“Because 11 is one louder”: Nate Garrett (Spirit Adrift) chooses his Top 5 Doom Records

Spirit Adrift is in essence a solo project created by Nate Garrett, a song writer and multi instrumentalist who earned his spurs playing, recording and touring with as many bands as possible.  Following his own sonic path Garrett was guided by the masters in the art of heavy riffs, with bands like Black Sabbath, Neurosis and Eyehategod serving his guide in his quest to forge the perfect riff, during his most formative years.  Garrett would later share artistic and personal relationships with fellow Arkansans such as Deadbird, Rwake, Seahag and Pallbearer, with this experience from the southern heavy music scene leaving a lasting impression upon him.  In 2011, Garrett would move to Arizona, joining Take Over And Destroy and later Gatecreeper, who are currently creating quick a buzz within the underground metal scene. 

On the 21^st of August 2016 Nate Garrett’s Spirit Adrift would return with the release of their debut full length “Chained To Oblivion” via Prosthetic Records. The project in itself is a platform to realise his lifetime dedication to music and is the culmination of every bit of his musical experience.  Musically and lyrically, “Chained to Oblivion” is undoubtedly heavy but uniquely uplifting at the same time.  As the label bio comments “Spirit Adrift is a necessary healing process, and an artist’s attempt at contributing his own drop to the limitless well of music, a well that has kept him alive.”

Today at The Sludgelord, it a our pleasure to have Nate Garrett shares his thoughts on some of his favourite doom records, as we turn the dial up to 11, “Because 11 is one louder”

1. Black Sabbath – “Sabotage”(1975)

Sure, “Master of Reality” probably fits the doom bill more, but “Sabotage”has been my favorite album since the first time I heard it. Though this is a more experimental, maybe even progressive effort, the doom is still strong. Songs like “Hole in the Sky”, “Megalomania”, and “The Writ” are among the heaviest songs Sabbath ever did. I feel like they pushed the boundaries of what heavy music can be with this album, and it features Ozzy's all-time greatest vocals. The lyrics are introspective, surreal, and psychedelic. The songs evolve and grow as if they are living entities. I try to write music that sounds evil and beautiful at the same time, and “Sabotage” taught me how to do this. This album has had a bigger impact on me than any other piece of music.

2. Saint Vitus– “Die Healing” (1995)

This is my favorite Saint Vitus album, largely due to the vocals. Original vocalist Scott Reagers returns with a vengeance on this album. He nails the soaring traditional doom vocals, but what makes his singing special is when his voice disintegrates into psychotic howls and moans. It's one of the most unique vocals performances ever captured, and it's anchored by a band at their heaviest and most menacing. During the “Chained to Oblivion” sessions, I recorded a cover that hasn't been released yet, and the vocals were definitely inspired the unhinged delivery of Scott Reagers on”Die Healing”.

3. Warning– “Watching From A Distance” (2006)

I was thrilled to hear that Warning will be performing this entire album at Roadburn. This album is crushing sonically, and more importantly, emotionally too. Patrick Walker's lyrics and earnest delivery are heartbreaking. One of my primary goals with Spirit Adrift is to move people on a deep emotional level, and this is the album that introduced me to the painfully raw, confessional approach that is required to make that connection with the listener.

 

4. Rwake– “Voices of Omens” (2007)

 

I'm not sure if this qualifies as doom. I'm really not sure what it is at all. Rwakeis one of the most fascinating bands that has ever existed. The riffs and song structures are nothing short of genius. This band is on a level that few achieve, and their power is undefinable, indescribable. When I first moved from Oklahoma to Arkansas, I drove to Little Rockby myself to see Rwake play for the first time, right around the time “Voices of Omens” was released. My life has never been the same, and I still can't quite figure out what's going on with this band. It's terrifying.

 

5. Pallbearer– “Sorrow and Extinction” (2012)

The time I spent in Arkansaswas crucial to the formation of Spirit Adrift. The creativity and passion I witnessed there will be with me forever. I was friends with the Pallbearerguys before I had any idea of what they were capable of. This album blew my mind when I first heard it, and still does to this day. It has helped me through hard times in my life, and inspires me endlessly.

