Video captures YAITW in reflective moment

I was browsing YouTube recently in search of videos by the American blackened crust band Young And In The Way, or YAITW for short, when I stumbled across this mini-pic posted nearly a year ago. I can't believe I have not seen it until now.

Young And In The Way. Photo by Mary Spiro

The film is set to the song "The Gathering" from the album V. Eternal Depression released by this North Carolina group in 2011. Unlike most of YAITW's catalog, which is more chaotic,  this 11+ minute song provides a reflective, yet sinister, conclusion to the recording. If you have never listened to this band, "The Gathering" only represents a tiny segment of the styles they play, which tend to be something like black metal mixed with post-hardcore and a good dose of hatred for mankind thrown in.

Lush and evokative with themes such as death, mortality, ritual, fear and perhaps the conflict between father and son, the video matches the song perfectly. It is filled with tension and gives you a sense of hopelessness. Filmed in black and white, if features three characters and a grim landscape. I won't say much more than that, just watch it and experience whatever it brings you.

Young And In The Way are one of my favorite groups. Their music is raw and their lyrics thoughtful. Their live shows are mesmerizing. This video, which was directed by John Bradburn and Andy Paton for 93MillionMiles, is a gentle introduction to their sound, which isn't something every metalhead is going to like.

The Gathering from 93 Million Miles on Vimeo.

Iron Man posts new song video on Facebook

Louis Strachan (left) and Alfred Morris III of Iron Man

Traditional doom metal aficionados will be happy to learn that the legendary group, Iron Man, is working on new material. Today on their Facebook page and YouTube channel, they released a video of a new song performed recently at a benefit show in Brunswick, MD.  The song, “A Whore in Confession,” is still a something of a work in progress, says original Iron Man Al Morris III. “What you hear in the video may not be exactly how it ends up sounding on the recording,” Morris says.  Even so, the band wanted to give its fan base something new since, their last recording, a self-released EP called Dominance, came out in January 2011.  Morris says 2012 looks like a busy year for the doom metal stalwarts. A new drummer, Jason “Mot” Waldmann, came on board in January 2012. The group is slated to perform with Blizaro, Blood Ceremony, Loviatar, Monobrow and Revelation at All That’s Heavy II festival in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada on May 12. They will be heading to the studio to record a full-length album and more extensive touring is in the works. Their next local show will be at Lallo's in Brunswick, MD on March 3 with Trifecta and Children of the Grave.