Old Man Gloom

Old Man Gloom
Origin Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States
Genres Sludge metal, doom metal, post-hardcore, post-metal
Years active 1999 (1999)–present
Labels Profound Lore, Tortuga, Hydra Head
Associated acts Cave In, Converge, Isis, Zozobra
Members

Old Man Gloom is a sludge/doom metal/post-metal band originally formed in Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States, but now based in Massachusetts. The group, formed by Aaron Turner of Isis and Santos Montano, has now expanded to become a sort of supergroup in the Boston hardcore and metalcore scene. The group is less a band than it is a recording project for a variety of talent. By the release of their first album (Meditations in B), Old Man Gloom expanded to include two new members.

Biography

First four albums (1999–2004)

In 2001, a year after the release of Meditations in B, the band released two albums simultaneously: Seminar II and Seminar III. For these records, Luke Scarola joined to use electronics. On Seminar II, Stephen Brodsky of Cave In wrote the lyrics for one song, and Jay Randall of Agoraphobic Nosebleed contributed on electronics. On August 24, 2004, Christmas was released.

Inactive years (2004–2011)

Shortly after the release of Christmas in 2004, Old Man Gloom's activity significantly died down. The members insist that the band did not break up or go on hiatus during this time, but for about eight years none of the members' schedules allowed for any writing or recording time.

Aaron Turner's main band Isis released three more studio albums — Panopticon (2004), In the Absence of Truth (2007) and Wavering Radiant (2009) — before breaking up in 2010. During this time Turner also joined, formed or continued work in other projects, including Greymachine, House of Low Culture, Jodis, Lotus Eaters, Mamiffer, Ringfinger and Twilight. Nate Newton's main band Converge also released three more albums — You Fail Me (2004), No Heroes (2006) and Axe to Fall (2009). He also founded the band Doomriders in 2004 and reunited with one of his earlier bands Jesuit in 2011. Caleb Scofield's main band Cave In released one more studio album Perfect Pitch Black (2005) before going on hiatus in 2006, then reunited in 2009 and released White Silence (2011). Scofield, who had never before been the primary writing of his other bands, formed the band Zozobra — whose name was inspired by Old Man Gloom and its third studio album Seminar III: Zozobra — in 2006 after Cave In went on hiatus. Santos Montano briefly joined Zozobra in its early years and also performed with Stephen Brodsky's (Cave In, Converge) new band New Idea Society for a while.

Return, No, The Ape of God and The Ape of God (2012–present)

Old Man Gloom abruptly ended an eight-year period of silence by announcing that they would resume touring and release a new album titled No in 2012. The announcement gave little notice that a new album would be coming out and the album itself received minimal promotion. The announcement was made on May 1, 2012 on the band's official Facebook page that No would receive a wide release on June 26 through Hydra Head Records, or fans could pick up a copy of the album at Old Man Gloom's upcoming tour dates, beginning the following day on May 2, 2012.[1][2] The band and label tried to keep the new album quiet before the announcement, but in 2011, an Easter egg in a magazine advertisement hinted at a new Old Man Gloom being released in 2012, and producer Kurt Ballou tweeted about work on the new album, but later retracted his statement by claiming it was a late April Fools' Day joke.[3][4]

In late 2014, Old Man Gloom announced the release of a follow-up to No titled The Ape of God for November 11, 2014 through Profound Lore Records and also the release of an unofficial documentary directed by Kenneth Thomas about the band's history leading up to (but not including) The Ape of God titled Here is a Gift for You.[5][6] The band promoted the album with online streams of "Predators" and "The Lash" prior to the official release date.[7] For several months, The Ape of God was marketed and promoted as a single album, but the weekend before the official release date, Old Man Gloom announced that they were actually releasing two different studio albums both with the name The Ape of God, and that the version of the album sent to the press to review (which also subsequently leaked online) was a "fake" album that featured songs from both albums in a different sequence and edited down to shorter versions.[8] One album, The Ape of God (PFL145) features eight songs in a similar composition to other Old Man Gloom albums, and the other album The Ape of God (PFL145.5) features four songs that are longer and more atmospheric than other Old Man Gloom songs — similar to the band's 2001 albums Seminar II and Seminar III. Remastered version of Meditations in B was released on April 7, 2015 on Hydra Head Rerords. The band's first live album (recorded in London at April 3, 2014) is scheduled for an early 2016 release through Ektro Records.

Members

Current members

Former members

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Live albums

Music videos

References

  1. Turney, Danielle (May 1, 2012). "Old Man Gloom ends eight-year hiatus with an emphatic NO". Alarm. Retrieved May 1, 2012.
  2. Adams, Gregory (May 1, 2012). "Old Man Gloom Return with 'NO'". Exclaim!. Retrieved May 1, 2012.
  3. "New Old Man Gloom Album Allegedly Due Next Year (Updated)". The PRP. July 20, 2011. Retrieved November 15, 2014.
  4. Neilstein, Vince (May 16, 2011). "OMG no new Old Man Gloom after all". MetalSucks. Retrieved November 15, 2014.
  5. Adams, Gregory (August 29, 2014). "Old Man Gloom to Return with 'The Ape of God' LP". Exclaim!. Retrieved November 7, 2014.
  6. Pessaro, Fred (October 9, 2014). "'Here Is A Gift For You,' an Old Man Gloom Documentary". Noisey. Vice. Retrieved November 15, 2014.
  7. Pessaro, Fred (October 7, 2014). "Burning the Effigy: Old Man Gloom on Old Friends, Experimentalism and 'The Ape of God'". Noisey. Vice. Retrieved November 7, 2014.
  8. Childers, Oakland L. (November 13, 2014). "Why Metal Supergroup Old Man Gloom Decided to Screw With the Press". Westword. Voice Media Group. Retrieved November 15, 2014.
  9. Werkheiser, Seth (November 13, 2015). "Old Man Gloom totally stoked about their new live album". Metal Insider. Retrieved February 21, 2016.
  10. Neilstein, Vince (February 24, 2015). "Old Man Gloom's Video for 'The Lash' Tells Origin Story of Trolls". MetalSucks. Retrieved February 24, 2015.
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