Legendary American doom guitarist Victor Griffin — of Death Row, Place of Skulls and Pentagram — and I spoke over the course of two consecutive nights. When I called the first night for the interview, he was in the car, listening to an early mix of Last Rites, the new album by Pentagram — whom he rejoined earlier this year — and though that wasn’t the intended topic of the discussion, it was bound to take up some of the time.

What instigated the conversation was the newest record by Place of Skulls — Griffin‘s priority band. Dubbed As a Dog Returns, the album is unquestionably a reboot for the trio of Griffin, bassist Lee Abney (also of Death Row, who reunited for this year’s Roadburn festival in The Netherlands) and drummer Tim Tomaselli. In addition to getting back to their doomed roots, As a Dog Returns also revitalizes Griffin‘s lyrical explorations of his Christian faith, songs like “Breath of Life” and “He’s God” as open and honest in their subject matter as I found Griffin to be in our talk.

The second night of the interview, Griffin was in his studio working on some solo overdubs for Last Rites, and as we moved from Place of Skulls and his beliefs to his return to Pentagram and working once again with vocalist Bobby Liebling, whose sobriety has been discussed here in the past, Griffin took a step back to take a look at both bands’ overall place in doom, and his as well, opining on why in its 30-plus years as a genre, doom has never really hit the mainstream in the way of some other styles, and whether or not he’d even want it to.

Fact of the matter is this: I could go on and on about what Victor Griffin said or whatever, but what it rounds out to is this is one of the best interviews I’ve ever done. For The Obelisk or any other outlet. Victor Griffin was more sincere in his answering my questions than I could have possibly asked, and at the end of the second phone call, I felt like I genuinely knew more about his perspectives on life, music, and God. I hope that as you read through the 7,400-word exchange (with a centered photo to differentiate between the two days), that comes across more than anything else.

Q&A is after the jump. Please enjoy.

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We’re getting into serious “don’t leave home without it” territory now. I didn’t realize it at the time I put the list together, but every album in my top 10 is on my person at virtually all times. With the top 20 stuff, some of it I had to take off the shelf at home to write about, but Kylesa, Yawning Man, Asteroid, Clamfight? These are records I haven’t been willing to part with since I got them, and the same goes for the crushing single-song (five-track) opus Eve by Italian über-doomers Ufomammut.

In fact, not only is Eve in the CD wallet that comes with me just about everywhere I go, but it’s in perhaps the most venerated of positions therein, right next to YOB‘s The Unreal Never Lived. Yes, I organize my CD wallet in such a manner, and yes, Eve is that fucking good. Several incarnations of this list had it as number one, and really, it could just as easily be there as here or anywhere in between given my mood that day. Eve demolished my ears unlike anything else in 2010. It was amazing.

The trio, who double as the visual arts collective Malleus and triple as the Supernatural Cat label (home to Lento and now OvO as well as Ufomammut) are without question one of the finest acts in doom the world over. They have mastered the art of hypnosis via riff, and going by Eve, it feels like their creativity is boundless. I heard a lot of albums this year — just look at the reviews category. Know that I mean it when I say Eve was a landmark whose appeal will last longer than 2010. I said at the time I reviewed it that I felt lucky to be alive when music like this is being made, and I absolutely still feel that way every time I listen to Ufomammut. Eve is a masterpiece.

Okay, so I kind of screwed this one up. Last month, when I went on (at length, as I will) about the genre-defying amazingness of Dutch rockers Astrosoniq‘s fourth album, Quadrant, reader Mathieu left a comment recommending I pick up 2006’s Speeder People, which he thought was better.

The thing is, I do most of my online CD shopping these days while intoxicated. As such, when I placed my most recent order at the All That is Heavy webstore, I selected 2002’s Soundgrenade instead. Whoops. Hey, at least I tried, and it’s not like the album I came out of it with is terrible. But when I listened through it for the first time, I said to myself, “Wow, these guys really made a jump from their third album to their fourth,” not realizing that in fact there were seven years, another album and an EP between Soundgrenade and Quadrant.

