Earth: s/d, c/d?

Go have a look at the SL and stonerrock.com forums.

http://forums.southernlord.com/viewtopic.php?t=8168&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

Wow.

(unless the remixers *were* shuffled around randomly and this is just a big low-key subtle prank.)

sometimes.

Anyway, I was at that Crocodile Cafe show in Seattle from whence the first track came from. They played in between Comets In Fire and Kinski. I'm very surprised at how well it sounds! I'm probably just excited because this is probably the first live show that's every been officially released which I actually attended... (fucking finally.)

I'm hoping the KK Null track is great..(don't see why i won't be)

Yeah, I doubted it too for while. However, I subsequently found out that it is definitely them. There's a very interesting interview by dr3w d4niel where they discuss it here

I think it's a great album. I ordered the vinyl today.

"Extra-Capsular Extraction" is the first Earth LP. Ostensibly and EP, but there's no reason to propagate bullshit. It's a fucking album. Some will know it as "the one with Kurdt Cobain on it." Others won't. It fuggin' RULES, bro. Up there with "Earth 2" as the best shit they ever put out. Like having drug-sex with really hot snails. At 3.333 RPM.

"Earth 2" comes next. And it's even better (if only 'cuz it's longer). Totally fucking gorgeous, smeary, ecstatic drug drone. Absolutely natural and essential. Like if you gave a pineal gland a guitar, this is the record that gland would make. If, you know, it had hands or something... Yeah, sure, you could accurately describe it as the grunge version of some miserable new-age "cosmic tones" bullshit, but it transcends any labels you stick on it. The sound of the universe breathing. My favorite record of '93, and a top-ten contender ever since.

Ummm, and then you get "Phase 3: Thrones and Dominions". A HUGE step down in quality. The layered, primordial, multitracked sonic tarpit gets traded in for comparatively clean, straightforward guitar tones. Simple harmonies. "Songs". Nothing is ever really given room to build and resonate, and you just don't get the same feeling of "TOTAL PHYSICAL/PSYCHIC CONNECTION TO THE FUCKING UNIVERSAL SOUND, DUDE." Some good pieces, and not a terrible record by any means, but a disappointment nonetheless.

The "significant" portion of Earth's career winds up with "Pentastar: In the Style of Demons". Now, at the time of this album's release, it felt like the death-knell for Earth (which, in fact, it turned out to be). They simply weren't the band they hand been, and didn't seem to know what they wanted to do next. The comparatively clean tones of the previous album return, with an ever greater emphasis on "songwriting" and "rocking out." Some GREAT stuff here, and it's undeniably a better record than "Phase 3," but it's also awkward and half-formed. Do not start here.

THEE APOCRYPHA:

45 of early Cobain-era stuff: okay, and a fine addition to the sub-canon. Not really essential, tho.

"Sunn Amps and Smashed Guitars": another slice of prime-period (early 90s) material that doesn't meet the standards set by the first couple albums. Recommended to fans.

That German art museum live 12": skip it.

"Living in the Gleam of an Unsheathed Sword": great title -- boring record.

K.K. Null split: worth it only for the K.K. Null stuff.

Sunn0))) split: haven't heard it.

"Hex: or Printing in the Infernal Method": Surprisingly decent. Not comparable to the Earth of old, but fully-formed and interesting. Better, certainly, than "Phase 3". Not as rocking as "Pentatstar", but of comparable quality.

Note in closing: Sunn0))) never hit the heights set by Earth. In the early days, their sound very much resembled Earth's, and they even (jokingly?) pegged themselves as an "Earth tribute band". But for all the sturm und drone, their early records remain curiously detached and cerebral. Heavy as hell, but landlocked and tedious in a way that Earth's best material never was.

Over the last few albums (the "White" records and "Black One"), Sunn0))) have finally come into their own. They no longer sound in the least like Earth, and they're all the better for it. While it's a very different kettle of fish, "Black One" is a FANTASTIC record. Up there with "Extra-Capsular" and "Earth 2".

Why am I typing? Shit, why do I fucking EXIST?.

