Interview with Greg Anderson of Southern Lord Records/Teeth of Lions Rule the Divine/Sunn 0)))/Goatsnake/etc.
by Nathan Pearce
The influence of Black Sabbath has spread to countless bands; everybody from Metallica to The Melvins site Sabbath as a primary influence. With this in mind, Black Sabbath probably would be proudest of the heavy influence they instilled in the extreme doom/drone genre; specifically with bands ranging from Pentagram to St. Vitus to Cathedral to Khanate. While this genre has taken the gospel of Tony Iommi and Co. to heart, the bands under this label have often struggled to find their place amongst even the underground metal masses. Doom/drone could be called the red-headed step child of Black Sabbath; only a select few seem to really latch on to this genre. However, the ones that do embrace this heaviest-of-the-heavy genre, are often some of the most avid fans this side of primitive black metal fans.
One of these fans is Greg Anderson. I recently had the chance to chat with this fan/legend/leader of the doom/drone genre. With the recent release of two heavy hitters in the doom/drone world, Sunn 0))) Flight of the Behemoth and Teeth of the Lions Rule the Divine Rampton, and with a blossoming record label dedicated to all things heavy, Greg had much to discuss.
First off, I thought Id delve into one of the more intriguing bands Greg has participated in recently: Teeth of Lions Rule the Divine (see Ultimate Metal review for more on this release).
Greg described the meeting of the minds behind Teeth of Lions as simply friends wanting to jam. Stephen OMalley (Sunn 0))), Khanate) had jammed with Justin Graves (Iron Monkey) during a Sunn 0))) tour. When Greg and Stephen returned to England, they decided it would be cool to hook back up with Justin Graves again. Greg adds, We were staying with Lee Dorian, and we thought it would be cool for all of us to get together and see what happened.
So they did. Everyone was on the same wavelength, and it turned out pretty good. So we decided to record it, comments Greg. The recording took place New Years day of 2001. Needless to say, hangovers contributed to the grim destruction they put to tape during that recording session. Try taking a trip to Holland to celebrate the new year, and youll see what the atmosphere would be like following such an adventure; bleak, desolate, and truly, truly grim. With the help of producer/mixer Billy Anderson in the studio nearly a year later, Greg put the album together.
With so many other notable bands on Southern Lords roster, I wanted to cover as much as I could. Greg was happy to comply with an explanation of his genre bending project with Stephen OMalley, Sunn 0))). Its been really cool. Its kind of just this low key project. Its just Steve and I whenever we get together. Probably a little on the modest side, but nonetheless the free flowing drone of Sunn 0))) is almost more reminiscent of 1970s jazz fusion than of modern day metal.
Its interesting to note Gregs choice of venue for his record label: Hollywood, California. When I asked him about this choice, he explained, I actually live in Hollywood, and I have an office in Hollywood. The reason I moved here was because Id lived in Seattle my entire life, and I felt like I was hitting a ceiling. There was nothing artistically inspiring there.
So after a friend invited Greg to Los Angeles to jam with the band The Obsessed, Greg decided Hollywood was the place to spread his wings. Everything turned out great. The jam with The Obsessed turned into my band Goatsnake, and I was able to get a job.
When I asked Greg if his label Southern Lord tried to concentrate on bands from any certain area (like the US) or from any certain style (specifically doom), he responded, No. Were into pretty much anything. We just did a couple records with a Japanese band. We did a record with Electric Wizard from England. At the moment a lot of the stuff were doing is with American bands, but theres no rhyme or reason for that.
Regarding the releases by the Japanese band, Boris, Greg mentioned the band resembled his band Sunn 0))). One of the albums we just did with them is a 62 minute one song CD, but the thing about Boris that I find really interesting is that every single record they do sounds completely different than the one before it. The common thread being that theyre all heavy. While Greg isnt sure if the label will release any more records by Boris, he did mention the possibility of the re-release of the bands album Amplifier Worship.
Along the lines of Southern Lord being primarily a doom label Greg explains, I understand why we get labeled as a doom label, but Im not really into labeling genres. However, I understand it is an evil necessity. Were pretty much open to anything. At the moment, were releasing material from the band The Ravenous. Theyre more death metal, or as they like to call themselves, gore metal. Ive been a fan of their other band they were involved in, Autopsy. That band has been a big influence on my playing, and definitely an influence on bands like Khanate and Warhorse. If its something that catches my attention and is really good, it doesnt matter what kind of music it is. If its got that heavy intensity that Southern Lord is known for, Id like to release it.