Spirit Adrift’s latest album “Chained to Oblivion” is available here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook 

ALBUM REVIEW: 40 Watt Sun - “Wider than the Sky”

By: TJ Kliebhan

Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 14/10/2016
Label: ProvidenceRecords |
Svart Records

Although the record may find itself on the fringes of metal, the empathetic feelings Walker shares over soaring ten minute tracks should cause anyone who has felt anything before to reflect in some meaningful way. “Wider than the Sky” challenges its listeners to reflect for themselves, because after all it’s important to remember where one stands. 40 Watt Sun’s latest record is likely to find itself among the best records released this year.

“Wider than the Sky” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1). Stages
2). Beyond You
3). Another Room
4). Pictures
5). Craven Road
6). Marazion

The Review:

Patrick Walker enjoys his privacy. It’s no secret that the English musician tends to keep a low profile, which makes any news coming from him significant to his fans. In 2016, Walker has announced a one day performance at Roadburn festival where he will be reuniting Warningto play the “Watching from a Distance”in its entirety. Warning has been considered seminal in the revival of traditional doom metal, but do not put that genre label on what Walkerdoes now as 40 Watt Sun.

Walkerbegan 40 Watt Sun to address his growth as a musician and songwriter while moving on from the music he created as a young man. This year Walker finally announced a follow-up record for 40 Watt Sun marking 2016 as an exciting year for fans who have endured long periods of silence over the past three years. Label issues delayed the release of “Wider than the Sky” until now, marking the group’s first record in five years coming by way of their own Providence Records label. A Patrick Walker release has never sounded more polished or emotionally devastating than on “Wider than the Sky”.

On 40 Watt Sun’s sophomore effort, the band creates an air of maturity while Walker’s baritone pleading vocal wrestles with past relationships, meaningful physical places in his life, and the passing of time. The album is lyrically crushing, and finds Walker taking the least abstract approach to songwriting in his career.

The massive opening track “Stages” clocks in at over sixteen minutes and features chilling lines such as, “the heart of the matter that both of us can’t hide…I’m feeling everything like nothing in my life.” Walker has always touted that his lyrics are simply what he experiences. The drama that his voice as well as the slow, rhythmic delivery are fitting for this incredibly genuine collection of words. Walker’s chosen canvas for these ubiquitous tales is around ten minutes, but he proves he is able to deliver equally traumatic words on the short final track “Marazion”. The track finds Walkerlonging for the coastal town while aching, “if I could just be strong enough, but I don’t want to face it.”

While Walker can come off as a dreary character, these six tracks offer a diverse array of subjects that come with his unique perspective on, with the only constant from track to track being the level of personal intimacy that Walker brings to each song.

Musically, this is 40 Watt Sun’s cleanest record. The crushing atmosphere and distortion that Warning created was severely scaled back on 40 Watt Sun’s first record “The Inside Room.” Indeed “Wider than the Sky” takes the cleaner tones even further. This is still very much a guitar driven record and the pacing is similar to past releases in the Walkercanon, but everything sounds more refined. This new record sounds as if it will seamlessly transition to the solo acoustic shows that Patrick Walker frequently performs. Many of the these tracks feature a sound for the opening couple minutes that slowly gets expanded upon by incorporating more instruments or feature a slight change in pace with a new riff. The tracks unfold in subtle ways and brilliantly derive significance out of minimalism. “Another Room” and “Craven Road” are perfect examples of how Walkeris a master of maximizing the power of a shift in pace using a similar melody and tone without introducing numerous new instruments to the fold.

“Wider than the Sky” demonstrates that 40 Watt Sun is not dedicated to any sound or existing to satisfy the clamors of Doom metal fans. The band has aged and refused to compromise their vision, and in the process has created a release which could be considered as one Patrick Walker’s best. Although the record may find itself on the fringes of metal, the empathetic feelings Walker shares over soaring ten minute tracks should cause anyone who has felt anything before to reflect in some meaningful way. “Wider than the Sky” challenges its listeners to reflect for themselves, because after all it’s important to remember where one stands. 40 Watt Sun’s latest record is likely to find itself among the best records released this year.

“Wider Than the Sky” is available here

Band info: facebook