The Obelisk Questionnaire is a series of open questions intended to give the answerer an opportunity to explore these ideas and stories from their life as deeply as they choose. Answers can be short or long, and that reveals something in itself, but the most important factor is honesty.

Based on the Proust Questionnaire, the goal over time is to show a diverse range of perspectives as those who take part bring their own points of view to answering the same questions. To see all The Obelisk Questionnaire posts, click here.

Thank you for reading and thanks to all who participate.

The Obelisk Questionnaire: Willy Rivera of Spiral Grave

—

How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?

I’m Will Rivera and I’m the guitarist for Spiral Grave as well as a principal songwriter. Spiral Grave came together after both Iron Man and Lord had ended with the basic idea behind the band being to write great heavy songs w/strong hooks and powerful vocals in the vein of Dio-era Sabbath, Candlemass, Mercyful Fate, Trouble and Metal Church.

Describe your first musical memory.

My first musical memory would probably be my mother always having music on in the house. She has very broad taste so you would hear anything from Santana and Miami Sound Machine to Van Halen or The Bee Gees. She’d also have MTV on all the time so a lot of my initial musical exposure was from ’80s music videos and back then it wasn’t a foreign concept to have Michael Jackson, David Bowie, Quiet Riot and Culture Club played in the same hour so it was incredibly eye opening and influential.

Describe your best musical memory to date.

I have so many great musical memories but the most recent would have to be playing to a packed room at this year’s Maryland Doomfest and having the crowd sing along to a guitar melody that I wrote on my beat up couch at home on an acoustic guitar. Nothing can prepare you for that feeling, you couldn’t knock the smile from my face that night, haha. It was truly vindicating after all the hard work we’d put in to get this band going.

When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?

A firmly held belief was tested? Oooh, that’s a tough one… I guess the best example I can come up with to fit this scenario would be my life pretty much unraveling midway through 2018 when my relationship at the time had dissolved, Lord ended acrimoniously after 13 years, I needed a place to live and I had transferred to a new store… all in the span of two months. There was a lot of upheaval going on that was testing my conviction but when it seemed to be easier to just give up, I moved forward with a new band and in a matter of months, the other facets of my life fell into place. Taking the road less traveled really paid off and I was going off the hope and intuition that this new project would actually pan out. It was all about maintaining faith in the vision and not giving up on it despite distance, lack of convenience or anything else…

Where do you feel artistic progression leads?

I feel artistic progression always leads to expanding your palette of tastes and adding to your musical arsenal. You should always be in a state of challenging yourself and gradually improving or striving for something uniquely your own.

How do you define success?

I define success as being satisfied with yourself and your work. You can’t put a price on vision and the need to follow your muse. Most of my heroes are cult artists at best so it’s not much of a stretch to see that future for myself but as long as you’re satisfied with your output or are heading in the right direction, that’s success to me.

What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?

The utter disregard for empathy, common courtesy or just plain decency in people’s behavior these days. It’s not everyone, I’ve seen many instances that have given me hope but it was disheartening to see so many people turn on each other or treat each other horribly due to difference of opinion. It was also disappointing to see people with access to all the information in the world at their fingertips, be so willfully ignorant.

Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.

The next song… it sounds so cliche but I love to see ideas come to fruition. We’ve already written our second album and I’m a bit bummed cos the most exciting part was the writing for me but I look forward to watching these take shape in the studio and take on a life of their own.

What do you believe is the most essential function of art?

The most essential function of art to me is expression. To give a voice or an outlet to things that you can’t express through speaking or the written word. I’d be lost without it. Music, art and film has saved my life and sanity at so many points of my existence that I consider it my true savior. I’m not a religious man but I believe that art and sound can have a profound, lasting and almost spiritual impact on a person who allows themselves to be affected in a way that frees their consciousness and opens them up to a feeling of a elation… like touching the universe with your soul. It can be otherworldly.

Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?