Southern Lord does indeed try to sign and endorse bands that are pushing the boundaries of metal in extremely heavy directions, I commented. Its cool you picked up on that, Greg responds. Thats how I view music. Im really into pushing boundaries as much as possible.
With running a label taking such a huge chunk of Gregs time, I wondered if he missed touring with a band on a more regular basis. I think touring and playing in a band . . . Ive done it, and Ive enjoyed it. For this kind of music its really difficult. Theres not a lot of money to be made, but really, to me, its putting up with the other dudes in the band that gets to be a drag, Greg half-jokingly responds.
As anybody would have to do when talking to the owner of a record label, I asked what future releases we could expect from the label. Well, the latest record we released is from Sourvein. Were bringing out a record from Grief. That band is definitely one of the biggest influences on my playing. In Teeth of Lions, thats one of the bands that we were all into. So, were putting out a record of unreleased music from them. Next year were looking at records from . . . a new Sunn 0))) album, a new Khanate album, Place of Skulls, and a few other surprises up our sleeves.
Greg describes the new release from Place of Skulls as a sort of super group influenced heavily by groups like trouble. The band is rumored to be Christian, but Greg retorts that the lyrics are simply spiritual in nature. Regarding the new Khanate album, Greg explains that the first record was very improvised, and the band had only been together for a few months when they recorded the album. Now, after playing some shows, the band has become a tight machine. Greg elaborates, I got to see them live a few times on the east coast. They put on one of the most amazing shows Ive ever seen in my life. With tempos being so excruciatingly slow, youre concentration has to be really fucking on. Everybody has to be on the same page. Ive rarely seen anybody be able to pull something like that off.
After two genre defining drone albums from Sunn 0))), I would expect something of the same from the band on the next album, right? Its actually going to be pretty different. I really am proud of the records weve made, but to try and challenge ourselves were going to do something different. Its not done yet. We still need to mix and assemble it. We ended up collaborating with some different people. Its going to be really different. We wanted to make a record that was challenging to us and that will hopefully surprise the listeners.
. . . and with that, Greg leaves us with this statement, Check out Southern Lord. We put a lot of energy and care into our releases. Hopefully somebody will get out of it as much as we put into it.
www.southernlord.com
by Nathan Pearce
The influence of Black Sabbath has spread to countless bands; everybody from Metallica to The Melvins site Sabbath as a primary influence. With this in mind, Black Sabbath probably would be proudest of the heavy influence they instilled in the extreme doom/drone genre; specifically with bands ranging from Pentagram to St. Vitus to Cathedral to Khanate. While this genre has taken the gospel of Tony Iommi and Co. to heart, the bands under this label have often struggled to find their place amongst even the underground metal masses. Doom/drone could be called the red-headed step child of Black Sabbath; only a select few seem to really latch on to this genre. However, the ones that do embrace this heaviest-of-the-heavy genre, are often some of the most avid fans this side of primitive black metal fans.
One of these fans is Greg Anderson. I recently had the chance to chat with this fan/legend/leader of the doom/drone genre. With the recent release of two heavy hitters in the doom/drone world, Sunn 0))) Flight of the Behemoth and Teeth of the Lions Rule the Divine Rampton, and with a blossoming record label dedicated to all things heavy, Greg had much to discuss.
First off, I thought Id delve into one of the more intriguing bands Greg has participated in recently: Teeth of Lions Rule the Divine (see Ultimate Metal review for more on this release).
Greg described the meeting of the minds behind Teeth of Lions as simply friends wanting to jam. Stephen OMalley (Sunn 0))), Khanate) had jammed with Justin Graves (Iron Monkey) during a Sunn 0))) tour. When Greg and Stephen returned to England, they decided it would be cool to hook back up with Justin Graves again. Greg adds, We were staying with Lee Dorian, and we thought it would be cool for all of us to get together and see what happened.
So they did. Everyone was on the same wavelength, and it turned out pretty good. So we decided to record it, comments Greg. The recording took place New Years day of 2001. Needless to say, hangovers contributed to the grim destruction they put to tape during that recording session. Try taking a trip to Holland to celebrate the new year, and youll see what the atmosphere would be like following such an adventure; bleak, desolate, and truly, truly grim. With the help of producer/mixer Billy Anderson in the studio nearly a year later, Greg put the album together.
