All you Massachusetts types will want to hit this one up. A pretty well-rounded night, if you think about it. Ironweed, as much as I wasn’t feeling their latest record, bring the rock, Blue Aside the doom, and Blackwolfgoat the all-out guitar loop insanity. Something for everyone! Dig this poster:
22 copies of Blackwolfgoat‘s Dronolith left. Buy yours here.
I’ve been reading some of the reviews coming in of Dronolith, the second album by Blackwolfgoat and third release from The Maple Forum, and it seems like, for the most part, people are getting what the record is about. The progressive and Krautrock influences are noted in just about all of them, and the overall response is pretty positive. Thanks to everyone who’s written so far (among them Heavy Metal Time Machine, Sea of Tranquility and the venerable souls at Doommantia) and everyone who’s planning to.
Thanks even more to everyone who’s bought the record and checked in with a response about it. I’m dig it and I’m glad you do too. It’s definitely something different, and I was a bit worried about how it might go over, but it looks like everybody who wants to be is on board. More than I can ask for, really.
As of today, I have 23 copies left of Dronolith, which you can buy using the Paypal button above or at the Maple Forum store on BigCartel. If you haven’t gotten one yet, please consider this humble advice to do so before they’re gone. For Darryl Shepard‘s expansive soundscapes and the beautiful Alexander Von Wieding artwork, it’s not to be missed, and once it’s sold out, that’s it. We only pressed 100.
If you’re in NYC or somewhere thereabouts, make sure you hit up Lit Lounge on June 27, where Darryl will be gracing the stage as part of the ongoing Precious Metal series headed by Curran Reynolds of Wetnurse/Today is the Day. As the room downstairs at Lit is essentially a low-ceiling cave, it should be the perfect setting for Blackwolfgoat‘s encompassing wall of sound. Expect volume in voluminous doses.
I’m thrilled to update that Blackwolfgoat‘s Dronolith sold nearly half my portion of the total 100 pressed in its first week. As of today, I have 26 copies left of The Maple Forum‘s third offering. If you want one, you can buy it using the Paypal button above or at the official Maple Forum webstore.
Thanks so much to everyone who’s made a purchase so far. Your support is hugely appreciated and I can’t say that enough. It’s awesome to see the names of people who also picked up the Kings Destroy and/or the Roareth discs coming back for more, and it’s awesome to see new names coming through as well. Point I’m trying to make here is that it’s awesome, I guess. Much appreciated on this end.
I was held up this weekend doing thesis work and the post office was closed Sunday and yesterday for the holiday, so I’ve got a handful of discs that will go out tomorrow morning, but the first bunch should have already landed for most (reports are they made it to the UK already). If you haven’t gotten yours yet, it should be coming soon, and if you have, I’d love to know what you think of the album. Feel free to leave a comment here or drop me an email through the contact page. Or if you’re too busy kicking out the drones, that’s fine too. In any case, thanks again.
In other Blackwolfgoat news, Darryl Shepard (the man behind the band) has set up a Bandcamp page where you can listen and buy the album — download or physical — directly from him. Anyone who hasn’t checked the record out yet can do so there, or on ReverbNation.
There are 100 hand-numbered copies of Dronolith — the second album from Massachusetts one-man outfit Blackwolfgoat. Half the pressing went to Darryl Shepard, the man behind the band, and half came to me. I kept one for myself. Four sold overnight since I put the disc in the Maple Forum store. That means I’ve got 45 copies of Dronolith left to go out for anyone who wants them.
Blackwolfgoat‘s Dronolith follows on the heels of last year’s Small Stone Records debut, Dragonwizardsleeve, and finds Shepard exploring even more progressive elements in hypnotic drone. Throughout the album’s six tracks and 46-minute runtime, you’ll find an eerie sense of rhythm and gracefully constructed sonic expanse. Shepard is a master of affecting a build within a track, and so his material is actually going somewhere even when it’s at its most ambient.
I dig Dronolith a lot. If you purchased either the Roareth or Kings Destroy CDs and you’re thinking about picking up Blackwolfgoat, expect something different sound-wise but still of a common mindset when it comes to creative liberty. Like the last two releases, atmosphere is paramount, but there’s an openness of structure and improvised feel that’s completely Shepard‘s own.
Like I said, 45 copies to go out to anyone who wants them. I’ve got thank you cards for the first several orders, and a couple other freebies I’ll be tossing in as well. The album art — fucking gorgeous — was designed by Alexander von Wieding (Karma to Burn, Monster Magnet, etc.), and Dronolith was recorded by Glenn Smith (Lamont, Ichabod, Raw Radar War).
Purchase now using the Paypal button above, or click here to go to the Maple Forum store. For those of a more digital persuasion, Shepard has set up a Reverbnation download shop here.