Most of my life revolves around music but I’ve been very excited to be able to go see movies in a theater again. It seems so trivial but after not being able to do so for a year, I cherish the experience that much more. I love being able to lose myself in the experience and get sucked into a whole other world for two hours…

https://www.facebook.com/SpiralGrave/
https://spiralgrave.bandcamp.com/
www.argonautarecords.com
www.facebook.com/argonautarecords

Spiral Grave, “Out of My Head” official video

With veins pumping the dense blood of Maryland doom itself, Spiral Grave released their awaited debut album, Legacy of the Anointed, on July 16 through Argonauta Records. It is the culmination of two-plus years of work and a collaboration that goes back over a decade, as guitarist Will Rivera, formerly of Virginia chaos-conjurors Lord, joined together with the three remaining members of MD doom mainstays/elementals Iron Man following the passing in early 2018 of that band’s founding songwriter and guitarist, Alfred Morris III. As one might expect, Morris and Iron Man are a significant presence in the Noel Mueller of Grimoire Records-helmed Legacy of the Anointed, the very title of which acknowledges the band’s origins and the sense of duty they feel in carrying forward in the way they do across these eight songs.

Fair enough. Vocalist “Screaming Mad” Dee Calhoun, bassist “Iron” Louis Strachan, and drummer Jason “Mot” Waldmann, together with Rivera, form a presence of their own in bringing together classic metal and doomly traditionalism, offering some speedier moments that Iron Man likely wouldn’t dare in the early cut “Out of My Head” (video premiering below) as well as “Walking Talking Dead Man” and the closing salvo of “Tanglefoot” and “Abgrund,” though there’s plenty of nestled-in groove to coincide, whether it’s prior singles “Nothing” and “Walking Talking Dead Man,” or the opener “Nightmare on May Eve (Dunwich Pt. 1)” — a song with its own thrashier moments and no shortage of context to suit a band of whom the same could easily be said.

The crucial work Spiral Grave do, however — and however they do it in a given track — is to move forward from the foundation of the members’ prior work. Due homage is paid, but Rivera is a much different guitarist than was Morris, and Lord (who also broke up in 2018) have a worthy back catalog to prove that along with the merit of his songwriting and aggression-tinged approach, well suited to a lyric like “Modern Day Golden Calf,” and the brooding bleakness of “Nothing” and “Your Enemy’s Enemy,” to say nothing of “Walking Talking Dead Man.”

It’s hard to know the timing on which songs were first and which were later, since even “Nothing,” which Salt of the Earth Records released as the band’s first single in 2019, arrives with some progressive flourish in the midsection instrumental stretch, but definitely by the time the four-piece are into “Tanglefoot” there’s a sense of the progress they’ve undertaken, Calhoun, Waldmann and Strachan pushing themselves to keep pace with the riffs in a way that isn’t struggling or conflicting, but gives a sense of undertaking a new style just the same. “Abgrund,” the longest cut at 8:15, has a similar metal-of-doom vibe, and hits its payoff — you’ll note the mad screaming from Calhoun — after about five minutes in, not just in answer to the two six-minute-plus songs that led off in “Nightmare on May Eve (Dunwich Pt. 1)” and “Modern Day Golden Calf,” but for the momentum of Legacy of the Anointed as a whole. The swing of “Out of My Head,” the hook and bass punch of “Nothing,” the shove of “Your Enemy’s Enemy”; all seem to find representation and summary in the final going of the album, and the flow from one to the next is palpable despite the purposeful bumps left in the road in the shifts from one part to the next.

The duality of Legacy of the Anointed becomes a defining feature, both stylistically and in terms of the band itself, these being experienced players embarking on something new together. One would not ask more of Spiral Grave than they give here, and in terms of giving that legacy of Iron Man its due while at the same time moving ahead to something willfully ‘else,’ these songs look forward more than back. As they should.

Calhoun offers a quote to go with the premiere of “Out of My Head” below. To it, I’ll just add that given the vitality of the band’s performances throughout the record, it’s fair enough to have the video represent them on stage.

Enjoy:

Spiral Grave, “Out of My Head” video premiere

Dee Calhoun on “Out of My Head”:

I think the cool thing about the video is we shot it at The Depot in Baltimore, which is where Spiral Grave played our first show, and where we did our single release when “Nothing” came out. So it just seemed like a cool thing to shoot that video in the same spot, and we were real happy with how it turned out. Had a real fun day that day.

