Olde - I 2014

"Despite their somewhat-odd origins, this is not some new-school, svengali-created trend-jumper. OLDE is, simply, a handful of old school veterans offering up something new, challenging themselves in order to challenge the music scene itself. This is their battle cry, and, hopefully, it is the first of many."

support at hypaethral records

Inspired by a recording session with long-time stoner metal ...stalwarts Sons of Otis, guitarist/producer Greg Dawson (Cunter, Grift, BWC Studios) began to handpick and assemble OLDE, emphasizing a powerful and economic approach to Doom music. Enlisting the help of drummer Ryan Aubin (Sons of Otis), bassist Cory McCallum (Five Knuckle Chuckle), guitarist Chris "Hippy" Hughes (Moneen) and vocalist Doug McLarty (Jaww) OLDE began to take form. The band came in to the studio one by one, having only heard Dawson's demos, having never laid eyes on anyone else in the band. Soon, the recording was complete and "I" was ready to terrorize the heavy metal countryside. The band eventually met in Dawson's driveway and everyone got along quite famously.

Eschewing the sometimes meandering mores of the genre, OLDE's "I" is an exercise in force and restraint. There are no ten-minute guitar solos, space soundscapes, spritely psychedelics or vocal chanting freak-folk interludes. The album is somewhat of an anomaly: it is a Doom record without any one song topping five minutes. These calculated arrangements add to the single-minded and earnest nature of the music. OLDE wastes little time or effort. They are precise, efficient and heavy.