We’re only one week away from the May 24 release of Blackwolfgoat‘s opus of progressive drone, Dronolith, on The Maple Forum. For those keeping up, forum030 is a six-track foray into the mind of guitarist Darryl Shepard (Hackman, Milligram, Slapshot, etc.). Loops and layers of guitar — all recorded live — building to the massive apex of the title track, closing out the album with a righteous, oppressive density you can feel in your chest. It’s not every drone record that demands you play it loud, but this one does.
Dronolith will be available starting next Tuesday, in a limited, hand-numbered digipak run of 100 copies with art by Alexander von Wieding. The album was engineered and mixed by Glenn Smith at Amps vs. Ohms Studio and mastered by Nick Zampiello and Rob Gonnella at New Alliance East. It’s all guitar, and it’s all Shepard playing it, and since the tracks are all instrumental, I though it might be cool to get the scoop from the man himself on what’s behind the songs.
So here it is. Darryl Shepard gives his track-by-track on Dronolith. Hope you dig it:
“Building Buildings”
This song is very influenced by Krautrock and bands like Neu! and Can. I was going for a heavily rhythmic vibe, almost hypnotic. I love how Neu! would have songs that were very simple and driving, but they were interesting to listen to. The rhythm on this one came out way better than I had even hoped for. Sometimes it actually sounds like there is a drummer or percussionist playing, mixed really low in the mix. It has a futuristic type of feel going on as well. After I recorded this one, Glenn (the engineer) and I didn’t think it was too good, but we kept it and worked on some other stuff. Then when we went back to it we realized that we really liked it, so I’m glad we kept this take. There were a couple of different mixes of this but I liked the one that ended up on the album because it’s kind of dark and muddy; it’s very analog sounding. I want to pursue this rhythmic type of stuff more and see where I can take it.
“Ruane”
One of the cleaner sounding songs on the album. I named this after Billy Ruane, who was a promoter/all around music scene personality in Boston for years, who passed away in 2010, and that had a huge impact on the Boston music scene. It affected so many people. Way back in 1990 or so, I was in a speed metal band, and he booked us on a show with Melvins and Helmet, and that had a huge impact on me. I’ll never forget it. For this song I was trying to layer different guitar parts playing in what sounds like different time signatures, but it’s really all 4/4. It’s fragile sounding, and there are a few little glitches in there which I wanted to keep, because Billy, to me, was like that. He was a great, gentle person. He had his flaws, as do all of us, but there’s perfection in the flaws. The flaws are what make things interesting. When I was first working on this song there was no guitar solo, I was just layering part over part over part, and then I decided there needed to be a real solo over everything, something very melodic. I hope I do the memory of Billy Ruane justice with this song.
“Tyche”
A real heavy track, played in an alternate tuning I like a lot. From bottom to top, it’s: C G D G B E. That tuning makes chords sound bigger and more majestic. I won’t lie, this song is very influenced by early Earth, like Earth 2 and Phase 3 Thrones and Dominions. I’m not trying to rip Earth off, it’s more of an homage. It’s basically just a chord progression I came up with that I thought sounded really cool. This song is more about the actual sound than anything else, although there is structure to it. I named it after the hypothetical planet that scientists “may have” discovered, Tyche, which supposedly is as big as Jupiter but has more mass, just a massive thing way out in space. I love super heavy droning guitars, so this song satisfies that craving for me. It’s mainly just one guitar part, no layering on this one except for the fadeout.
“Fear of Stars”
Not sure where this came from, it just sort of appeared one day when I was playing guitar. I was trying to make it sound like there was a pulse — not really notes — and then everything on top of it is kind of an outline. It’s almost like a sketch. I really like the playing on this one. I feel like I was doing stuff that I don’t usually do, timing- and phrasing-wise, playing on the upbeat and in between beats more than usual, not playing as straightforward, almost playing between the notes. It’s definitely not jazz but I would say it’s influenced by jazz. I was looking for a name for it, and was checking out a list of phobias online, and there is an actual phobia for being afraid of stars, it’s called “siderophobia,” and I thought that was a weird kind of thing, to be afraid of stars, and it seemed to fit the mood of the song.
“Event Radius”
Another super heavy track, in the vein of “Tyche.” The E string is tuned down to A, to give it that low, droning sound. This one sounds pretty ominous, like something very bad is coming and there’s nothing you can do about it. Again, this song is basically an excuse to kick out the super heavy jams, so to speak. The head I used on most of this album is called Kneel, they’re amps made by this guy, Neal Johnson, in Boston. Very cool amps. For the heavy stuff, I used a combination of the distortion on the head and a black Big Muff, just a really overdriven sound, pushing the speakers. The title really fits the song to me, in that it sounds like there’s some really serious shit going down, like maybe an enormous UFO is heading our way very slowly and the shit is gonna hit the fan big time. A lot of the songs on this album seem to have themes that deal with space or a futuristic vibe to them, at least for me. I really like how at the beginning of the song it sounds like a switch was thrown and a big machine is powering up.
