Stephen O’Malley is oft recognized as a pioneer of doom and drone metal from his participation in Khanate and Sunn O))). But before either of these incarnations, O’Malley and Greg Anderson (also of Sunn O) were creating blackest doom metal in Burning Witch and Thorr’s Hammer. Thorr’s Hammer was an incredible band with a charming female who sang in Norwegian (Runhild Gammelsæter aka Ozma, who was a 17 year old exchange student from Norway at the time). My favorite song by them is “Norge” which starts out softly, Ozma’s voice fades in, chanting in Norwegian. Then, that same female voice dives deeply into gravelly death metal vocalizations. It’s hard to believe that it’s a female singing still, she is so convincing with her delivery!

Thorr’s Hammer ft. Ozma

“black envelope of total underground obscurity”

I’ll let Stephen O’ give you a little doom metal history in his own words:

Burning Witch was born from the ashes of the act Thorr’s Hammer in late 1995, but was in existence only a bit longer and disbanded in late March 1997. During the period three recording sessions (a demo plus two album works) and a hand full of concerts were executed in the Pacific Northwest region. Two of the sessions eventually were released on LP format under the following titles, and portions of the 2 sessions were compiled as the second Southern Lord cd release in 1999 titled “Crippled Lucifer (Seven Psalms for our Lord of Light)”. The group reformed briefly in October 1998 to perform two concerts in California as a tribute to Slap A Ham releasing the “Towers….” LP at that time.

Despite existing beneath a certain black envelope of total underground obscurity in it’s life, the band has left a lasting legacy within certain sectors. BW could also arguably be mentioned as an important seed from which members posthumously branched off into the following critical acts: SUNN O))) (and associated projects), KHANATE, GOATSNAKE, ASVA, ATAVIST, SINISTAAR and others.

Well, the reason I offer you this brief history lesson into doom’s black roots, is that Southern Lord has decided to re-release Crippled Lucifer as a double CD (with vinyl to follow at a later date, hopefully) that contains “all works recorded during the September 1996 Towers… and March 1997 Rift.Canyon.Dreams sessions, liner notes and a lot of associative imagery from the short period the group was active.”

Burning Witch Crippled Lucifer:

CD1
Towers…
1) Sacred Predictions
2) Country Doctor
3) Tower Place
4) Sea Hag
5) The Bleeder

CD2
Rift.Canyon.Dreams
1) Warning Signs
2) Stillborn
3) History of Hell (Crippled Lucifer)
4) Communion
5) Rift.Canyon.Dreams

Stephen O’Malley also offered this grain of anticipation for the future:

Eventually we hope to amend this with a proper vinyl issue as well, and probably a few tshirts (one vintage design and a new one). Please check http://www.ideologic.org or http://www.southernlord.com for more information in the next weeks.

If you haven’t been to O’Malley’s ideologic website yet, head over there as soon as you get a chance. It’s a beautiful site, so much more effective at communicating the space in experimental metal than most websites…

Audio From Thorr’s Hammer, Khanate and Goatsnake

Here are a few songs from Southern Lord’s catalog, starting with “Norge” by Thorr’s Hammer. All of these songs are available to download on the Southern Lord website, as well as the best selection of experimental metal on high-quality vinyl and/or CD.

In addition to playing with Sunn O - which has doubled in size with new member Attila Csihar and a rotating cast of guests like members of Boris, Joe Preston and Justin Broadrick - Stephen O’Malley has directed a lot of his time and energy in the last year or so to his new project: KTL. KTL has been playing in Europe a bit this year, and is currently gearing up for a serious tour. Plus, as I’ve been reporting this week, Sunn O))) also have a string of shows coming up. The year finishes up with Sunn O performing at All Tomorrows Parties on 9 December (sharing the bill with label mates Earth, as well as Portishead and Aphex Twin) and the next night with Boris and Sunn O performing ALTAR together in London.

KTL and Sunn O))) Tour Dates

16 Sep KTL @ The Bakery Perth, Western Australia
18 Sep KTL @ Toff In Town Melbourne, Victoria
20 Sep KTL @ The Factory Theatre Sydney, New South Wales
21 Sep KTL @ The Judith Wright Centre Brisbane, Queensland
23 Sep KTL @ Unagidani Sansui Osaka, Osaka
24 Sep KTL @ Unagidani Sansui Osaka, Osaka
25 Sep KTL @ Ikeshita Club Upset Nagoya, Aichi
27 Sep KTL @ Shibuya O-Nest Tokyo, Tokyo
30 Sep KTL @ Niigata Z-1 Niigata, Niigata
12 Oct KINDERTOTENLIEDER @ Dansenshus Stockholm, Stockholms län
13 Oct KTL @ Pulkvedis Riga
16 Oct KINDERTOTENLIEDER @ Teater Garasjen Bergen
17 Oct KINDERTOTENLIEDER @ Teater Garasjen Bergen
18 Oct KTL @ Bergen Kunsthalle Bergen, Hordaland
21 Oct KINDERTOTENLIEDER @ Dance4 Festival Nottingham, Midlands
1 Nov SUNN O))) @ Manium Olympia, Washington
2 Nov SUNN O))) @ Neumos Seattle, Washington
3 Nov SUNN O))) @ The Hawthorne Portland, Oregon
6 Nov KINDERTOTENLIEDER @ Festival euro-scene Leipzig, Sachsen
9 Nov KINDERTOTENLIEDER @ Les Subsistances Lyon, Rhône-Alpes
10 Nov KINDERTOTENLIEDER @ Les Subsistances Lyon, Rhône-Alpes
15 Nov KTL @ Base sous Marine Bordeaux, Aquitaine
16 Nov KINDERTOTENLIEDER @ Festival Les Grandes Traversées Bordeaux, Aquitaine
18 Nov KTL @ Netwerk Aalst
19 Nov KTL @ OT301 Amsterdam
30 Nov KTL @ LAB Copenhagen
9 Dec SUNN O))) @ ATP / Minehead Minehead, Southwest
10 Dec SUNN O))) & BORIS present ALTAR London

Doom Metal Links

Southern Lord
ideologic
Stephen O’Malley metal $pace
Burning Witch wiki
Thorr’s Hammer wiki
Khanate wiki

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