Old Man Gloom: Christmas (2004)

Well, I suppose the obvious choice would have been to feature an album by U.S. Christmas on Christmas. I have decided to go back a few years and feature the album "Christmas" by Old Man Gloom.

First of all, if you are expecting a bunch of Christmas songs covered by a post-metal hardcore sludge band then you are sorely mistaken.

"Like Isis' Oceanic and Celestial, Christmas is filled with peaks and valleys, instances of harsh noise-core followed by ambient mood pieces. While Christmas is, much like Isis’ later recordings, a deeply layered album, it’s also direct. But that’s not to say the members of Converge and Cave In have no say in Christmas. Their influences are apparent in the songwriting itself. The tracks are more focused, giving the album a greater effect and mood. There are no semi-realized tracks, and there is no filler."-Arzgarth

"As barren as it is busy, Christmas is a sonic abomination crooked with distortion, sublime heaviness, and most importantly, a child-like adoration of our simian brethren. And unlike the holiday, your presents are bits of twitchy sludge and jittery soundscapes that are both full of climactic head-swelling moments and end-of-life drones. Watch the sunset, get bombarded by hail. Smell the flowers, get gang raped. It's a sick system. If none of this interests you, the booklet is the funniest thing you'll read all year."-Jason M.

Track Listing:

01.Gift
02.Skullstorm
03.Something for the Mrs.
04.Sleeping with Snakes
05.Lukeness Monster
06.'Tis Better to Receive
07.Accord-O-Matic
08.The Volcano
09.Close Your Eyes, Roll Back Into Your Head
10.Girth and Greed
11.Sonic Dust
12.Valhalla
13.Christmas Eve Parts I, II & III (Alternative Version)
 
Band members:

Aaron Turner – vocals, guitar (Isis)
Santos Montano – drums (Zozobra)
Nate Newton – guitar, vocals (Converge, Doomriders)
Caleb Scofield – bass guitar, vocals (Cave In, Zozobra)
Luke Scarola - Electronics
Jay Randall - Electronics (Agoraphobic Nosebleed)




After listening to "Christmas" I guarantee you won't have visions of sugar plum fairies dancing in your head. Or maybe you will. The music has many mood swings, at times soothing, at times crushing, at times epic. But one thing is for sure traditional Christmas music it isn't.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

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Bonus Download: Christmas Eve I & II + 6 EP [2003]

Album Of The Day-Old Man Gloom-"Christmas" (2004)

The Album Of The Day is "Christmas" by Old Man Gloom.



Review:

By the release of Old Man Gloom's third long-player, Christmas, in late 2004, their fans knew exactly what to expect: violent emotional release through impossibly heavy yet, at the same time, strangely beautiful explosions of post-metalcore firepower, interspersed with the mounting tension brought on by conversely peaceful stretches of ambient/electronic near silence. In other words, you don't have to be a musical masochist to love OMG, but it sure does help. Maybe it's the harsh disparities in volume from song to song, which make the use of headphones almost mandatory, or perhaps the disappointing brevity of so many positively stunning compositions (cruelly snatched away like candy from a child, after just a few licks), compounded with the knowledge that had they fallen under the aegis of sister band Isis, these hypnotic wonders would have been stretched almost indefinitely. Whatever the reason, chances are listeners old and new will be grinding their teeth in frustration during initial exposures to the self-proclaimed "Simian Alien Defense League's" latest musical thesis, which, incidentally, once again discusses man's relationship with his simian ancestors -- albeit in less obvious terms than its two-part predecessors Seminar II and III. But enough with the setup, let's move on to the pain/pleasure of the music itself, shall we? Mournful acoustic guitars introduce the steady climb toward sonic catharsis that is opener "Gift," after which the listener is pretty much locked into the aforementioned, vertiginous roller coaster ride between loud and soft dynamic movements through to the album's conclusion. Analyzing the peaks and valleys separately: fierce outbursts like "Sleeping With Snakes" and "Girth and Greed" capture a condensed intensity not heard since the demise of Memphis' incomparable His Hero Is Gone, while the growling bass prominent in "'Tis Better to Receive" and the aptly named "The Volcano" make them sound like bite-sized Neurosis chunks. As for the mellow bits, special kudos must go to the pulsing organ in "Lukeness Monster," the desolate, grainy, sitar-like sounds of "Close Your Eyes, Roll Back Into Your Head," and the almost conventional arrangement and mournful acoustic guitars of "Sonic Dust." Finally capping the whole enterprise is the multi-sectioned title track, which, thankfully, wasn't saved for a separate EP this time (thanks guys!) and, with each repeated listen, invariably draws the listener -- ragged senses and all -- right back to the start for one more round of punishment. Which is to reiterate the point that Christmas, like every Old Man Gloom effort, requires a fair bit patience before it reveals its unorthodox secrets; but is virtually guaranteed to reward open-minded music fans willing to put in the time.(Eduardo Rivadavia, All Music Guide)

Track Listing:

01. "Gift" – 5:47
02. "Skullstorm" – 0:51
03. "Something for the Mrs." – 5:44
04. "Sleeping With Snakes" – 2:33
05. "Lukeness Monster" – 2:54
06. "'Tis Better to Receive" – 1:25
07. "Accord-O-Matic" – 7:50
08. "The Volcano" – 7:32
09. "Close Your Eyes, Roll Back into Your Head" – 3:30
10. "Girth and Greed" – 1:33
11. "Sonic Dust" – 3:06
12. "Valhalla" – 2:08
13. "Christmas Eve parts I, II & III (alt. version)" – 16:17

Listen

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Purchase "Christmas" here.