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Five reasons to go and see: Earth

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Earth

1 It’ll stop you droning on …
because that’s their job. Formed in Olympia, Washington in the early 90s by Dylan Carlson, the awesome Earth were pioneers of doom-laden drone rock, influencing everyone from Mogwai to Autechre, both of whom contributed to a recent remix album of Earth material.

2 They’re sloooooow
So slow they once released a 7in single designed to be played at 16rpm, thus making it essentially unplayable by just about everyone in the world.

3 It’s heavy, man
The band take their name from Black Sabbath’s original name, and they take that metal riffing into crazy new places, slowing things down, minimalising everything to achieve a quasi-religious, Zen-like level of bloody-minded noise.

4 We mean, like, really heavy, man
Here’s Carlson on the origins of Earth’s sound: ‘There is an occult history to this continent, a continent evil in and of itself, a continent which the inhabitants have had to suffer mightily to carve their various New Jerusalems out of. An infernal landscape which requires, from us, a song.’

5 Oh, and don’t mention Kurt Cobain
Carlson was Cobain’s best friend for years, introduced him to heroin when they were broke flatmates, then years later in a drug-induced stupor bought the gun with which Cobain shot himself. Ouch.

Nice’n’Sleazy, Glasgow, Sun 19 Apr.

More: Music, Previews (Music), Rock (Music), drone, Earth

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