Seattle drone icons, Earth, recently embarked on its most extensive US Tour since forming in 1990, sailing through Johnny Brenda’s in Philly’s Northern Liberties neighborhood along with Eagle Twin and Stebmo (Steve Moore). Per usual, Blow The Scene was on hand to capture exclusive photos and show review of the R5 Productions event for your viewing pleasure.
Earth are currently touring in support of Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light I and II available on Southern Lord Recordings and both recorded during a combined session at Seattle’s Avast Studios in 2010 with longtime producer Stuart Hallerman (Soundgarden, Mudhoney, Built To Spill, and Earth2). The first installment of Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light was released in February of 2011 to rave reviews from critics and fans. NPR, who streamed the album in its entirety commented, “As Earth developed its heavy instrumental vision in the past six years, subtle deviation has been crucial to the band’s renewal. Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light 1 is the latest installment in that trajectory, adding a cello, desert blues and British folk-rock motifs to Earth’s slow-moving Americana.”
Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light II just hit streets this past February and has met equally warm receptions. This time around, Pitchfork had the honors of streaming the album in its entirety and commented “..the laid-back, ambling five-song collection’s the continuation of 2011’s Darkness, Demons of Light I: It was recorded during the same two-week session and extends the other album’s improvisational desert-noir folk ramblings.”
Needless to say, Earth worked in a fair amount of this new material to compliment some classic tracks for longtime fans with the lineup for this voyage being the same touring lineup from the band’s lauded 2008 LP The Bees Made Honey in the Lion’s Skull, comprised of Steve Moore (Stebmo) on keys and trombone, Don McGreevy on bass, Adrienne Davies on drums and founder Dylan Carlson on guitar. Everything sounded extremely organic and rolled forward like an unstoppable glacier crawling across droning landscapes of the musical movements we’ve come to expect from Earth.
Salt Lake City’s unrelenting metal duo, Eagle Twin, fired off a supporting set that was both mesmerizing and absolutely crushing. You’d be hard pressed to find a 5-piece band that rips as hard these purveyors of filthy, doom-ridden rock ‘n’ roll. Just before releasing their 2nd full-length on Southern Lord, entitled The Feather That Tipped The Serpent’s Scale, Spin named Eagle Twin one of the 5 Best New Artists for August ’12.
Definitely a band to keep an eye on if doom, rock, comics, snakes, and/or cosmology are up your alley..hell, even if they’re not, you should still give these guys a chance.
Multi-instrumentalist Stebmo(aka Steve Moore of Earth and Sunn O))) and not be confused with Zombi’s Steve Moore), set the evening into motion with an infectious set of jazzy opening numbers that saw Stebmo flex his Wurlitzer muscles to the delight of the early-comers. Stebmo continues to support his 2008, self-titled, solo-release on Southern Lord where the multi-talent met up with a star-studded cast to track the album in a single day, featuring Matt Chamberlain (Tori Amos, Brad Meldauh), bassist Todd Sickafoose (Ani DiFranco, Jenny Scheinman), and violinist Eyvind Kang, and woodwind treatments by Doug Wieselman.
We know you are here for the pictures, so without further ado..
All photos by Blow The Scene’s Senior Staff Photographer, Dante Torrieri (Useless Rebel Imaging)
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