Novembers Doom Show Archive

Yeah.... the Heathen Crusade show RULED!!!! You were amazing. Do you guys have the video for that show... correct?

I'm pretty sure we do. I have an absolute TON of videos from shows we've played, so off the top of my head, I can't be positive, but if I remember, you guys filmed at that fest correct?

By the way, we'd be happy to perform again! We had a blast at HC.
 
well you will surely be welcomed with open arms, I know at least 10 of just my friends have become very interested in you guys since then.
We were all pretty upset that you needed to drop from the rotting christ tour, but we understand and are patiently waiting... 5 of us are now driving to chicago to see you guys play at the powerfest.
 
Here's a pic of the International Metal Fest 95 Official Program. I didn't even know they offered them then.

METALFEST95.jpg
 
That Finish Line show with Scepter... not sure when it was exactly. I think it was probably Jan 2001 or Jan 2000, mostly from the Super Bowl banner in the background.
There was a show in Pittsburgh with Penance, and Emmett played drums so it must've been early 1999.
The Lab in Minneapolis, with Mike LeGros on bass and Joe on drums, so that was probably 2001. Jodi went with us. Dumpster Juice played- can't forget the 300lb guy in a wrestling suit shoving a drumstick in the only place you could imagine a pocket would be on a wrestling onesie.
There were also several shows at Smiler Coogans. I recall a Halloween one with a bunch of bands, maybe 1999 or 2000? I wore a plastic bullet belt and a Dilbert tie. And i recall another show there with CJ where we didn't actually play until literally 3 or 4am. The sun was up afterward and the whole audience was yawning. We went to breakfast I think. I'm terrible with dates, sorry.
 
That Finish Line show with Scepter... not sure when it was exactly. I think it was probably Jan 2001 or Jan 2000, mostly from the Super Bowl banner in the background.
There was a show in Pittsburgh with Penance, and Emmett played drums so it must've been early 1999.
The Lab in Minneapolis, with Mike LeGros on bass and Joe on drums, so that was probably 2001. Jodi went with us. Dumpster Juice played- can't forget the 300lb guy in a wrestling suit shoving a drumstick in the only place you could imagine a pocket would be on a wrestling onesie.
There were also several shows at Smiler Coogans. I recall a Halloween one with a bunch of bands, maybe 1999 or 2000? I wore a plastic bullet belt and a Dilbert tie. And i recall another show there with CJ where we didn't actually play until literally 3 or 4am. The sun was up afterward and the whole audience was yawning. We went to breakfast I think. I'm terrible with dates, sorry.

Damn, we need to figure out these dates. haha
 
That Finish Line show with Scepter... not sure when it was exactly. I think it was probably Jan 2001 or Jan 2000, mostly from the Super Bowl banner in the background.
There was a show in Pittsburgh with Penance, and Emmett played drums so it must've been early 1999.
The Lab in Minneapolis, with Mike LeGros on bass and Joe on drums, so that was probably 2001. Jodi went with us. Dumpster Juice played- can't forget the 300lb guy in a wrestling suit shoving a drumstick in the only place you could imagine a pocket would be on a wrestling onesie.
There were also several shows at Smiler Coogans. I recall a Halloween one with a bunch of bands, maybe 1999 or 2000? I wore a plastic bullet belt and a Dilbert tie. And i recall another show there with CJ where we didn't actually play until literally 3 or 4am. The sun was up afterward and the whole audience was yawning. We went to breakfast I think. I'm terrible with dates, sorry.

I'm thinking that the Finish Line show was Jan. 2000, we still had Mary in town and I remember Mike and Al were there offering up hilarious commentary of the whole gig while it was happening, lol.

The Pittsburgh show with Penance and Wickerman was in early June 1999, and was the next day after we played at JJ Kelleys with Wickerman and Disinter.

That Halloween gig at Smiler Coogans was in 1999, for sure. I know Paul filmed that one.

That Smilers gig with CJ when we played early in the morn was in May 1999, if I recall. I think we played two sets that night. Wasn't that the one where Sarcophagus decided to just not bother playing the second set because it was so late, and Macabre played waaaaaaaaaaay too fucking long and we had to play AFTER them? (Seriously, nothing against Macabre at all, but they played 'til like 3 a.m. and we had to play after them, and they took like an hour getting set-up and soundchecked. It was kinda ridiculous, lol.)


