New York’s End of Hope release their sophomore full-length, Pushback is Strong, on March 14. And, uh, it’s kind of a burner. I recognize hardcore punk might not be everyone’s thing, but as the four-piece with members of Netherlands, Eternal Black, Reign of Zaius, Clothesline and Kraut make clear from the very first hook of opener and longest track (immediate points) “Behavioral Modification,” there’s as much Melvins in what they do — at least at times — as early Agnostic Front or whatever other original-era NYHC outfit you want to namedrop. So you might break an arm at the show, but it’d probably be because you slipped and fell. You really should be more careful. Also you could get hit by a bus crossing the street. Do I need to go on?

The 11-song outing sprints through 29 minutes and is the follow-up to 2019’s Cease and Destroy (discussed here), with “Fastball” and the title-track picking up from “Behavioral Modification” with a genuinely down-to-business mentality. Vocalist Davey Gunner leads the charge with some tongue-in-cheek awareness in the more swinging “Nobody Cares About Your Band” and the later “Freedom Denied” — which, though I haven’t seen a lyric sheet, I think might be about leaving action figures in their original packaging? — while raw punk numbers like “Nothing to See Here” and the minute-long “The Iron,” which starts with a sample of James Cagney from White Heat saying he’s on top of the world, speed by and leave it to the listener to try and keep up, bruises and all.

“Curtain Call” follows “Fill the Void,” and both of those as well as the penultimate “Cover Your Eyes” a short time later find a place for themselves between sludge rock and gang-shout hardcore, which seems to be where End of Hope are heading or, if you don’t want to predict the future, is where this material leans toward.  Fair enough. Guitarist Ken Wohlrob, bassist Davis Schlachter and drummer Dave Richman have all played in ‘heavier’ bands (listed above, also below), so that some of that influence would sneak in even as they pointedly direct themselves elsewhere — you might say they’re pushing back on it — isn’t necessarily shocking, and while my head immediately goes to Animosity-era C.O.C. when I hear the elbow-chucking riff of “Freedom Denied,” slower but still duly aggro, I’ll allow that’s probably more my own ignorance of the style than actual sonic likeness.

Following “Cover Your Eyes,” on which Richman hits the snare like he wants it to stay hit — I know that doesn’t make sense but it’s still true — and End of Hope work their way into a lurching groove at the end, the closer “Seed Indecision” caps with more angles to its twisting riff and a layered vocal that completes a vibe that feels complementary to “Behavioral Modification” back at the outset. One of just three inclusions over three minutes long (though it doesn’t actually use all of its 3:12), it evens out to a more straight-ahead push before Gunner‘s last held-out line is stretched across what in context here feels like a long fade.

Though one is tempted, as you might be able to tell, to liken its more hardcore-derived aspects to physicality, violence, the proverbial kick in the pants, etc., the truth is Pushback is Strong fluidly brings together its most intense and less-throttled moments. With a clear production sound, End of Hope give no ground in terms of live energy, and their no-bullshit attitude is suitable to their own songs as well as the style in which they reside. I was never cool enough for hardcore, never had enough friends for songs about how they’re like family to really make sense, but it’s not hard to appreciate the niche End of Hope are finding for themselves, and wherever they end up, the going is a good time.

“Seed Indecision” premieres on the player below, followed by more info courtesy of the band.

Enjoy:

End of Hope on “Seed Indecision”:

“‘Seed Indecision’ was destined to be the final summary statement for Pushback is Strong. It is a perfect encapsulation of our goals for this new album: wanting to shove as hard as we can against the boundaries of what can be considered heavy rock or hardcore punk, finding our own ground somewhere outside the genres. Like all the songs on the new album, the dynamics are amped. We’re trying to keep the listener on their toes and give them something they’ve never heard before. We want it to be anthemic. We want it to pack a wallop. We want you, the person hearing it, to say, “Fuck! What was that?” and hit the play button again and again. We hope you dig it and sing along.”

