GUEST BLOG: Growing up with Lord Dying

Lord Dying, an emerging heavy metal band based in Portland, Oregon, combines an intense metal experience with lyrics on the darker side of human existence – songs about depression, doom and dismemberment, peppered with heavy riffs and a not-so-hidden distaste for humanity.

Lord Dying

I’ve (**see note below) known two of the band members – Chris Evans (guitar) and Erik Olson (guitar, vocals) since elementary school, growing up in Sandy, Utah. Chris was the kid who wore black Nirvana T-shirts to school in third grade and Erik’s parents’ basement was a noted pit stop for several bands on tour. We all loved music and played in bands off and on since middle school. Chris reminds me he’s been a metal fan since Erik gave him a copy of Megadeth’s Rust in Peace for his birthday in the fifth grade. This past fall I saw Lord Dying rock in Richmond, Virginia, during their last U.S. tour with the band Red Fang at a completely packed, sold out show. I recently chatted with Chris about their new album coming out this coming June on Relapse.

Since forming two and a half years ago, Lord Dying has developed their own sound and formed a clear metal style. The band consists of four members in addition to Chris and Erik, including Don Capuano (bass) and John Reid (drums). I asked Chris what influences their music and he tells me they draw on various styles such as thrash, doom and prog. He tells me his tastes are much broader now as he draws on other musicians than exclusively metal bands, for instance the classical guitarist Augustine Barrios, whose complex fingering techniques make their way into his own riffs.

Lord Dying has toured with bands such as Witch Mountain, Black Cobra, Gaza, Danava and most recently Down, lead by the singer of Pantera, where they played three shows together in Seattle, Portland and Boise, Idaho. In 2012 they played two U.S. tours, first with Witch Mountain and most recently with Red Fang. It was during this last tour they received their record deal from Relapse Records.

Erik, me and Chris at the Richmond, VA show.

“We were pretty much the last ones to find out,” Chris laughs, “It was a big surprise. One of the guys from Relapse kept calling us before the show to hang out and we didn’t know why.”

I ask Chris if it’s difficult to be on tour. “It’s definitely a lot of driving and waiting around for the thirty minutes we’re on stage, but it’s worth it. We play shows every night and never get enough sleep. But when we get home we want to be back out again.” They plan to continue touring this summer and line up bigger metal shows so they can promote their new album. 

Their musical process involves frequent collaboration and experimentation. Erik writes all the lyrics and song titles and has more lyrics written then they have songs for. After splitting up for awhile, Chris and Erik started playing together again when Erik moved to Portland and came over to jam.

“We wrote our first song right then. John and I started the band and were looking for another guitarist. When we jammed with Erik it all came together. We knew what we needed to do. The chemistry was still there.” Indeed, that first night they wrote their first song, "In a Frightful State of Gnawed Dismemberment", which will appear on their full-length LP coming out in June (also available at here) and quickly started playing riffs and pouring out new songs. The band has remained in its current form since Erik joined.

For west-coasters, Lord Dying has two shows lined up in their home base of Portland, one at the venue Branx on March 8th, and Stump Fest on April 20th. You can follow them on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/LordDying and Twitter at https://twitter.com/Lorddying for tour information and band updates. Expect to be blown away!

**NOTE: This blog post was written by my friend Jacob Koskimaki, who is super smart and works at the University of Virginia. Together with his friends from Lord Dying, we are converting him into a metalhead.

Countdown to MDF X: (54) Agalloch

If the Decemberists were a metal band, they might a little sound like Agalloch. In terms of musical genres, one could argue that Agalloch does not really belong at the Maryland Deathfest. The reason I say they don't really belong there should become evident when you hear them. It really is not death metal and could only be loosely described as black metal. But what is it?

What it is, is a lush and verdant soundscape flowing from the dripping wet rainforests of the Tillamook or pouring from the mossy banks of the Columbia River. Only John Haughm's occasional shrill  and sometimes growling vocals-- icy as the Cascade Mountains--gives Agalloch away as something like black metal. Pagan rock, neofolk or ambient would also be appropriate descriptors.

This is not to say that you should skip Agalloch's set Thursday, May 24! On the contrary! This band, founded in 1995 in Portland, Oregon rarely tours the US so you should not miss this chance to see them. Their music is complex and their live performance engaging. Other members include Don Anderson (guitar), Jason William Walton (bass) and Aesop Dekker (drums). The group is capable of bringing the black metal and they will not disappoint.

It's hard to say what songs Agalloch might play at MDF X. Their most recent release is a compilation called "Whitedivisiongrey." Some personal favorite songs from their 2002 album The Mantle, such as "Not Unlike Waves" or "In the Shadow of Our Pale Companion," would be nice to hear live.  The 2010 full-length album Marrow of the Spirit is the some of the closest sounding to traditional black metal that I think Agalloch has ever done.  Here are a couple songs to consider. I think Agalloch will provide a nice break from some of the more brutal offerings on Thursday.