Earth is a band out of Seattle, Washington which was formed in 1989 by Dylan Carlson. Although Earth had ties with members of Seattle grunge scene, their music was rather different from other local bands popular at the time – they pioneered so-called “doom drone” genre, an offshoot of doom metal characterized by drony, lengthy and, in case of Earth, mostly instrumental compositions.
After a very active period of touring/recording in the early to mid 90s (culminating in 1996 “Pentastar: In The Style Of Demons”) , the band decided to take a break and returned with 2005 “Hex, Or Printing The Infernal Method”.
As of 2011, Earth is scheduled to release two new albums – “Angels Of Darkness Demons Of Light Pt. I” and “Angels Of Darkness Demons Of Light Pt. II”. Current line-up includes Dylan Carlson, Adrienne Davis, Lori Goldston and Karl Blau.
Selected Studio Albums
Earth 2: Special Low-Frequency Version (Sub Pop, 1993)
Subtitled “Special Low Frequency Version” on the front — and if one opens up the CD, the reverse of the booklet shows a wide selection of pills — arguably Earth and its stoned and droned appeal in a nutshell. If Carlson and his bassist du jour, in this case Dave Harwell, weren’t quite Sub Pop’s answer to the ranges of U.K. guitar extremism from the likes ofGodflesh, Main, and Skullflower, Earth still came pretty darn close to it, creating a record even the Melvins would find weird. Consisting of three long instrumentals edited together as one long monster slam of feedback and howling, Earth 2 dedicates itself to the proposition that there’s no such thing as too loud, trudging, or doom-laden.
All Music Guide
Reviews: All Music Guide | Encyclopedia Metalium
Phase 3: Thrones And Dominions (Sub Pop, 1995)
Ultimately, Phase 3 is a transitional album bridging the ground-breaking (no pun intended) drone metal of Earth 2 with the stoner-metal ofPentastar. But the album is not in any way a bastardized mash-up of the two sounds, instead the album manages to combine the best of both world to create an incredible (but unfortunately underrated) experience. I recommend the album to any drone metal fan (or anyone interested in the genre) without any hesitation. And remember…as with all drone metal, the album’s effectiveness is directly proportional to the volume it’s played at.
Reviews: Encyclopedia Metalium | Kevin’s Music Blog
The Bees Made Honey In The Lion’s Skull (Southern Lord, 2008)
When Earth started, in 1990, it was an oddball project among friends; Carlson was better known for being pals with an aspiring musician named Kurt Cobain than he was for being one in his own right. In a way, Bees feels as quixotic as anything he was doing then: where once he spent his days stripping down Sabbath to a single ringing chord, now he’s stripping chords for parts. Amazingly, the results are just as huge. Who knew you could do so much so slowly?
Reviews: Dusted Reviews | Pitchfork
Selected Splits, EPs and Live Albums
Extra-Capsular Extraction (Sub Pop, 1991)
Sunn Amps And Smashed Guitars Live (Blast First, 1995)
Earth / KK Null Split (Autofact, 2003)
Earth / Tribes Of Neurot Split (Neurot, 2007)
Earth / Sir Richard Bishop Split (Southern Lord, 2008)
Selected Compilations
“A Bureaucratic Desire For Revenge Pt. 1” on Revolution Come And Gone (Sub Pop, 1992) – other contributions by Reverend Norton Heat, Hole, Supersuckers, Mudhoney, Truly, Dwarves, Six Finger Satellite, Beat Happening, Tad and others.
“Seven Angels” on Lime Lizard (Lime Lizard, 1993) – other contributions by Dwarves, Velocity Girl, Pond, Walkabouts and Fastbacks
“Dissolution II : Miami Coming Down (Fuck You)” on Scatter (Ash International, 1997) – other contributions by Kevin Drumm, John Hudak, Jim O’Rourke and Daniel Menche
“Omens And Portents 1: The Driver (TLOC Edit)” on The Limits Of Control (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (Lakeshore, 2009)
Official Info: MySpace – Earth | MySpace – Southern Lord |Twitter – Southern Lord | Thrones And Dominions |
Misc: Encyclopedia Metalium | Metal.com | Tartarean Desire
Videos
Ouroboros Is Broken | Tallahassee | Live At The First Unitarian Church, Philadelphia
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