End of Hope — featuring members of Kraut, Netherlands, Clothesline, and Eternal Black — release second album, Pushback Is Strong, on March 14, 2023

End of Hope — comprised of members from several well-known New York City acts including Kraut, Netherlands, Clothesline, and Eternal Black — will release their second album, Pushback Is Strong, on March 14th, 2023. The album will be for sale in both digital and CD formats via their Bandcamp page (endofhope.bandcamp.com) and available for streaming on Spotify, Apple Music, and other services. Pushback Is Strong features eleven songs that push the boundaries of what hardcore punk and heavy rock n’ roll can be — a potent cocktail of high-volume speed rock, heavy riffs, and anthemic punk rock choruses.

The band consists of Davey Gunner of New York Hardcore legends Kraut on vocals, Dave Richman of Netherlands, Witch Taint, and St. Bastard on drums, Davis Schlachter of Brooklyn’s heavy blues purveyors Clothesline on bass, and Ken Wohlrob of Brooklyn doom heavyweights Eternal Black on guitar. End of Hope formed in 2018 and released a two-song EP, titled D E M O, in March of that year. They followed that with their debut full-length album, Cease & Destroy, in November 2019.

According to the band, “Our goal for this second album was to push everything out to the furthest extreme,” adding, “We wanted a much more dynamic and diverse album that would keep surprising the listener. The punk songs are more hardcore, the sludgy songs are even heavier, and from track to track to track, there is no letup. We wanted the listener to feel pummeled from the first guitar riff to the final scream.”

Pushback Is Strong was recorded at Suburban Elvis Studios in New York with production, mixing, and mastering duties being handled by Joe Kelly and Kol Marshall (Ministry, King Diamond, Mercyful Fate, Eternal Black, Begotten), the same production team that created the thick wall of sound for Cease & Destroy.

Pushback is Strong track listing:
1. Behavioral Modification
2. Fastball
3. Pushback is Strong
4. Nobody Cares About Your Band
5. Nothing to See Here
6. The Iron
7. Fill the Void
8. Curtain Call
9. Freedom Denied
10. Cover Your Eyes
11. Seed Indecision

Produced, Mixed, and Mastered by Joe Kelly & Kol Marshall
Recorded at Suburban Elvis Studios, Fall 2021 / Spring 2022
All Songs by End of Hope
Arc of Movement Records

End of Hope:
Davey Gunner: vocals
Ken Wohlrob: guitar
Davis Schlachter: bass
Dave Richman: drums

End of Hope on Facebook

End of Hope on Instagram

End of Hope on Bandcamp

End of Hope website

Obsidian Sky Records website

New York doom torchbearers Eternal Black play Descendants of Crom next weekend in Pennsylvania, and they’ve got a date locked in for Brooklyn near the end of October, but one assumes the rest of their time will be spent putting the finishing touches on their sophomore full-length before entering the studio in November to put the thing to tape. They’re giving a kind of barebones here’s-a-riff-dig-it preview of what’s to come in a rehearsal room clip of the track “The Ghost.” The album will be recorded with the same team that helmed their 2017 debut, Bleed the Days (review here), and they’re currently looking for a label to help them put it out. Frankly it’s hard to imagine someone won’t pick them up for the release, which would presumably be in 2019, because, well, it’s almost 2019 anyway and these things take time.

They sent the following update down the PR wire:

Eternal Black Return To The Studio In November 2018 To Record Follow-Up To Their Debut Full-Length Album, Bleed The Days

Preview Of New Track “The Ghost,” Seeking Record Label

Brooklyn-based doom band ETERNAL BLACK will begin recording their second full length album in November 2018. Comprised of seven new songs, the as-yet untitled album is the follow-up to their debut album, Bleed the Days. Rehearsal footage of a new track, “The Ghost,” is now available on YouTube.

