photos by Taylor Keahey, words by BBG

Solitude Aeturnus in Las Vegas

"It's time to Sab out on y'all," said the Yeti-sized longhair covered in more ink than the Sunday New York Times.

The dude is question was John Fitterer, frontman for L.A. metallers Crowned in Fire, and the "Sab" he was referring to was Black Sabbath.

It was a telling statement early on at the Doom in June fest Saturday at the Cheyenne Saloon, where the aforementioned Brit metal pioneers loomed almost as large over the event as the monster riffs that defined the day...

All the way from Finland, Hooded Menace brought some crippling death doom in the form of a monstrously heavy, elephantine crawl that rumbled like tectonic plates colliding.

Maryland's Iron Man followed, overcoming some drummer troubles (they had to play with a replacement) to wow with their upper-register, trad metal classicism.

Scott "Wino" Weinrich made the acoustic guitar sound electric during his unplugged set, which he ended by walking into the crowd.

And then there were headliners Solitude Aeturnus, who quickly demonstrated why they were perched atop the lineup... The band played the fan favorite "Opaque Divinity" early on in their set, and fittingly so: For doom lifers, it was a moment that at least approached the divine. -[Las Vegas Review-Journal]

The second installment of doom and stoner rock fest Doom in June went down in Las Vegas at the Cheyenne Saloon on June 4th. The lineup included Solitude Aeturnus, Wino, Hooded Menace, Iron Man, Stone Axe, Wofat, Leeches of Lore, White Witch Canyon, Meth Leppard, Hallowed Engine, Psilocybin, ...Of The Horizon, Crowned By Fire, Dead Neon, and Swamp Donkey.

Hooded Menace's short tour also brought them to Maryland Deathfest, Union Pool, and Chaos in Tejas. I hope they don't think we're stalking them.

Wino played Mercury Lounge in February, and as part of Saint Vitus at Irving Plaza in March. Wino's Shrinebuilder bandmate Al Cisneros plays with his band Sleep at Terminal 5 on June 22nd with Winter and White Hills.

More pictures from Doom in June II, below.

Continue reading "there was 'Doom In June' in Las Vegas Saturday (pics)"

Nearly 35 pounds of Psilocybin (hallucinogenic) mushrooms baked into about 500 chocolate peanut butter cups were intercepted by Murfreesboro Police vice detectives before being sold at Bonnaroo music festival beginning Thursday in Manchester.

Vice detectives Wednesday raided the Kingwood Drive home of suspect Charles Culver, 22, and located the illegal drug with a street value of $10,000, said police spokesman Kyle Evans.

"We have seen an increase in LSD over the past several years and this is another form or substitute for that drug," Evans said.

"The affects are hallucinogenic in nature, similar to LSD. They are very dangerous and there have been incidents of people dying the first time they used this drug."

Origin of the mushrooms is not being disclosed.

"There's no telling how many lives these detectives have saved by keeping these drugs off the street and they should be commended for an outstanding investigation leading to these arrests," Evans said. [The Murfreesboro Post]

There really is no telling.

Continue reading "35 lbs of Psilocybin Peanut Butter Cups meant for Bonnaroo intercepted by Tennessee police"

Watch it big and in 3-D (this is the best place). Watch a NY Times interview with the creators. They talk about the making of the video, mushrooms, etc... Another interview with Encyclopedia Pictura is HERE. More info, and the small embeded version of the video in 2-D (but really, watch it big), below ...

Continue reading "Bjork's Wanderlust video (watch it in 3-D) & mushrooms"