Steerpike
01-27-2006, 06:30 PM
Well, here we are. Starting the final chapter of year 1 in the series. It's a real milestone.
But I'm not going to waste time stoking my ego. We're going to take the customarily look back on the last chapter before moving on.
Kamelot - Real American Power Metal
http://www.musicianforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=415201
Blackmore's Night - A Match Made In Heaven
http://www.musicianforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=417518
Michale Graves - Dig Up Her Bones for Witch Season!
http://www.musicianforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=419906
Melechesh - Sumerian Black Metal
http://www.musicianforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=422394
Darkest of the Hillside Thickets - Ia! Ia! Cthulhu rocks!
http://www.musicianforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=424234
Tangerine Dream - The World's Greatest Synth Band
http://www.musicianforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=426021
Sabaton - This Means War
http://www.musicianforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=428552
After Forever - A New Generation of Gothic Metal
http://www.musicianforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=430938
Epica - Life After Forever
http://www.musicianforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=433562
Primal Fear - Metal Eagles of Sci-Fi
http://www.musicianforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=436163
Christmas Special: Trans-Siberian Orchestra - A New Christmas Tradition
http://www.musicianforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=426215
Well, that's taken care of. Now, let's go forward. Ironically, we began chapter two of the series with a doom metal band, and now we repeat that theme.
Biography
One of the more interesting practices of Christianity is the creation of saints. Now, regardless of your thoughts on religion, the creation of saints was the church's response to polytheism. The saints weren't gods, but they were a pantheon of holy individuals who blessed certain areas of creation. Some were probably just made up. I mean let's face it, where in the Bible are you going to hear mention of Saint Elmo and Saint Blayze? One of the more obscure saints in this little pantheon was Saint Vitus, the patron saint of dancing and dogs... y-y-y-yeah. Ironic that a doom metal band used his name, isn't it?
Saint Vitus is one of the earliest doom metal bands, and largely regarded as a founder of the genre. They formed in the late 70's in Los Angeles under the original name Tyrant and helped to popularize the dirge approach to metal that Black Sabbath originally devised and Pentagram later expounded on. This wasn't too good for them at first, because the West Coast was the hub of the thrash metal surge. Metallica, Megadeth, Antrhax, Exodus... the list goes on. All based in California and founded in the 80's.
Add to the fact that the quartet had limited funds which resulted in very raw production, and they were fighting an uphill battle of apathy and bad reviews.
On the upshot, they always stuck to their guns and had the fortune of their only line-up change being a rotation of vocalists, all of whom have been regarded in modern days as classic doom metal vocalists.
Their self-titled debut left most critics stunned with the very balls-y decision to play so slow it made you want to slash your throat from the oppressive sound. Greg Ginn, founder of SST Records and guitarist for the highly influential punk band Black Flag, was the one who provided them with this chance. The then-vocalist was Scott Reager.
Reager recorded one more album and an EP with the group before he left and was replaced by the equally impressive Scott "Wino" Weinrich. Wino turned out to be the group's longest lasting vocalist, staying with them from Born Too Late in 1986 to 1990's release of Live, the band's first and only live album.
After Wino left, Christian Lindersson, whom Saint Vitus met when his band, Count Raven, were opening for them, joined up for the release of the Children of Doom album in 1993. Don Dokken himself liked their work so much he helped produce the album, but even his word and promotion were not enough to help, and the band split up.
They reunited with Scott Reagers to record one last album not long after, the 1995 release entitled Die Healing. Once it was complete, Saint Vitus was no more.
The band members have since drifted in and out of various projects, though in 2003 they held several reunion concerts from the Born Too Late era, much to the delight of doom fans across the world. They also rereleased their fifth album, V, and sold it at the concerts.
Recently, there has been a resurgence of interest in doom metal. This is largely spearheaded by the reunion of Candlemass and their new self-titled album, regarded by many as their best yet. Perhaps this means there will be more interest in Saint Vitus? Perhaps there will be more reunion concerts to come? Hard to say. But it should be interesting to watch and see what happens.