Eternal Black will once again be working with the production team of Joe Kelly and Kol Marshall (Mercyful Fate, King Diamond, Ministry) at Suburban Elvis Studios. The duo has produced all of Eternal Black’s studio recordings including Bleed the Days and their self-titled EP. “We are fired up and ready to head North to reconvene with our brothers Joe and Kol,” the band comments. “The material for this new album is a big step forward in the evolution of the E.B. sound. The dark parts are darker, the groovy parts are groovier. As before we are dragging doom back to its roots while still driving it forward. But this time around the songwriting is more concise and punchier.”

The band is seeking a record label to work with them on the release of the new album. Interested parties should contact the band via eternalblackdoom@gmail.com or their Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/blackhanddoom).

Formed in late 2014, Eternal Black is made up of Joe Wood on drums (Borgo Pass, Bloody Sabbath), Hal Miller on bass, and Ken Wohlrob (End of Hope) on guitar and vocals. The group came together out of a desire to create dark songs driven by fuzz-drenched riffs and old-school heavy grooves.

Eternal Black live:
Sep 23
Eternal Black, Mountain Tamer, Matte Black, EDGE Gigging Crew
PIANOS · New York, New York

Sep 28
Descendants of Crom 2018
Sep 28-29 · Cattivo · Lawrenceville, Pennsylvania

Oct 26
Eternal Black – Yatra – It’s Not Night It’s Space – Seasick Gladiator
Lucky 13 Saloon · New York, New York

http://eternalblackdoom.com
https://eternalblack.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/blackhanddoom
https://instagram.com/eternalblackdoom/
https://soundcloud.com/eternalblackdoom
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07476RQL8/
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/bleed-the-days/1263331681
https://open.spotify.com/album/4AgiDSE4pDn4nSc9CsqxZG

Eternal Black, “The Ghost” rehearsal room demo

It was a doomer’s delight last year when New York trio Eternal Black made their debut with Bleed the Days (review here). The band immediately brought their own stamp to what we think of as the genre’s traditions, and though you’d listen to it for sure and recognize its East Coast origins, there was something about it a little darker, a little more aggressive than a lot of the fare that comes out of Maryland. No escaping the intensity of the band’s NYC home-base, I guess.

Dudes have taken it upon themselves to put the album out on deluxe, gorgeous-looking limited vinyl — a no-compromises 2LP with a silkscreened side D that would seem to be little more than a gift for those who knew enough to pick up what they were putting down with the record. If you didn’t hear it last year, you’re by no means too late. Stream the full thing on the player below and bask in the dirge rhythms, weighted tones and general downer-metallurgy of the whole experience. You might just decide to pick up a record after doing so.

Yup, that’s me, spending your money.

Dig it:

ETERNAL BLACK’S ‘BLEED THE DAYS’ IS NOW AVAILABLE IN TWO LIMITED EDITION COLOR VARIANTS RELEASED VIA OBSIDIAN SKY RECORDS.

Eternal Black have announced their debut full-length ‘Bleed The Days’ is now available on vinyl pressing through the band’s own Obsidian Sky Records. The Brooklyn, NY doom metal trio battered the heavy music world in a bleak sea of crushing waves with their August 2017 album. Originally released on digital, CD and cassette, ‘Bleed The Days’ is now available in two limited-edition vinyl variants, with a ‘Die Hard’ colored vinyl bundle option and ‘Standard’ edition.

In August 2017, Brooklyn-based doom metal band ETERNAL BLACK unleashed their debut full-length album, ‘Bleed the Days’, on CD, Cassette (sold out), and Digital formats via their own Obsidian Sky Records label. Today the trio formally announce the February 4th release of ‘Bleed the Days’ available in two limited edition vinyl presses.

‘Bleed the Days’ is the band’s third release, following their 2015 self-titled EP, as well as a live recording from 2017, ‘Live at WFMU’.

According to the band, “Sonically, we were aiming for somewhere between Black Sabbath’s ‘Master of Reality’ and The Obsessed’s ‘Lunar Womb’. We wanted the album to be an obvious step forward in the progression of our sound; darker and heavier than anything you’ve heard from us before, with the grit of old school Doom.”

