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.

Even as Blackwolfgoat discs are heading out the door — you can buy yours here if you haven’t yet — the next Maple Forum release is in the works. Forum040 will be Volume III by South Jersey bashers and thrashers Clamfight, and as a fan of the band and someone who’s heard demos and rough mixes of the tracks, I can tell you straight out, it’s going to be a monster. The four-piece — guitarists Sean McKee and Joel Harris, drummer/vocalist Andy Martin and bassist Louis Koble — hit the studio on May 13 to start the recording process, and Martin was kind enough to take a couple minutes out and issue the following update on their progress.

Volume III should be out sometime this fall, if not before. Here’s what Martin had to say:

A few quick words of introduction here, as judging by the sales of Volume I, there aren’t a ton of you who know who we are, and it felt a little pretentious to just jump right in with the new record stuff. We’re Clamfight from suburban South Jersey. We’ve been playing together since junior high, have played a ton of shows in NY, PA, NJ, DE, and MD over the last six years, and we’ll never be too old or musically snobby to question the sheer perfection of Pantera’s Vulgar Display of Power, Deep Purple’s Machine Head, Sepultura’s Chaos A.D., and Clutch‘s self-titled. Last year we released a record titled Volume I that several husky bearded gentlemen from across the globe enjoyed and were kind enough to plug on their respective blogs and websites. Your own H.P. Taskmaster enjoyed it enough to offer to put out the follow-up to Volume I, and the making of this album, Volume III, is why we’re taking up valuable Obelisk real estate today.

Volume I was an accidental record; it was recorded in drips and drabs over several months in ’08, and then due to work and personal commitments as well as the fact that we knew dick about self releasing a record it languished, completed, for close to two years before we got it out. Knowing that JJ would be handling the releasing was a huge load off our minds from the get-go, now it fell to us to deliver as good a record as we possibly could. With that in mind we returned to the Gradwell House in Haddon Heights, New Jersey (gradwellhouse.com), and the man who’s our own loving combination of Colonel Tom Parker and the mom from The Partridge Family, Steve Poponi. To be honest, since working with Steve on Volume I we wouldn’t have gone anywhere else. Steve had been able to browbeat and turd-polish a solid record out of us when we really hadn’t meant to record one, now we were eager to see what he could do when we actually intended to make a record.

We hit Gradwell House Friday night (May 13) with a long weekend booked and the intention of laying all the basic tracks for the nine songs we’d prepared; a few guitar solos still needed to be written and vocals would have to wait until my allergies relaxed and I no longer sound like Yeardley Smith trying to scream-clear a snorkel. Booking the block time was Steve‘s idea and it was amazing how much time it saved. Our gear remained set up in the studio so once the several hours of setup time had been spent on Friday night, we could roll in the rest of the weekend and be recording within minutes of walking in the door. Joel went with the same Peavey Classic tube head he used on Volume I, this time through his Mesa cabinet, while Sean played his Mesa Triple Rectifier through a Marshall cabinet. I played the same Black Cat kit as on Volume I, and Louis played a Tech 21 Sans Amp through an Avalon direct input box. Friday night we knocked out “The Eagle,” “I vs. the Glacier,” and “Sandriders” (my ode to Dune; yeah, we’re those kind of nerds) and left the studio around 11, feeling pretty good.

Saturday, I knocked out the rest of my drum tracks (for such ditties as “River of Ice,” “The Shadowline,” “The Age of Reptiles,” “Mountain,” “Tower of the Elephant II,” and “Stealing the Ghost Horse”) and again I need to stop and give Steve a lot of credit for how smoothly things went here. 15 or so years of playing the drums in loud bands have left me with some so-so hearing (earplugs kids, wear your earplugs), and the last time we recorded I used regular headphones which honestly prohibited me from hearing everything properly and I consequently held back on my playing a lot. This time out Steve loaned me some great in-ear monitors and since it now sounded as if the guys were playing in my frontal lobe, I could relax and play as hard as I do live, instead of mincing around the kit straining to hear Sean.