I don't know specific dates of these gigs unfortunately.
 
I'm thinking that the Finish Line show was Jan. 2000, we still had Mary in town and I remember Mike and Al were there offering up hilarious commentary of the whole gig while it was happening, lol.

The Pittsburgh show with Penance and Wickerman was in early June 1999, and was the next day after we played at JJ Kelleys with Wickerman and Disinter.

That Halloween gig at Smiler Coogans was in 1999, for sure. I know Paul filmed that one.

That Smilers gig with CJ when we played early in the morn was in May 1999, if I recall. I think we played two sets that night. Wasn't that the one where Sarcophagus decided to just not bother playing the second set because it was so late, and Macabre played waaaaaaaaaaay too fucking long and we had to play AFTER them? (Seriously, nothing against Macabre at all, but they played 'til like 3 a.m. and we had to play after them, and they took like an hour getting set-up and soundchecked. It was kinda ridiculous, lol.)
Good memory. I think you're right on the Finish Line being a Jan 2000 show. Mike and Al were always good for making fun of me. They used to drop by my apt, buzz in (which went direct to my phone), and leave loud messages singing the beginning of With Rue and Fire (the part that is reminiscent of Sear Me) on my answering machine. My friend Derek took the Finish Line pics. He got married this past January, and I came up for the wedding and saw Mike as well as Josh and Tony from Euphoric Evisceration (who reunited and were working in the studio last I heard).

Pittsburgh show was fun. I loved seeing Penance. Traveling with Emmett I could do without.

The late show at Smiler Coogans I do recall playing with Macabre and Sarcophagus - was that also the one with a band called Very Metal? Was that actually on Halloween?
 
Alright, enough time has passed for me to post this without hurling a string of endless expletives. First off let me give you some background on my former devotion to ND. Until that show, I owned EVERY one of your albums. This means originals and rereleases as well as several shirts (with some in duplicate). I feel justified in the words I'm going to say due to my once long standing loyalty: You're set at the Denver Doom Fest last year was horrible. Let's face it, you've been phoning it in since Erik left. All of your albums since his departure have been very formulaic, i.e. they have the same songs in the same places. You've got the "brutal" opening song, the less "brutal" follow up, the ballad, etc... Not to mention your guitarists desire to only play a few chords and scales in painful repetition.

I had been waiting a very long time to see you live and was very disappointed. You all looked bored as hell and you didn't play any "doom" songs. I know you don't like Doom, even though it's where you came from, but you'd think that you'd play some of your doom songs for a doom fest. The only decent song you played was 'Dark Fields for Brilliance'. Not to rag on you guys but you had less of a crowd than any one of the local opening acts. Several people ran to the stage when you started playing 'For Every Leaf that Falls' and a massive cheer was audible from outside, but most people left after you said "We don't remember how to play that song.". Less than 20 people with one really die hard and obnoxious chick up front, that's what you had.

Musically, you guys were tight and your new drummer was excellent, but again you appeared to be just going through the motions. Paul was a huge let down too. You don't sound like you do on record. Damn that studio magic. That would've been acceptable however, but you had an ipad strapped to your mic. The only reason I can think of is for lyrics. If so, that's sad that you don't know your own material. The final insult was the pedal box you brought out. Using echo, or delay are fine in some places, but you needed the extras to enhance your voice. Again, damn all that studio magic.

I guess I have to ask, why did you bother going if you obviously didn't want to go? Why play a doom fest after you've gone out of your way to discredit your doom past? Had you not gone, the promoters could've gotten another act that wanted to be there. That and the other band probably would've made more from the ticket sales.

In any event, this show was the final straw. You've lost a very dedicated fan, one of the few who still believes in buying CD's and actually supporting the bands I like.
 
