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On the Radar: Conan

They play cartoon amps!They’re not exactly the first doom band on the block to reference the work of Robert E. Howard — see The Gates of Slumber, Crom, etc. — but the UK duo Conan might be the most unabashed yet. Each of the four songs on their 2007 Battle in the Swamp EP is derived from the legends of the Cimmerian, from the title track to “Satsumo,” “Temple of Mu” and “Krull,” though I’ll admit to not being able to verify some of the references due to the apparent obscurity. Nothing like working on a theme.

“Krull” is especially doomed out, so if you take it on yourself to hit up their MySpace, that’s a good place to start. Who doesn’t love a feedback ending to an 11-minute song? The only track from Battle in the Swamp not available there for streaming is “Temple of Mu,” so you can at least get a pretty good idea of what they were up to two years ago.

As for what they’re up to now, I don’t really know. The only blog update on there says they were going to record more material and get something else together, but in the two years since, that doesn’t seem to have materialized. Jon Davis (vocals/guitar) and Richie Grundy (drums) would hardly be the first doom act not to pan out on their plans, but hopefully they’re not done altogether, because the tracks from Battle in the Swamp kick ass, and if there’s one thing the world can always use, it’s more kickass doom.

In the meantime, here’s the blown-out video from their first show ever of “Krull,” filmed in Liverpool. I hope you’ll agree these dudes are well worth keeping on the radar.

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