Victhor The Viking

I recently went through West Texas and got a chance to view the Horse Hollow Wind Farm. According to NextEra Energy, it is the worlds largest wind farm^[1]. It the capacity to produce over 700 megawatts of power. An incredible source of clean energy.

What a specular show June 7 when Wolves in the Throne Room and A Storm of Light came to Austin for a spiritual convox of light and sound.

The show began with Austin doom maestros the Roller. They are sonic wall of sound! So loud that only thing coming through the PA was the drums and vocals. If you have not seen them yet you got to check them out.

I didn’t know what to expect when A Storm of Light took the stage, but when they began to play I was in awe. Haling from Brooklyn, New York, A Storm of Light consist of Josh Graham, visual artist for Neurosis and formally of Red Sparrows, Domenic Seita [bass, vocals], formerly of Tombs and Asea, and Andy Rice [drums, percussion] formerly of Sinking Ships. They played a mix of songs off there debut LP And We Wept the Black Ocean Within and off of the new split EP that they did with Nadja called Primitive North.

First off the light show in the background was incredible (of coarse). You can’t beat hammer-head sharks. Halfway through the set Will Lindsay from Wolves in the Throne Room joined them onstage for the song “Mass”. The only bad thing about the show was the dude that was trippen balls in front of my who was seeing “bears”. I think he meant beers but it sounded like bears to me.

Despite that distraction, I felt I was on a higher plane of consciousness by the end of their set .

Wolves took the stage and were epic! Starting off with the 18 minute monster of a song “I Will Lay Down My Bones Among The Rocks And Stones” from the Album Two Hunters.

For those who have not heard or seen Wolves in the Throne Room yet, you are missing out on something special. After an Earth First rendezvous in the Cascade Mountains of Washington State, Nathan Weaver was inspired to create a band that merged a Cascadian eco-spiritual awareness with the misanthropic Norwegian eruptions of the 90’s ¹. So, after moving to a farmstead that his brother Aaron and his girlfriend work, the brothers began to create the sonic wave of eco-black metal. If you have not seen the video I posted of an interview with Aaron by Hardtimes.ca yet, I would highly recommend it.

The current line-up of WiTTR also includes former Middian bassist Will Lindsay. Will started off as there touring bassist and moved to guitar after Rick Dahlen left the band.

The WiTTR set was a good mix of songs from older releases and from their new album Black Cascade. Black Cascade is definitely a little more stripped down and raw than their last album but that, for me, is it’s appeal. There are no words to describe it so I will not. But I did film a little bit of the first song so you could get a little taste for yourselves.

If there such thing as a spiritual experience, I think I had one that night. I can wait for next month when WiTTR will be Austin with Nachtmystium and Pentagram.

If you have not heard RISEthyRUIN yet, you are missing out on some of the most spectacular music to emerge from the Austin music scene. Their music has many different elements that make it hard to put it into a particular category. Their are elements of doom that make their heaviness rival doom father’s Sleep.

The progressiveness that is explored in the bass lines are complex and moody (in a good way). RISEthyRUIN’s use of samples and effects bring the music depth and weight.
And finally their light show is so beautiful and could make the dingiest club a spiritual sanctuary.

If you have not seen or heard them yet I highly recommend that you do.

• RISEthyRUIN myspace page

Below is a part of a 10 minute song that I filmed at Room 710 in Austin.

It has been incredibly hot the past few days. I lived in Texas off and on since I was 14 and it seems to be getting hotter earlier every year. This scares the crap out of me. I sit out under a tree for lunch and even in the shade it is pretty damn hot.

Sure glad that not everyone trying to kill the planet. Unlike these douchingtons!

Does anyone remember Jimmy Carter talking about the energy crisis in the 1970s. He asked us to start conserving even back then. He had some balls and they racked him over the coals for it.

The only good thing to come out of this has been killer eco-conscious metal; Wolves in the Throne Room, Gojira, Fauna. Great stuff with a great message.

Wolves in the Throne Room @ RED 7 10/17/2008