You can hear some of the stylistic bravery that shows up on Astrosoniq‘s latest, though. They bring in a little of that playful country sound on “Evil Rules in Showbizzland,”  and the disco rock of “So be It” could certainly be a precursor to the techno excursion that crops up on the latter half of “As Soon as They Got Airborne,” but one album is hardly an answer to the other. Rather, Soundgrenade shows Astrosoniq at an earlier stage in their development. The vocals remind more of John Garcia, and the album as a whole is a lot closer to stoner rock than Quadrant really got. I guess they grew up at some point between the two.

What point that might have been, however, I don’t yet know. This calls for further investigation! Nonetheless, even though I was too much of a dope to get it right when it came down to actually ordering the disc, thanks to Mathieu for the recommendation. Maybe when I finally get Speeder People I’ll post a “Recommended Buried Treasure Pt. 6-2” and go all Final Fantasy X on your asses. I’ll allow a moment for that reference to sink in…

…And of course, by the Fu, I mean Fu Manchu. This is actually a pretty cool match-up. Fu Manchu have made no attempts to hide their love of classic West Coast hardcore over their last couple records, trying to distance themselves from the “stoner rock” thing, and Dusted Angel‘s lineup boasts a who’s who of Californian luminaries, including drummer Bill Torgeson and vocalist Clifford Dinsmore of Bl’ast. One can only assume these two things aren’t unrelated, but either way, I suppose the chance to see Fu Manchu and Dusted Angel play together is just one more reason it doesn’t suck to be in Cali in January.

PR wire says dig it:

Santa Cruz doomsters Dusted Angel have been confirmed as direct support for fellow Californians and stoner rock legends Fu Manchu on their upcoming home-state tour! The tour kicks off on Jan. 13 with more DA-only dates to be scheduled around these appearances.

Dusted Angel with Fu Manchu:
01/13 The Satellite (formerly Spaceland) – Silverlake, CA
01/21 Blue Lagoon – Santa Cruz, CA
01/22 Bottom of the Hill – San Francisco, CA
01/27 Casbah – San Diego, CA

At this point, 21 years into a massively influential career (if the band was a person, that person would be able to drink legally), Olympia, Washington, drone champions Earth are really only comparable to themselves. Guitarist/bandleader Dylan Carlson, whose work has set more ships sailing than did Helen of Troy, continues ceaselessly to refine and redefine Earth’s sound, working with a range of players and adopting conceptual aesthetics on a by-album basis. Earth’s latest hour-long opus, Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light I (Southern Lord) continues a line of remarkably strong outings, started with the band’s 2005 studio revival, Hex: Or Printing in the Infernal Method and continued on both the 2007 Hibernaculum EP of re-recorded earlier material and 2008’s brilliant The Bees Made Honey in the Lion’s Skull full-length. Fans of those offerings will recognize some elements on Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light I, but as ever, Earth have maintained their penchant for subtle sonic shifts that wind up making a huge difference in their overall affect.

Earth’s music is like a sentence that does the work of a paragraph. Joining Carlson on Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light I are longtime drummer Adrienne Davies and newcomers Karl Blau on electric bass (Angelina Baldoz will play live) and cellist Lori Goldston, who makes her mark on the album immediately on opener “Old Black.” A rocker by Earth standards, “Old Black” isn’t so far removed from the Americana vibes of Hex: Or Printing in the Infernal Method, but the bare minimalism of that record is replaced by a fullness of sound brought on by the inclusion of bass and most especially the cello, which runs a naturalistic drone in long-held notes playing beneath the guitar and drums. Goldston runs her own lines for sure, accompanying rather than following Dylan’s guitar as Blau mostly does on bass, and making the songs all the more lush and engaging. The purported concept behind Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light I was a partial paean to British acid folk, and listening to “Old Black” or the closing title track, I could almost hear a Sandy Denny-type of voice over the material, though a song like “Father Midnight,” which follows the opener, is most exemplary of Earth’s own work over the last six years.