Alright, enough time has passed for me to post this without hurling a string of endless expletives. First off let me give you some background on my former devotion to ND. Until that show, I owned EVERY one of your albums. This means originals and rereleases as well as several shirts (with some in duplicate). I feel justified in the words I'm going to say due to my once long standing loyalty: You're set at the Denver Doom Fest last year was horrible. Let's face it, you've been phoning it in since Erik left. All of your albums since his departure have been very formulaic, i.e. they have the same songs in the same places. You've got the "brutal" opening song, the less "brutal" follow up, the ballad, etc... Not to mention your guitarists desire to only play a few chords and scales in painful repetition.

I had been waiting a very long time to see you live and was very disappointed. You all looked bored as hell and you didn't play any "doom" songs. I know you don't like Doom, even though it's where you came from, but you'd think that you'd play some of your doom songs for a doom fest. The only decent song you played was 'Dark Fields for Brilliance'. Not to rag on you guys but you had less of a crowd than any one of the local opening acts. Several people ran to the stage when you started playing 'For Every Leaf that Falls' and a massive cheer was audible from outside, but most people left after you said "We don't remember how to play that song.". Less than 20 people with one really die hard and obnoxious chick up front, that's what you had.

Musically, you guys were tight and your new drummer was excellent, but again you appeared to be just going through the motions. Paul was a huge let down too. You don't sound like you do on record. Damn that studio magic. That would've been acceptable however, but you had an ipad strapped to your mic. The only reason I can think of is for lyrics. If so, that's sad that you don't know your own material. The final insult was the pedal box you brought out. Using echo, or delay are fine in some places, but you needed the extras to enhance your voice. Again, damn all that studio magic.

I guess I have to ask, why did you bother going if you obviously didn't want to go? Why play a doom fest after you've gone out of your way to discredit your doom past? Had you not gone, the promoters could've gotten another act that wanted to be there. That and the other band probably would've made more from the ticket sales.

In any event, this show was the final straw. You've lost a very dedicated fan, one of the few who still believes in buying CD's and actually supporting the bands I like.

Soup, oh soup... Where to begin...

First off, thanks for being a dedicated fan for all those years. It's great to know you stuck with us for as long as you did, and I truly mean that. It's true, we don't consider ourselves as a "doom" band anymore. We haven't since the mid 90's. We've evolved, and moved on, and truthfully, it was Eric who was pushing hard for us to move away from the "doom" material. And while we're on the subject, and I mean this as no disrespect to Eric at all, but our popularity didn't start until The Pale Haunt Departure, and THAT CD is what opened up doors for us, and gave us many opportunities, like touring Europe several times, and playing major Euro festivals. All AFTER Eric's involvement. Our BEST selling releases more then triple everything prior to The Pale Haunt Departure.

As far as our live performance goes, I am sorry you were disappointed. Looking bored as hell... Could not be further from the truth. We were quite happy to be in Denver for the first time, and purposely tailored our set with more "doom" songs like Dark Fields, and When Desperation Fills the void among others so the entire set wasn't all aggression. As far as For Every Leaf, it's in our set, we do play it. We JOKE with the audience. We didn't have the time allowed to add any more songs, so we make a joke about it, Sorry if we're not always somber and doomy guys, playing the part. We made a choice to play the songs from the best selling records, adding in a few older tracks like Dark Fields.

And for the record, I'm quite happy playing for even ONE die hard fan.

And now on to me, since you called me out. I'll start with my "bored" look. If you didn't know, I have been suffering from a crippling Spine disease for the past 15 years. I live in CONSTANT pain, and I'm medicated often to do things you take for granted, like STAND, and WALK. Let alone, travel to Denver to perform. I do this because I LOVE doing this. It would be a million times easier on my self to give this all up, and not deal with the extra amounts of personal suffering I need to go through to stand there on stage and look "bored" for you. I have no apologies for my stage demeanor. I'm thankful I still have some ability to be there, it won't last forever so I do what I can, when I can. I'm not looking for pitty or sympathy, it's just how it is. I play the cards I was dealt. And as for head banging and moving around? Those days a LONG gone. My disease is from top to bottom. I'm lucky to stand there. Watch me play, half the time I need to lean over on the drums to regain strength in my spine. It's not fun, but I still do it.