With so many other notable bands on Southern Lords roster, I wanted to cover as much as I could. Greg was happy to comply with an explanation of his genre bending project with Stephen OMalley, Sunn 0))). Its been really cool. Its kind of just this low key project. Its just Steve and I whenever we get together. Probably a little on the modest side, but nonetheless the free flowing drone of Sunn 0))) is almost more reminiscent of 1970s jazz fusion than of modern day metal.
Its interesting to note Gregs choice of venue for his record label: Hollywood, California. When I asked him about this choice, he explained, I actually live in Hollywood, and I have an office in Hollywood. The reason I moved here was because Id lived in Seattle my entire life, and I felt like I was hitting a ceiling. There was nothing artistically inspiring there.
So after a friend invited Greg to Los Angeles to jam with the band The Obsessed, Greg decided Hollywood was the place to spread his wings. Everything turned out great. The jam with The Obsessed turned into my band Goatsnake, and I was able to get a job.
When I asked Greg if his label Southern Lord tried to concentrate on bands from any certain area (like the US) or from any certain style (specifically doom), he responded, No. Were into pretty much anything. We just did a couple records with a Japanese band. We did a record with Electric Wizard from England. At the moment a lot of the stuff were doing is with American bands, but theres no rhyme or reason for that.
Regarding the releases by the Japanese band, Boris, Greg mentioned the band resembled his band Sunn 0))). One of the albums we just did with them is a 62 minute one song CD, but the thing about Boris that I find really interesting is that every single record they do sounds completely different than the one before it. The common thread being that theyre all heavy. While Greg isnt sure if the label will release any more records by Boris, he did mention the possibility of the re-release of the bands album Amplifier Worship.
Along the lines of Southern Lord being primarily a doom label Greg explains, I understand why we get labeled as a doom label, but Im not really into labeling genres. However, I understand it is an evil necessity. Were pretty much open to anything. At the moment, were releasing material from the band The Ravenous. Theyre more death metal, or as they like to call themselves, gore metal. Ive been a fan of their other band they were involved in, Autopsy. That band has been a big influence on my playing, and definitely an influence on bands like Khanate and Warhorse. If its something that catches my attention and is really good, it doesnt matter what kind of music it is. If its got that heavy intensity that Southern Lord is known for, Id like to release it.
Southern Lord does indeed try to sign and endorse bands that are pushing the boundaries of metal in extremely heavy directions, I commented. Its cool you picked up on that, Greg responds. Thats how I view music. Im really into pushing boundaries as much as possible.
With running a label taking such a huge chunk of Gregs time, I wondered if he missed touring with a band on a more regular basis. I think touring and playing in a band . . . Ive done it, and Ive enjoyed it. For this kind of music its really difficult. Theres not a lot of money to be made, but really, to me, its putting up with the other dudes in the band that gets to be a drag, Greg half-jokingly responds.
As anybody would have to do when talking to the owner of a record label, I asked what future releases we could expect from the label. Well, the latest record we released is from Sourvein. Were bringing out a record from Grief. That band is definitely one of the biggest influences on my playing. In Teeth of Lions, thats one of the bands that we were all into. So, were putting out a record of unreleased music from them. Next year were looking at records from . . . a new Sunn 0))) album, a new Khanate album, Place of Skulls, and a few other surprises up our sleeves.
Greg describes the new release from Place of Skulls as a sort of super group influenced heavily by groups like trouble. The band is rumored to be Christian, but Greg retorts that the lyrics are simply spiritual in nature. Regarding the new Khanate album, Greg explains that the first record was very improvised, and the band had only been together for a few months when they recorded the album. Now, after playing some shows, the band has become a tight machine. Greg elaborates, I got to see them live a few times on the east coast. They put on one of the most amazing shows Ive ever seen in my life. With tempos being so excruciatingly slow, youre concentration has to be really fucking on. Everybody has to be on the same page. Ive rarely seen anybody be able to pull something like that off.
After two genre defining drone albums from Sunn 0))), I would expect something of the same from the band on the next album, right? Its actually going to be pretty different. I really am proud of the records weve made, but to try and challenge ourselves were going to do something different. Its not done yet. We still need to mix and assemble it. We ended up collaborating with some different people. Its going to be really different. We wanted to make a record that was challenging to us and that will hopefully surprise the listeners.
. . . and with that, Greg leaves us with this statement, Check out Southern Lord. We put a lot of energy and care into our releases. Hopefully somebody will get out of it as much as we put into it.
www.southernlord.com