Produced and engineered by Noel Mueller
Recorded at Tiny Castle Recording, Towson MD
Mastered by Doug Benson at Commodore Recording Studio, Thurmont MD

Spiral Grave are:
“Screaming Mad” Dee Calhoun – vocals
Willy Rivera – guitar
“Iron” Louis Strachan – bass
Jason “Mot” Waldmann – drums

Spiral Grave on Facebook

Spiral Grave on Bandcamp

Argonauta Records website

Argonauta Records on Facebook

Maryland/Virginia doomers Spiral Grave follow-up on the February announcement that they’d signed to Argonauta Records with the art, details, and first audio from their upcoming debut album, Legacy of the Anointed. As the title hints, the band are clearly taking seriously the task before them in living up to the doomly inheritance of their three-fourths association with Iron Man, as well as that of paying homage to that band’s founding guitarist, “Iron” Al Morris III. No minor consideration. They’ve been working their way toward the LP basically since their inception a couple years back, and as a fan both of Iron Man and guitarist Willy Rivera‘s former outfit Lord, to say I’ve been looking forward to this one is something of an understatement.

The PR wire has it like this:

SPIRAL GRAVE Reveal Album Details And Share Brand New Music Video!

Maryland/Virginia- based doom metal veterans SPIRAL GRAVE have finally revealed more details about their upcoming album, entitled Legacy of the Anointed.

SPIRAL GRAVE, comprised of extraordinary vocalist Screaming Mad Dee, Iron Louis Strachan (bass), Mot Waldmann on drums and former LORD guitarist Willy Rivera, was born in 2018 after the tragic death of their longtime band mate, Alfred Morris III, founding member of iconic IRON MAN.

Setting the mood for a classic heavy as hell and in your face doom, SPIRAL GRAVE quickly carved a place for themselves in North America’s heavy music scene, playing well-received sets at New England Stoner Doom Fest or the Maryland Doomfest. Ever since the release of their first single, Nothing, in mid-2019, fans have been impatiently waiting for the band’s first full-length album. But finally, the wait is over: SPIRAL GRAVE’s Legacy of the Anointed will be out on July 16, 2021 through Italy’s powerhouse label Argonauta Records!

Today, SPIRAL GRAVE have released a first music video taken from their upcoming debut. Says vocalist “Screaming Mad” Dee Calhoun: “The song is based on the HP Lovecraft story “The Dunwich Horror,” and tells the first half of the story. It is meant to be a companion to the Iron Man track “Thy Brother’s Keeper (Dunwich pt. 2),” which appeared on the album South of the Earth.” Where the Iron Man track focused on Wilbur Whateley’s brother, “Nightmare” focuses on Wilbur himself.”

Watch SPIRAL GRAVE’s video for the epic album opening track, “Nightmare on May Eve (Dunwich pt. 1)”, here.

“Some of the musical ideas that ended up as songs on our debut were initially written while I was still with my previous band but with a rift growing between myself and the other members over personal and musical differences, I decided to hold onto them til I was able to find the right vehicle for them.“ Guitarist Willy Rivera recently said about SPIRAL GRAVE’s upcoming debut.

“I wanted to step away from the extremity of my former band and get back to writing songs that were heavy but had hooks and a strong vocal presence. For this band, I wanted to draw from bands such as Dio-era Sabbath, Candlemass, Metal Church, Armored Saint, Mountain, UFO and Judas Priest with enough experimentation that would allow us to branch out on future releases. I wanted that to be the template and I found like-minded friends in the surviving members of Iron Man. I’ve known Dee for over a decade and met Lou and Mot from the scene and affiliations and while I knew working with them would bring certain expectations due to the legendary status of Iron Man, I was hopeful in what we could create and had a gut feeling that it would be great. I was very aware of the fact that you only get one shot to make your 1st impression and being that I was writing a lot of the initial ideas, it meant that I had a lot to prove…not to mention, the scrutiny that I may encounter from people who perceived me as somehow trying to replace Al Morris but you can’t replace a legend so you just try to make your own mark. So Spiral Grave is a new band with a debut album that I think will do justice to not only the scene we come from but those who helped pave the way…“

Legacy of the Anointed Tracklist:
1. Nightmare on May Eve (Dunwich pt. 1)
2. Modern Day Golden Calf
3. Out Of My Head
4. Nothing
5. Your Enemy‘s Enemy
6. Walking Talking Dead Man
7. Tanglefoot
8. Abgrund

Legacy of the Anointed will be released on July 16, 2021 via Argonauta Records, the album pre-sale has just started at THIS LOCATION: https://www.argonautarecords.com/shop/

https://www.facebook.com/SpiralGrave/
https://spiralgrave.bandcamp.com/
www.argonautarecords.com
www.facebook.com/argonautarecords