*sob*

(I just listened to it, and liked it.)

If (like me) you think "Pentastar" is substantially weaker than the first couple albums, then it becomes a dicier proposition. "Phase 3" is definitely the worst of the four canonical Earth albums, though it does contain a few stellar tracks.

For what it's worth, I'm glad I own a copy...

[...] Downer use at atrocious, possibly toxic levels in remaining member of band. Fall of '93 recording begins on Phase3. D.Carlson , for a variety of sordid reasons, misses the first 2 ½ days of recording. For these sessions Tommy Hansen (formerly of the Fartz and Crisis Party) plays second guitar. Sub-Pop pull the plug on the sessions. Anger and recriminations follow. Earth's standing with the Company are at a low-ebb. D.C.'s imminent demise predicted. Ian Dickson leaps into the breach and stakes job on completion of record. A year later (fall '94) sessions are booked at the Soundhouse with Scott Benson on the board. Rick Cambern does drums
on one track. Sessions in trouble Ian locks D.C. in isolation booth for 6 hours. Due to a medical emergency the sessions crash to a halt. D.C.: "_____ went out in the bathroom, Scott won't keep recording." Ian: " How much do we have recorded, is it enough for a record ?" D.C.: " It's 58 minutes, long enhough." The album is a critical masterpiece (well, at least 2 critics). Phase 3 released April '95.

Southern Lord recording artists Earth have finished the recording and mastering of their latest album tentatively entitled Hibernaculam. The audio material consists of (3) old Earth classics redone in a different, stark and clean tone (ala the "Hex" material) plus the track "A Plague of Angels" which was previously available on a rare tour-only 12".

The album will be a special dual CD/DVD "hybrid". With the audio mentioned above on one side, an Earth documentary filmed by Seldon Hunt lies on the other. The documentary features many interviews with Dylan Carlson and live footage from the groups 2006 European tour.

Track-listing:
CD SIDE:
1. Ouroboros Is Broken
2. Coda Maestoso In F (Flat) Minor
3. Miami Morning Coming Down
4. A Plague of Angels (2006 mix)
DVD Side:
-Earth Documentary with interviews and live footage (filmed by Seldon Hunt)

Personel:
Dylan Carlson: Fender Telecaster
Adrienne Davies: Drums
Jonas Haskins: BassVI & Rickenbacker
Steve Moore: Trombone & Wurlitzer
Don McGreevy: Fender Bass

Hibernaculam will be released on Southern Lord in the first half of 2007; more info coming soon!

Really full sound. Multiple Carlson dubs

Power chord riffs

The Colour of Poison (sic: they use the British English spelling) is their most rock/"metal" piece in a long time

ah..... it's always good to see the first correct spelling of colour by a lolmerican of the day.

Given his obsession with English folklore perhaps unsurprising that he uses the British English spelling

sorry, I didn't mean that as shitty as it probably sounded!

Thought I was kinda over this band but overheard most of the new one in a record store last week and really liked what I heard. Maybe I still like Earth after all.

Yeah, the previous three albums didn't really click with me, but this new one is great

Just me and Duke - no one else? The more I listen to the new one, the more I like it. Refreshing to hear the undiluted Earth formula again.

It occurs to me that DC is an easy guy to take for granted. I mean, he invented this sound whole cloth, and it's such a distinctive, singular sound. I've been disappointed by almost everything after Hex (which I still love), including the solo stuff that I kept compulsively buying for some reason, but this new one has definitely reignited my interest in the band.

Does anyone know if he's still exclusively playing the Tele? I assumed Dylan was a Tele guy all the way but some of the guitar tones on this new album sound very thick and humbucker-y to me.

i liked primitive and howling a lot, if the new one's even better hell yeah

and deadly*

New one is good yes

wait it came out in may?!??! what have i been doing

Yeah I liked silent but deadly pretty well but have slept on this one thus far.

It didn't help that he nailed the aesthetic very early with the bees made honey and so the two angels albums were disappointing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7JjLix4FYI

just came here to post this – amazing!

sounds great!

That fucking rules.