The pedal board consists of Delay for effects on songs like Buried, and When Desperation Fills the void, and a doubler for songs like Harvest Scythe. It fills out the sound, as I doubled my vocals in the studio, this way it makes the song sound more like the version you hear on disc. This is not studio magic, it's BASIC audio techniques. The only difference is I operate it myself instead of having our sound man do it from the board. There's no magic pedal on the floor, it's basics. I would argue with you too, once of the comments I get more then anything, is just how much I sound like I do on the CD's. I would suggest going to youtube and watching live performances. I think you'll find that it's true. Perhaps I had an off day in Denver? You're the first to complain about this to me.

The iPad... You are correct. It's for lyrics. Lyrics and setlist. Is it sad I don't know my own material? I'm sure in your eyes it is. This goes back to the spine disease. I've taken MASS amounts of Vicodin / Norco for pain EVERY day for the past 15 years. It has effected my memory greatly. I certainly don't read the lyrics word for word, but at times I need a glance to remind me of where I'm at and what's next. Am I happy about this? Hell no. I wasn't dependent on things like that even a few years back. I have more personal hurdles in my life then you know, and I'm making adjustments all the time to keep doing what I love to do. If this disappoints you, sorry, and I'm sad to see you give up on us as a fan, but don't take this as disrespect, but if losing a fan or two along the way who have been disappointed in me is so low on my list of concerns, it's not even funny. Walk a day in my shoes, and then try to please everyone. It's impossible. You have to not care about that, or else you fail. I do what I need to do in an attempt to please our fans. Can't please everyone, but I do my best.

And to address your last two sentences...

We had a blast in Denver, regardless of your opinion that we "obviously didn't want to go," you obviously couldn't be more wrong. The promoters invited us to play, we accepted. We didn't ask to play a "doom" fest and we do normally shay away from those knowing we don't fit in anymore.

We don't discount our doom past. We still have doom elements in our music, we just choose to add many other influences and elements, and frankly 22 years of the same old boring doom shit from Amid would be pathetic from any band. We're all about evolving, and moving forward, and we've made thousands more fans doing that. Our record sales prove that we're doing things right. We KNEW going into the show, it was going to be a tough sell to a total "doom" crowd in Denver, and we would likely be disappointing to the hard core "doom" guys in the crowd. We didn't play for them. We played for the one die hard chick and the other 20 people who sang along to all the songs, and enjoyed the shit out of what we do. It's that simple.

I debated even responding to this, I wasn't going to, but here you go. I won't continue this with you, I've said what I needed to say in response to your post. This was probably the wrong thread to post this in, but that's fine too. I have no delusions that anything I say will change your mind about us, I just felt I owed you answers for being a long time fan.

So, in closing, sorry to see you go. Seriously. I wish we could have been that band you had hoped we would be, waiting all those years to finally see us. We do our best, and It's obviously not good enough for everybody. I make no apologies, and I have no regrets. Thanks for your past support, and maybe someday you'll come around again. Until then, cheers.
 
Yes, I will seriously mourn the loss of your being our fan anymore when I'm in Europe playing to hundreds even thousands of people with my apparently bored look and my repetetive chords. I could sit here and write a long reply but what's the point? Any way I try to argue or explain my point of view on this, you're going to spin it against me and the band. I honestly don't care. And that "really obnoxious chick" up front traveled hundreds of miles to see us, and enjoyed our set just fine. The promoter who booked us enjoyed us as well, and so did some of our other fans and friends who we care about. The people who think we've been "phoning it in" since Eric left (YAWN), well folks like that I couldn't give two fucks about, I don't care how many cds you've bought. Now you know better than to ever spend another dime or second of your time on this band, and hopefully we won't have to ever see or hear from you again. We both win. Sayonara.
 
Well said Paul, You guys are living it, and loving it. Fuck everyone else. You can't please everyone.

For the record, I must say, Novembers Doom, were so fucking bad assed live, I'm an old bastard, but I was banging my head to their set both times I had the chance to see them. Tight and heavy as fuck on stage, def not seeing what "Soup" is saying at all.

Larry, don't let this jagoff get under your skin, he's wasted enough of every ones time. Also, I am a huge doom guy, and ND kick my ass every time...and you guys can still bring the doom when they want to on the new stuff.