– ‘Die Hard’ Edition – Limited to 120 copies. Double vinyl set, clear with black smoke vinyl. Side D is a silk-screened razor blade graphic. Includes a custom silk-screened graphic/lyric insert and patch.
– ‘Standard’ Edition – Limited to 115 copies. Double vinyl set, black vinyl. Side D is a silk-screened razor blade graphic.

“Bleed The Days” Track List:
A1. The Lost, The Forgotten, and The Undying
A2. Snake Oil and Coffin Nails
B1. Sea of Graves
B2. Into Nothing
B3. Stained Eyes on a Setting Sun
C1. Bleed The Days
C2. All Gods Fall
D side is a silk-screened graphic

https://eternalblack.bandcamp.com/merch
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07476RQL8/
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/bleed-the-days/1263331681
https://open.spotify.com/album/4AgiDSE4pDn4nSc9CsqxZG

Eternal Black, Bleed the Days (2017)

[Click play above to see the premiere of the lyric video for the title-track of Eternal Black’s Bleed the Days. Album is out Aug. 8.]

Doom prevails in gritty fashion on Bleed the Days, the seven-track debut long-player from New York trio Eternal Black. Self-released through their own Obsidian Sky Records in a digipak that includes a note on its back cover to pay attention to the lyrics and those printed on its inside glossy panels, it is a grimly cast 46 minutes brimming with downer intent as led by the churning-concrete riffing of guitarist/vocalist Ken Wohlrob (also a published novelist and clearly someone for whom words matter) and with significant reinforcement provided by bassist Hal Miller and drummer Joe Wood — the latter also of long-running Long Island rockers Borgo Pass and a former bandmate of mine twice over. Because I consider him among the finest examples of a human being I’ve ever encountered, I’ll note a decided bias on my part in favor of his work here and elsewhere, so if that’s the grain of salt with which you need to take this review, so be it. I won’t fight you.

Either way, Eternal Black‘s full-length ode to downcast nodder traditionalism, recorded and mixed by Joe Kelly and Kol Marshall with mastering by Mos Generator‘s Tony Reed, follows their 2015 self-titled EP/demo (review here) and received a substantial preview earlier this year on the digital offering Live at WFMU (review here), recorded at that venerable open-format radio station in Jersey City, New Jersey, but makes its primary impression in the uniformity of its mood such that even the three-minute centerpiece interlude “Into Nothing” ties to the rest of its surroundings in speaking to the overarching theme of death and the mythology thereof, despite being instrumental. They are nothing if not focused.

But as the saying goes, if you can’t handle brain-crushing singularity of purpose, doom probably isn’t for you, and whether it’s the post-Wino riffing on opener “The Lost, the Forgotten, and the Undying” or second cut “Snake Oil and Coffin Nails,” which is led off by Miller‘s bass in the spirit perhaps of The Hidden Hand circa Mother Teacher Destroyer and shifts into faster gallop in its midsection with a highlight guitar lead, or a slower piece like the lumbering “Stained Eyes on a Setting Sun” (premiered here), Eternal Black do bring a sense of character and a developing sonic persona to the tenets of the style. Wohlrob‘s vocal delivery is a gruff and dudely semi-growl suited to tying the songs together and his lyrics — as one has been advised to regard — grow increasingly vivid as the tracklisting progresses into “Stained Eyes on a Setting Sun,” “Bleed the Days” itself and 11-minute closer “All Gods Fall,” pulling references from Biblical and other Inferno-y sources concerning death.

It’s arguable six of the seven inclusions on Bleed the Days deal directly with the motif — see also: the entirety of Western culture and the human condition — whether it’s the interaction of death and belief on “Snake Oil and Coffin Nails” and “All Gods Fall” or the grim picture-painting of “The Lost, the Forgotten, and the Undying,” “Sea of Graves,” “Into Nothing,” “Stained Eyes on a Setting Sun,” and “Bleed the Days,” but there’s also an underlying use of water imagery. The opener speaks of a ballast of the dead, snake oil is “flooding the plains,” it’s a “Sea of Graves,” bodies are thrown into the sea in “Stained Eyes on a Setting Sun,” walls of rain unleash a river in the title-track, and flames rain down and oceans reabsorb in the finale. Again, that’s six of six tracks with words in them. One can’t help but wonder if that was a purposeful aesthetic choice in the composition of the material or simply a fitting representation of the abyss. In any case, like Wohlrob‘s vocals, the tonal density of his guitar and Miller‘s low end and the ultra-solid push of Wood‘s drums, it is another aspect of Bleed the Days that serves to tie the songs together.

