleful feeling knowing that i am missing out so i will end the post with my video edit of Night of the Seagulls.

Slough of Despond

Slough of Despond formed around late 1997 in Cap-Pele New Brunswick,Canada.The band idea came together when me and a few highschool friends wanting to play psychedelic doom metal in the vein of Cathedral and early Electric Wizard.Got together and started jamming on original material.In November of 1998 we recorded our first 4 track demo with local friend and musician Claude "Krall" Doiron.In 1999 another recording session was done with just me and drummer Ian Ryan we recorded and mixed this session ourselves.Later these songs were added with the 98 November session and named "November's Grief demos 98-99".Unfortunately Slough of Despond was short lived and never played any shows.there was a show with Necropolis that we were supposed to do but it never happened for us.Not long after this the band fell apart one attempt was made in 2000 to reform but didn't work out.Again in 2007 i took decision to reform the band with new members and new sound,with no avail this was a complete disaster.The band again was booked for a show that we didn't play.therefor it was Doomed to begin with another chapter in Slough of Despond history closed.There is still a myspace site with the early demos up and running,you can find the link here at the bottom of the blog page.This is a video Ian and i edited just a few years ago with scenes of Tales from the Crypt's Demon Knight of our song Dragonslayer!!