Spiral Grave, “Nightmare on May Eve (Dunwich Pt. 1)” official video

Iron Man, “Half-Face/Thy Brother’s Keeper (Dunwich Pt. 2)”

This one feels like it’s been a while in the making, and that’s very likely because it has. But the debut album from Spiral Grave, which features three of the four members of the final Iron Man lineup in vocalist Dee Calhoun, bassist “Iron” Louis Strachan and drummer Jason “Mot” Waldmann as well as former Lord guitarist Willy Rivera, will nonetheless be welcome when it arrives on June 5. The record is called Legacy of the Anointed — fair enough — and it’ll be issued through Argonauta, which has also overseen all of Calhoun‘s solo work to-date and will issue the Iron Man live album, Hail to the Riff, on March 5.

You might recall Spiral Grave was announced as a project in Jan. 2019, and quickly embraced by their native Maryland doom community. Their first single, “Nothing” (video premiere here), and a performance at Maryland Doom Fest 2019 (review here) and of course other shows led to 2020 bookings at Shadow Woods, New England Stoner and Doom, and so on, but why even bother listing them because we all know what happened to 2020.

But hey, the record’s done and coming out, so there’s something to look forward to.

No audio yet, but Spiral Grave trickled out two singles last year on their Bandcamp and you can hear both of them below. I have no idea if they’ll be on Legacy of the Anointed or not.

From the PR wire:

The Return Of SPIRAL GRAVE: Long-Awaited Debut Album Coming This Year On Argonauta Records!

It feels like a legacy, but most likely a news that will make every doom heart beat faster: Members of the final lineup of doom legends IRON MAN, have announced their return with SPIRAL GRAVE!

SPIRAL GRAVE, comprised of vocalist Screaming Mad Dee, Iron Louis Strachan (bass), Mot Waldmann on drums and former LORD guitarist Willy Rivera – whose aggressive riffing sets the mood for the band’s heavy as hell, in your face doom – was born after the tragic death of IRON MAN founding member Alfred Morris III.

They quickly carved a place for themselves in North America’s heavy music scene, playing well-received sets at New England Stoner Doom Fest or the Maryland Doomfest. Their first single, Nothing, was released by Salt of the Earth Records in mid-2019. But finally the wait is over, since SPIRAL GRAVE have just announced to release their long- awaited debut album, entitled Legacy of the Anointed, in 2021 through Argonauta Records; the Italian powerhouse label and home for all that is heavy, who not only released Dee Calhoun’s recent solo records but also IRON MAN’s Hail To The Riff, due out on March 5th!

Says guitarist Willy Rivera about SPIRAL GRAVE’s upcoming debut:

“Some of the musical ideas that ended up as songs on our debut were initially written while I was still with my previous band but with a rift growing between myself and the other members over personal and musical differences, I decided to hold onto them til I was able to find the right vehicle for them. I wanted to step away from the extremity of my former band and get back to writing songs that were heavy but had hooks and a strong vocal presence. For this band, I wanted to draw from bands such as Dio-era Sabbath, Candlemass, Metal Church, Armored Saint, Mountain, UFO and Judas Priest with enough experimentation that would allow us to branch out on future releases. I wanted that to be the template and I found like-minded friends in the surviving members of Iron Man. I’ve known Dee for over a decade and met Lou and Mot from the scene and affiliations and while I knew working with them would bring certain expectations due to the legendary status of Iron Man, I was hopeful in what we could create and had a gut feeling that it would be great. I was very aware of the fact that you only get one shot to make your 1st impression and being that I was writing a lot of the initial ideas, it meant that I had a lot to prove…not to mention, the scrutiny that I may encounter from people who perceived me as somehow trying to replace Al Morris but you can’t replace a legend so you just try to make your own mark. So Spiral Grave is a new band with a debut album that I think will do justice to not only the scene we come from but those who helped pave the way…“

More details about the upcoming SPIRAL GRAVE release of Legacy of the Anointed, as well as first album tunes will follow in the weeks ahead.

https://www.facebook.com/SpiralGrave/
https://spiralgrave.bandcamp.com/
www.argonautarecords.com
www.facebook.com/argonautarecords

Spiral Grave, “Tanglefoot”

Spiral Grave, “Modern-Day Golden Calf”