Taking into account Bleed the Days as Eternal Black‘s debut, the album becomes even more impressive in its establishment of theme and aesthetic — well earning the amount of purple on its Joshua M. Wilkinson cover art — and when given repeat listens, further nuance of intent gradually unveils itself, whether it’s the airy flourish of guitar layering buried in the second half of “All Gods Fall” or the force with which the overall trajectory of the trio’s procession leads them to that closer. That shift takes place between the songs themselves, which seem to grow slower from “The Lost, the Forgotten, and the Undying” onward, but “Into Nothing” becomes a crucial divide between the first three cuts and the latter three that follow, which cast a plodding and weighted mire that, even when it picks up a bit in terms of tempo in the title-track, remains enduringly bleak.

Thus “All Gods Fall” can be read as a moment of arrival for Eternal Black and their audience alike, and it meets that task ably in summarizing the atmosphere of what’s come before it, showcasing an avenue for potential forward growth on the part of the band and providing a landing point for the consistently downward push that brings it on. Like the stated subject of death, “All Gods Fall” feels inevitable by the time it hits, and its final lines, “Man faces his eternity/Standing alone,” encapsulate the perspective of Bleed the Days as a whole. There could hardly be a more fitting end for an album that stands so willfully in doomed gruel, and as “All Gods Fall” marches to its fading finish, the sound of crashing waves would seem to provide an answer as to the corresponding watery elements that so much of the material highlighted previously.

I don’t know if I’d call Bleed the Days a concept album in terms of a singular narrative playing out, but neither would I be surprised if Eternal Black went that route sometime in the future, as there is a decided interest in storytelling here, and pivotally, they back that with quality songwriting that’s no less a foundation than the roll in Wood‘s drums. They’ve left themselves room to grow in terms of branching out arrangements and style, but as doom for doomers by doomers, Eternal Black‘s first album brings a host of depressive delights.

Eternal Black, Bleed the Days (2017)

Eternal Black website

Eternal Black on Bandcamp

Eternal Black on Thee Facebooks

Eternal Black on Instagram

Eternal Black on Soundcloud

Brooklyn doomers Eternal Black are reportedly in the midst of having their upcoming debut album, Bleed the Days, mastered by none other than Mos Generator‘s Tony Reed (who else?), but that’s not stopping them from giving a preview of four of the record’s tracks with their new live outing, Live at WFMU. Recorded last month at the world-renowned freeform radio station — a jeweled treasure of my beloved Garden State, to be sure — Live at WFMU has been posted on Eternal Black‘s Bandcamp as a name-your-price download, so not only have guitarist/vocalist Ken Wohlrob, bassist Hal Miller and drummer Joe Wood gone to the trouble of putting the thing together, but they actually want you to hear it, too.

If you caught wind of the trio’s 2015 self-titled demo EP (review here), I doubt you need me to tell you checking it out is worth your time and the utter non-investment of a (free) download. I’ve got personal history with these guys via Wood — the good kind of personal history — so I might be extra looking forward to the arrival of Bleed the Days on account of that, but if you’d like to join me in that anticipation, feel free to check out Live at WFMU on the streaming player below. It makes a convincing argument.

Wohlrob was also kind enough to send along some comment about the new offering, and you’ll find that below as well:

Eternal Black – Live at WFMU

On February 12th, we were honored to be able to record a live set at WFMU’s studios in Jersey City, New Jersey. This was for an episode of “What Was Music?” hosted by Marcel M, which airs on Wednesdays. We loaded in our gear, checked sound, and then tore into six songs like we would at any live gig. In addition to a few songs off our EP, we played four new songs that will be on our upcoming album, Bleed the Days.