Another key to our recording of Volume III has been Gradwell‘s gigantic live room. Though Louis is playing his bass through a DI and the guitar cabs are isolated, for the basic tracks and some of Sean‘s leads we’ve all been in the same room banging the songs out together. Besides the practical reasons like all of us being able to see each other and cue each other in on the changes — some of these songs were only finished two weeks before we hit the studio, so some of the changes remain a bit fresh — there’s just something about the four of us in the room playing together that brings a hell of a lot more energy to the songs than say, if I played to a click and a scratch track and everyone else layered their parts in afterward. It also takes a little bit of that microscope effect out of the process as well, being able to look at each other and flip the other guys off or mouth a well timed “fuck you” or “you suck” to ease the tension is a big help. It helps make recording — God forbid — fun. Ultimately that’s what we’re doing in this band anyway, I mean we’re not trying to pay the bills with a band named Clamfight (if we wanted to do that we’d move to Brooklyn, gank a name from Robert E. Howard and start working on our beards), we’re out to have a good time, to play some ugly music for whoever will have us, and to hang out with the same assholes we’d be hanging out with whether we were a band or not. That’s what’s been so great about the Volume III sessions so far-we’ve managed to have that same good time while engaging in what’s usually one of the most pressure-filled and money-devouring activities that a band at our level can engage in.

We’ll go back in a few weeks to complete leads and vocals and should have a rough mix of a couple of songs for our upcoming shows (June 10 at the M-Room in Philthadelphia with Boss 302 and Human Shield, who are the fucking tits). In the meantime I have to stop hogging this hotel lobby computer — there’s some businessmen types who are clearly eager to commence trolling Craigslist for hookers and if I hold them up any further they may band together and violently remove me. Stay classy, Obelisk. – Andy Martin

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.

Blackwolfgoat on Last.FM

The Maple Forum Store

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:

I got the email yesterday from the manufacturer that the shipment of Blackwolfgoat‘s Dronolith, the third release on The Obelisk‘s in-house label, The Maple Forum, will be arriving shortly. I’ve got the UPS tracking number to prove it. According to those goons, the discs have departed from Aliso Viejo, California, and should be getting to Jersey by the end of the day next Wednesday.

Dronolith is unlike anything yet released on The Maple Forum, and that’s one of the things I like best about it. Guitarist and sole member Darryl Shepard has outdone himself in terms of mastering a droning and yet satisfyingly progressive feel. He plays with a bizarre and nuanced technicality that — yes, it’s hypnotic because there’s loops and intertwining layers and repetition — holds the attention of the listener almost in spite of itself. As always, I’m really excited to be sharing the album with you.

In the coming weeks before the May 24 release, I’ll have more info and maybe even a new song or two, so stay tuned for that. If I find I’m able to do so, I might even set up a pre-order at the Maple Forum store, or, failing that, just put it on sale early. Either way, lots of good stuff to come on it, and remember, the disc is limited to 100 copies, so if you want one, you’re going to have to get in on it early. So far everything The Maple Forum has released, I’ve sold out of, and expect Dronolith to go quickly as well, once it arrives and goes on sale.

I put a note out last night on Facebook that I had one copy left of Kings Destroy‘s epic and awesome first record, And the Rest Will Surely Perish, and sure enough, almost as soon as I did, it was snapped up. So that’s it, that disc is gone, on the very same day that the next Maple Forum release was announced. Timing is everything.

If you didn’t get your Kings Destroy, however, don’t despair. There are still some avenues by which you might do so. First and foremost, there’s at a show. I wasn’t cool enough to get in this past Sunday to see them slaughter Brooklyn with Winter, but you can bet your ass I’ll be there when they play with Orange Goblin next month, and you should be too.

If you’re not in the area, though, and you live as far away as, say, Europe, there’s always the Psychedoomelic webstore. They’ve got some copies for 10 Euro, which as I understand it is on the cheap, even though the exchange rate from the American dollar means I’d pretty much have to sell my car to get it.

If you’re not European and still on the semi-mighty dollar, I know for a fact that All That is Heavy has 10 copies for sale. El Danno has supported this whole Maple Forum project since it got going, so I’d definitely advocate giving him your money.

As much as that’s true, I’d also advocate giving it to the band directly. I didn’t know this, but apparently somewhere along the line Kings Destroy set up a Bandcamp site. They’ve got the album for sale digitally and physically, and you can stream it there as well. If you need to be convinced to get over there and get your copy, here’s the whole thing:

I know I’ve said it before, but it’s worth repeating that it’s been an absolute fucking pleasure working with Kings Destroy. The dudes are all pros and top notch human beings (and you know I don’t usually go in for human beings). As a band they rule and as people I’ve been glad to get to know them. I can’t imagine I’ll be lucky enough to put out their next record — for which writing is reportedly already under way — so let me just say how thrilled I am to have been associated in any way with And the Rest Will Surely Perish. On every level, it’s a product I’ve been proud to stand behind and a record I’ve truly come to love. Thanks to everyone who bought a copy and thanks to the band for lowering themselves to my amateur-ass level in finding a record label. Whatever comes of their next full-length, I look forward to gushing about it extensively.