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If I broke something every time I wanted to this year while listening to Clamfight‘s superb self-released masterpiece of fuck-shit-uppery, Volume I, I’m pretty sure I’d have no possessions left. Even things that you don’t normally think of breaking, I’d have gotten to. Like shoes, or the ceiling. Somehow, although I’ve probably been through this record a hundred times by now, I’ve managed to restrain myself, and my material life as I know it remains intact… but there’s always the next time.

“Fuck Bulldozers,” “Viking Funeral,” the stellar “Ghosts I Have Known” and “Swordfishing is an Ancient and Noble Art”; it was like Clamfight were doing me a personal favor by writing these songs. As though they sat down and said, “Oh here you go, big guy. You’ll like this.” And they were right. I fucking loved it. I knew when I first heard it that Volume I was going to be my favorite unsigned release of 2010, and it absolutely was.

Lethal. Fucking. Groove. Stay tuned in 2011 for release news about their next album, and if you haven’t picked up Volume I, get in touch with the band via their Facebook to do so. I know I recommend a lot of records on this site, but if you’ve ever been into sludge, thrash or that which is stonerly, and you miss out on Clamfight, you’re doing yourself a major disservice. Go ahead and take a listen. You deserve it.

Peruvian psychedelic jam-meisters Serpentina Satelite have made an 11-plus-minute outtake from their Mecanica Celeste album (review here) available via Soundcloud, and I thought I’d stream it here in case anyone wants to listen. I’m having one of those days where it feels like I never woke up, and “Chaman” fits that mood wonderfully. It’s something you can put on and get lost in; perfect for the exhausted haze of this holiday week.

The wav form pretty much tells the story. It’s a dynamic song that ebbs and flows excellently while maintaining a strong, live feel and psychedelic mood. I (and, one assumes, the band, who emailed me the link) hope you enjoy it.

It’s a bold band that tours in January, even if it’s just a run through the South. Nonetheless, Atlanta‘s Sons of Tonatiuh plan to boldly step forth and brave the elements for shows with some killer bands, and if you’re like me and by the middle of January you’re tired of being stuck in the house all the time, the PR wire has a plan it would like you to follow.

To wit:

Atlanta sludge merchants, Sons of Tonatiuh are about to embark upon a fourth US tour this January in support of their self-titled debut full-length. The mighty Hollow Leg from Jacksonville, Florida, will be joining the band for the first three shows. After that, the band will be tearing its way across through New Orleans and back around through Shreveport before winding down in Chattanooga, Tennessee with the likes of Hot Graves, Death Before Dying, Car on Fire, Cognitive Dissonance, Currents and Black Pussy among others.

“We’ll try and keep the church burning down to a minimum as we continually raise the dead of our ancestors through our witchcraft,” said the band in a collective statement. “So come out see what we’re all about and we’ll promise to deliver a good time.”

Sons of Tonatiuh January 2011 Tour
01/06 Stay True Tattoo – St. Augustine, FL w/ Hollow Leg
01/07 The Poorhouse – Ft. Lauderdale, FL w/ Shroud Eater, Hollow Leg
01/08 Will’s Pub – Orlando, FL w/ Hollow Leg
01/09 Common Grounds – Gainesville, FL w/ Hot Graves
01/10 C-Level presented by Kuhlcher Korner – Panama City Beach, FL w/ Death Before Dying, Car on Fire
01/10 Siberia – New Orleans, LA w/ Cognitive Dissonance, Mojo Spleens
01/12 Headhunters – Austin, TX w/ Rusty Vein
01/13 Dalzell House – Shreveport, LA w/ Currents
01/14 The Doom Room – Vicksburg, MS w/ Black Pussy, Currents
01/15 Sluggo’s North – Chattanooga, TN
01/28 529 – Atlanta, GA w/ Black Pussy, Demonaut, Wolves & Jackels