Stygian Crown Premiere ‘Live From Hell Over Hammaburg’ Full Set Video
Later this year, Los Angeles traditional doom metallers Stygian Crown will release their second LP through Cruz Del Sur Music. In early March, the five-piece traveled to Germany to perform at the vaunted Hell Over Hammaburg Festival alongside Morne, Brutus, Wheel, Sanhedrin and others. Their making the trip comes almost three full years after the June 2020 arrival of their self-titled debut, from which songs like “Devour the Dead” and “Up Through the Depths” are taken, and between the two records is certainly a tumultuous stretch of time. Nonetheless, Stygian Crown‘s doom is resilient, strident, and forceful in its metal-stud-accoutrements homage to Candlemass and Dio-era Sabbath, and conveyed with due presence through the vocals of Melissa Pinion and the riffs of guitarists Andy Hicks and Nelson Miranda and the steady roll/periodic shove — looking at you, “Flametongue” — from bassist Eric Bryan and drummer Rhett Davis (ex-Morgion).
If you heard the album — and I’m sure you did because it’s not like there was anything else going on that spring/summer — you already know it’s a work of stately heavy metal, with Pinion at the fore melodically over fist-pump-worthy progressions like that of closer “Two Coins for the Ferryman.” The keyboard lines in the studio version of that album-finale and the other cuts are absent from the live renditions here, and while Pinion contributed in that regard in the studio, it makes sense watching the video that, as she conquers either side of the stage, or the middle for that matter, she might not necessarily want to be tethered to a keyboard instead. Lose some flourish, gain raw impact. These are the tradeoffs one makes in deciding how to bring material to life, but it does nothing to hold Stygian Crown back, either for “Two Coins for the Ferryman” or anywhere else, and it raises curiosity as to how “Where the Candle Always Burns” and “Scourge of the Seven Hills” might be embellished when the new LP arrives.
I don’t know when that will be, mind you, but there’s a lot of 2023 left and always room for doom. In the interim, the 43-minute video serves well as a bridge leaving behind one full-length and embarking on the next, and I find in watching that I remain a sucker for the ubiquity of concert videos. Especially being a pro-shot, multi-camera, soundboard-audio example of the form, it’s enough to make me feel old remembering a time when such things were the treasures of bootleg hunters rather than something to be dialed up in a matter of seconds. You might find a VHS at somebody’s merch table or in some distro somewhere, or trade through the mail if that was your thing, but even then, you’d be dumb lucky to stumble on something of this kind of quality for a band with only one record out. I could go on, but again, it makes me feel old. Not exclusive in that, these days.
Don’t let me keep you. Doom awaits, and more to come with the next record before the end of the year.
In advance of that, please enjoy:
Stygian Crown, ‘Live From Hell Over Hammaburg 2023’ premiere
Stygian Crown Releases “Live From Hell Over Hammaburg” Video
Los Angeles epic doom band Stygian Crown has released a video of their full set from the March 3-4 festival “Hell Over Hammaburg” in Hamburg, Germany.
“Live from Hell Over Hammaburg” showcases the band’s set from the sold-out festival at the Markthalle Hamburg. The two-day fest also featured artists including Sanhedrin, High Spirits and The Ruins of Beverast.
“There is no substitute for actually being at Hell Over Hammaburg, but we think this is the next best thing,” said singer Melissa Pinion. “We are extremely grateful to the festival promoters for accommodating the Visual Evidence camera crew so we can share this unforgettable experience with the world.”
Stygian Crown’s set:
Devour the Dead
Up From the Depths
Scourge of the Seven Hills
Two Coins for the Ferryman
Where the Candle Always Burns
Flametongue
The set featured four songs from the self-titled debut and two new songs, including the world premiere of “Where the Candle Always Burns,” which is expected to be on the new release, along with “Scourge of the Seven Hills.”
The new album is expected to drop in 2023 through Cruz Del Sur Music.
STYGIAN CROWN:
Melissa Pinion – Vocals, Synth
Nelson Tomas Miranda – Lead Guitar
Eric Bryan – Bass Guitar
Andy Hicks – Lead Guitar
Rhett A. Davis – Drums
Stygian Crown, Stygian Crown (2020)
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Tags: California, Cruz Del Sur Music, Live From Hell Over Hammaburg, Los Angeles, Scourge of the Seven Hills, Stygian Crown, Stygian Crown Live From Hell Over Hammaburg, Stygian Crown Scourge of the Seven Hills
