An all-dayer set for Saturday, Dec. 16, at El Corazon and Funhouse in Seattle, Washington, Rain City Doom Fest was announced late last week by the bands. There are eight of those, which is probably plenty, considering you’ve got Matt Pike bringing his Pike vs. the Automaton solo band through with direct support from Witch Ripper and Mos Generator. Un, Sorcia, Sun Crow, Grim Earth and Mother Root round out, and if you know all of those bands or you don’t — Sorcia in July put out a record called Lost Season (review here); Witch Ripper gleaned fervent hyperbole around their The Flight After the Fall (review here) this Spring; Sun Crow are working toward their next LP; the list goes on — but if I’ve earned any trust in the last 14 years, I hope maybe you’ll take my word for it when I say it’s a solid lineup between established and newer acts, and that I hope it continues to be a regular thing.

Because a homegrown heavy fest isn’t anything to sneeze at and it’s not easy to put together, learning many invariably crucial lessons the only way they can be learned: by doing the thing. I didn’t know it when I first posted the lineup, but Jessica Brasch of Sorcia books this one and it’s been going for three years. This is the first time it will be at two venues — I think — and it remains a killer bill.

Have at it:

El Corazon & The Funhouse present:

RAIN CITY DOOM FEST 2023

2 stages, 8 bands. Showcasing some of the heaviest music in the PNW and beyond.

Pike Vs The Automaton
Witch Ripper
Mos Generator
Un
Sorcia
Sun Crow
Grim Earth
Mother Root

Saturday, Dec. 16

Doors @ 6pm | Show @ 7pm
$20 ADV | $25 DOS | 21+

(#127903#)️ on sale Friday 10/13 at 9am

Poster: Brian Kim

Event page: https://facebook.com/events/s/rain-city-doom-fest-2023/1021960045617875/

Sorcia, Lost Season (2023)

Olympia, Washington, sludgers Grim Earth posted in October they were looking for a new second guitarist, so I don’t know if the lineup listed below with Eaon Forgash alongside guitarist/vocalist Craig Moore is current or what, but that was the version of the band that put out last year’s Stash of the Damned three-song pummeler anyhow, and well, that certainly gets the point across, whatever personnel changes may have taken place since its issue.

How about Desert Records going on a bit of a tear lately, hmm? Wasn’t even a week ago I posted word that the Albuquerque-based imprint had picked up Phog, and now here we are again. Label honcho Brad Frye (also of Red Mesa) better be careful or he might just turn into the American Argonauta. Which now that I think about it wouldn’t be a bad thing at all.

Info cobbled together from various social-type sources, slightly edited:

Grim Earth – Desert Records

Welcome Grim Earth to Desert Records! We are happy they’re joining the DR family!

Grim Earth is a sludge metal band out of Olympia, Washington. They formed, as so many other bands do, out of the ashes of previous projects. Longstanding musical partnerships come together within the band as they seek to craft the heaviest riffs known to man. Grim Earth seeks to fuse the influences of legends like Iron Monkey or High on Fire. However, they aren’t afraid to experiment with touches of Nails or even Autopsy making their way into the sound. And so, years of DIY metal have percolated into a twisted whole.

We are re-releasing their most recent EP “Stash of the Damned”. It is available for NYP here: grimearth.bandcamp.com/album/stash-of-the-damned-ep

After initially coming together in 2017 and recording a demo, it wasn’t until 2019 that the band started to put together a more serious lineup committed to touring and recording. Their hodgepodge of backgrounds, ranging from stoner rock to hardcore by way of underground death metal means that the band has a distinct take on the genre. Simultaneously, the fact that drummer Austin Peterson and frontman Craig Moore have been playing together for half a decade means that the band has gelled on a level that borders on the spiritual. It also means that relative newcomers Elmer Saez (bass) and Eaon (guitars) have been able to immediately find their roles in this unique sonic texture.

After releasing the Stash Of The Damned in the fall of 2019 the band has started to prepare for their next phase. With new music constantly being written, Grim Earth have the bitter determination it takes to bring their band to the next level. Sludge metal fans of the world stand back – the riff worshippers in Grim Earth are ready to take your head.

Grim Earth are:
Craig Moore – Vocals and Guitar
Elmer Saez – Vocals and Bass
Eaon Forgash – Guitar
Austin Peterson – Drums

https://www.facebook.com/Grimearthofficial/
https://www.instagram.com/grimearthofficial/
https://grimearth.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/desertrecordslabel/
https://desertrecords.bandcamp.com/
https://desertrecords.bigcartel.com/

Grim Earth, Stash of the Damned (2020)