“Dronolith”
I had the title before I had the song, although I knew what I wanted to do musically, but it took a while for this one to come together. I originally was thinking of doing something around 20 minutes long for this, but that just seemed to be a bit much, so I went with the flow and it came out to 15 and a half minutes. The first half is mellow and somewhat eerie, very dark sounding. Glenn did a great job recording this. 
The guitar almost sounds like a piano at times. It almost lulls you to sleep, and then the heavy guitar just comes in and flattens everything. When we first listened back to this in the studio we were laughing because it sounds like a bomb going off when the distortion kicks in. That’s when I knew I had accomplished what I set out to do. From that point on, the track keeps building and building, like something that’s just too big for its own good. I wanted to keep layering guitars on top of each other. I don’t even know how many layers there are, probably around 25 or 30, total overkill. Some of it is just static, I unplugged the guitar and had a track of me just putting my finger on the end of the guitar cord, total static. Chaos. But you can still make out the melody buried underneath all of the noise. There is an actual melody in there somewhere, you just gotta listen for it. At the end is a little snippet of something I recorded at home, just to have something melodic at the end to wrap it up. Everything else on the album was recorded live in the studio. I feel that this track lives up to its name, something massive and looming. Like Glenn said, “That’s definitely Dronolith.”
Dronolith by Blackwolfgoat will be available May 24 on The Maple Forum. Stay tuned for more info.
I wasn’t anticipating any snags from the press, but you never know, so it’s with some measure of relief that I report that the Blackwolfgoat full-length, Dronolith, is in-house and that it looks great. The digipak is the same style as the Roareth, for anyone who picked that up, but sturdier and glossy, and with the Alexander Von Wieding artwork, it looks fantastic. You wouldn’t necessarily expect something called Dronolith to look so classy, but it really does. In short, I’m thrilled. Here’s the final tracklisting:
Blackwolfgoat, Dronolith
1. Building Buildings
2. Ruane
3. Tyche
4. Fear of Stars
5. Event Radius
6. Dronolith
As of now, we’re good to go for the already-noted May 24 release of Dronolith, which is Blackwolfgoat‘s second album and the third release on The Maple Forum (forum030). The pressing is limited to 100 copies, and they’ll be hand-numbered. As with the Kings Destroy record, the first 20 will come with a Thank You card — I might even put them in envelopes this time! — and I have a couple old comps and some other stuff I might throw in as well for anyone who orders.
You’ll be able to buy Dronolith starting on the 24th at the Maple Forum store. I don’t know how to set it up for preorders, otherwise I’d do that and just start shipping them out, but whatever. A little suspense will do you some good, and in the meantime, Darryl Shepard, the lone member of the band, sent over the below video for “Fear of Stars.” It’s as progtastic as it is red. Dig:
The solo semi-drone project of former Milligram and Hackman guitarist Darryl Shepard, Blackwolfgoat, has just made a brand new song called “Building Buildings” available for streaming and downloading via Reverbnation. The cut comes off Blackwolfgoat‘s second full-length — which rumor has it bears the awesome title Dronolith — due for release later this year.
For anyone who heard Blackwolfgoat‘s Dragonwizardsleeve debut, holds a couple surprises in just how much is going on. Shepard is working to balance fuzz guitar and underlying layers of drone, making his end product even more his own. Here’s the song so you can judge for yourself, followed by the posting Shephard made when he announced the track was available in the news forum:
I headed into the studio and recorded some new Blackwolfgoat stuff on Saturday, Jan. 15. Got four songs so far. I posted one called “Building Buildings” on Reverbnation, it’ll be available as a free download until Thursday. There’s a definite Neu! influence on this track. Check it out, hope you dig it…
I’m almost always a fan of artists stepping outside their comfort zone, and imagining what must have gone into the thought process for Darryl Shepard deciding to make his solo project Blackwolfgoat public is exhausting. The guitarist — familiar to fans of all things riff ‘n’ roll for his work in seminal Massachusetts aggressors Milligram and later for the tonal thickness of the mostly instrumental Hackman — is set to release Blackwolfgoat‘s debut, Dragonwizardsleeve, through Small Stone in January, and it’s about as far removed from his past work as you can still get and still be holding a six-string.
The album (review here) works in a variety of contexts, but at its heart, it’s a drone record through and through. Shepard, as the only member in the band, was well aware of the need for bringing a range of sounds out of his instrument, and Dragonwizardsleeve is all the richer for it. I wanted to ask Shepard about going from full bands to working on his own and being the only person responsible for all the sounds and output… so I did. That and about five other dumbass questions.