Once we heard the playback, we thought it would make a hell of a live album. No messing about, get the damn thing out fast. Hal designed the cover. Kol Marshall handled the mastering. And in the end, we decided to make it available for free via Bandcamp. It’s our way of saying thanks to the doom heads who support our music.

Tracklisting:
1. All Gods Fall 10:44
2. Bleed the Days 06:26
3. Sea of Graves 06:11
4. The Dead Die Hard 06:23
5. Stained Eyes on a Setting Sun 07:22
6. Obsidian Sky 04:46

Recorded live at WFMU Studios, Jersey City, NJ, February 12th, 2017 for “What Was Music?” hosted by Marcel M.
Recorded and mixed by Scott Konzelmann
Mastered by Kol Marshall
Cover design by Hal Miller
Words and Music by Wohlrob
Obsidian Sky Records

Eternal Black is:
Hal Miller: Bass
Joe Wood: Drums
Ken Wohlrob: Guitars, Vocals

http://eternalblackdoom.com/
https://www.facebook.com/blackhanddoom
https://instagram.com/eternalblackdoom/
https://eternalblack.bandcamp.com/album/live-at-wfmu

Eternal Black, Live at WFMU (2017)

If there was such a thing to be sounded as a “good dude alert,” it would be ringing. The reigning Prince of Long Island, drummer Joe Wood — known best for his work in long-running hard rockers Borgo Pass, but also formerly of sludge-slingers 12 Eyes, a former bandmate of mine and all around one of the best guys you could hope to know on the Eastern Seaboard — has a new band going. The Brooklyn-based trio, with Wood on drums, Ken Wohlrob on guitar/vocals and Hal Miller on bass, are called Eternal Black after an initial introduction as The Black Hand, and their self-titled EP has just been released through their own Obsidian Sky Records.

Announcement and stream follow. More to come:

Eternal Black Unleashes Their Doomy Self-Titled EP

Brooklyn-based doom band Eternal Black have unleashed their debut self-titled EP via their own Obsidian Sky Records. Steeped in the American doom tradition of Saint Vitus, The Obsessed, Spirit Caravan, and EyeHateGod, Eternal Black’s music is full of heavy and bluesy riffs, Bonham-esque drums, and rumbling low-end. Sonically and lyrically, the three tracks on the EP are Armageddon blues songs.

Formed in late 2014, Eternal Black is made up of Joe Wood on drums (Borgo Pass, Bloody Sabbath), Hal Miller on Bass, and Ken Wohlrob on guitar and vocals. The group came together out of a desire to create dark songs driven by fuzz-drenched riffs and old-school heavy grooves.

The Eternal Black EP was produced by Kol Marshall (King Diamond, Mercyful Fate, Absu, Ministry) and Joe Kelly (Provan, John Hovorka and the Dawn of Mechanized Farming) at the latter’s Suburban Elvis studios. Digital downloads of the album are available now via Bandcamp, iTunes, Amazon, and other digital music retailers.
https://eternalblack.bandcamp.com
https://itun.es/i6L54nk

Details for Eternal Black’s self-titled EP

Track listing:
1. Obsidian Sky
2. The Dead Die Hard
3. Armageddon’s Embrace

Produced, mixed, and mastered by Joe Kelly and Kol Marshall
Recorded at Suburban Elvis Studios, May 2015
Released by Obsidian Sky Records

Band members:
Hal Miller: Bass
Joe Wood: Drums
Ken Wohlrob: Guitars, Vocals

For the latest updates on Eternal Black:
http://eternalblackdoom.tumblr.com/
https://eternalblack.bandcamp.com
https://soundcloud.com/eternalblackdoom
https://www.facebook.com/blackhanddoom
https://instagram.com/eternalblackdoom/

Eternal Black, Eternal Black (2015)