Sadly, this band has no official web site at this time.
But I'm not going to waste time stoking my ego. We're going to take the customarily look back on the last chapter before moving on.
Kamelot - Real American Power Metal
http://www.musicianforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=415201
Blackmore's Night - A Match Made In Heaven
http://www.musicianforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=417518
Michale Graves - Dig Up Her Bones for Witch Season!
http://www.musicianforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=419906
Melechesh - Sumerian Black Metal
http://www.musicianforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=422394
Darkest of the Hillside Thickets - Ia! Ia! Cthulhu rocks!
http://www.musicianforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=424234
Tangerine Dream - The World's Greatest Synth Band
http://www.musicianforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=426021
Sabaton - This Means War
http://www.musicianforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=428552
After Forever - A New Generation of Gothic Metal
http://www.musicianforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=430938
Epica - Life After Forever
http://www.musicianforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=433562
Primal Fear - Metal Eagles of Sci-Fi
http://www.musicianforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=436163
Christmas Special: Trans-Siberian Orchestra - A New Christmas Tradition
http://www.musicianforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=426215
Well, that's taken care of. Now, let's go forward. Ironically, we began chapter two of the series with a doom metal band, and now we repeat that theme.
Biography
One of the more interesting practices of Christianity is the creation of saints. Now, regardless of your thoughts on religion, the creation of saints was the church's response to polytheism. The saints weren't gods, but they were a pantheon of holy individuals who blessed certain areas of creation. Some were probably just made up. I mean let's face it, where in the Bible are you going to hear mention of Saint Elmo and Saint Blayze? One of the more obscure saints in this little pantheon was Saint Vitus, the patron saint of dancing and dogs... y-y-y-yeah. Ironic that a doom metal band used his name, isn't it?
Saint Vitus is one of the earliest doom metal bands, and largely regarded as a founder of the genre. They formed in the late 70's in Los Angeles under the original name Tyrant and helped to popularize the dirge approach to metal that Black Sabbath originally devised and Pentagram later expounded on. This wasn't too good for them at first, because the West Coast was the hub of the thrash metal surge. Metallica, Megadeth, Antrhax, Exodus... the list goes on. All based in California and founded in the 80's.
Add to the fact that the quartet had limited funds which resulted in very raw production, and they were fighting an uphill battle of apathy and bad reviews.
On the upshot, they always stuck to their guns and had the fortune of their only line-up change being a rotation of vocalists, all of whom have been regarded in modern days as classic doom metal vocalists.
Their self-titled debut left most critics stunned with the very balls-y decision to play so slow it made you want to slash your throat from the oppressive sound. Greg Ginn, founder of SST Records and guitarist for the highly influential punk band Black Flag, was the one who provided them with this chance. The then-vocalist was Scott Reager.
Reager recorded one more album and an EP with the group before he left and was replaced by the equally impressive Scott "Wino" Weinrich. Wino turned out to be the group's longest lasting vocalist, staying with them from Born Too Late in 1986 to 1990's release of Live, the band's first and only live album.
After Wino left, Christian Lindersson, whom Saint Vitus met when his band, Count Raven, were opening for them, joined up for the release of the Children of Doom album in 1993. Don Dokken himself liked their work so much he helped produce the album, but even his word and promotion were not enough to help, and the band split up.
They reunited with Scott Reagers to record one last album not long after, the 1995 release entitled Die Healing. Once it was complete, Saint Vitus was no more.
The band members have since drifted in and out of various projects, though in 2003 they held several reunion concerts from the Born Too Late era, much to the delight of doom fans across the world. They also rereleased their fifth album, V, and sold it at the concerts.
Recently, there has been a resurgence of interest in doom metal. This is largely spearheaded by the reunion of Candlemass and their new self-titled album, regarded by many as their best yet. Perhaps this means there will be more interest in Saint Vitus? Perhaps there will be more reunion concerts to come? Hard to say. But it should be interesting to watch and see what happens.
Sadly, this band has no official web site at this time.