Enjoy:
1. How did the idea for Blackwolfgoat come about?
I was asked if I wanted to do a solo acoustic set for a show, which I do from time to time, except I was burned out on doing that and not really into the singer-songwriter thing at the time. I said I would do the show, except book it under the name Blackwolfgoat, which I just came up with by thinking of the most overused words in metal(at least three of them, anyway). Then I set about creating some songs using only electric guitar, which is something I had been working on for a few years but never fully focused on. I did the show and it went well, so I decided to keep at it. Then I was in the hospital for a month soon after that show with a serious blood infection, and once I got out I had to recuperate at home, so I worked on this material more at home. Also, I bowed out of playing with Roadsaw at this time due to my health concerns, but I figured that Blackwolfgoat would be a perfect vehicle for me to continue to make music. But this is something I have been working at off and on for years, going back to Milligram. The song “Death to America” off of the Small Stone version of This is Class War is a definite precursor to Blackwolfgoat. I really enjoy creating music like this, and I really want to pursue this further.
2. How do you know when a drone song is done?
For me, it’s really a matter of feeling it and not creating too much clutter. I don’t want there to be so many guitar parts going on that you can’t make out the different parts. It has to be coherent. Some songs only have a couple of layers while others have around ten or twelve layers of guitar. I guess it just depends on the mood I’m going for and what fits that idea. One new song I’m working on only has four or five guitar parts but they’re all playing different rhythms, so I need to keep that pretty simple so each part can be heard and it doesn’t turn into a blob of noise. If I’m playing something totally blown-out sounding and heavy, like “The Goat,” I might just have one guitar part going for most of it and then add a little to it.
3. Talk about recording Dragonwizardsleeve. How is it being the only one on an album as opposed to working in a full band?
Recording was very easy and kind of weird, because once I nailed a take, that was it, there was nothing to add to it. I didn’t get everything on the first take, but once I got something that I liked, we kept it and moved on. I rehearsed the songs a lot before going into the studio, much like a full band would, so once I went in I was prepared and didn’t waste time thinking “What am I gonna do?” I knew what I was going for and just put my head down and did it. It was just me and Glenn Smith, the engineer/owner of the studio, so it was definitely chill. He would put his two cents in here and there, just kind of helping out with some guitar tones and maybe how to end a song, because not every song could fade out. It was cool though, I actually enjoyed the process of having the final say as to what was good or bad or what something should sound like. In a full band everyone has input, which is fine, but this was definitely just me making the decisions and Glenn offering some suggestions.
4. The album works in a lot of different sounds and moods within drone. When you were putting it together, putting the tracks in order and all that, how conscious were you of keeping a flow between them?
I was very conscious of keeping a flow and also of having different sounds. I didn’t want every song to sound alike, and I feel like I accomplished that. There is some super heavy stuff on there and also some real mellow stuff. I think if you listen to Dragonwizardsleeve as a whole from beginning to end, it does have a definite flow to it and it takes you on a little bit of a journey. Personally, I like to listen to whole albums, not just single songs, so that was absolutely in my mind. A song like “Aspirin Forever” might seem kind of stupid by itself, but I think within the context of the album it serves a purpose. I almost left that one off the album but decided to keep it, and I’ve had a couple of people tell me that it’s their favorite song on the album.
5. How does a Blackwolfgoat live performance compare to the record? How do you work all the loops and layers of guitar?
Blackwolfgoat live is basically what you hear on the album. I play guitar through a delay/loop pedal, and just build the parts one by one. I don’t use a lot of effects, it’s basically just delay, distortion and a little phaser here and there, so I’m not doing a lot of tap dancing on my pedals during the show. Some people don’t know what to expect when they see it live, so when I have a few parts going and then I stop playing and take a drink, it’s kind of weird to see. I guess it’s the opposite of what someone is used to seeing live, in that there are parts of the show where I’m not playing at all but all of this music is coming out of the amp and some dude is on stage plotting his next move, instead of a full band where there a few people on stage and everyone’s moving around and whatnot. Blackwolfgoat is very minimal. I’m not trying to put on a visual show, but I think the absolute lack of anything happening on stage makes it intriguing in a way.
6. Any future recording plans you’d like to mention?
I’m definitely planning on heading back into the studio in a few months, I have about four or five new songs worked out, kind of continuing in the vein of Dragonwizardsleeve. I also have the idea of a song, something that’s been germinating in my mind, a longer piece, probably around 40-50 minutes of just guitar, but with different parts to it. I’ve got a bunch of ideas, this is like a whole new thing to me, so it’s pretty exciting. I’ve been playing in bands for over 20 years, and that was great and I’ve played with a ton of amazing people, but this is something totally different and I can’t wait to have the next song finished, and then the next, and then the next. I’m just itching to get back in the studio and record some of these new songs. I love recording.
