YOU SHOULD BE LISTENING TO: Scranton doom metal band Earthmouth
City: Scranton
Genre(s): Doom metal, psychedelic metal, stoner metal
Years active: 2012-present
Sounds like: Earthmouth is an apt name, as their music would likely be the sound you would hear if the unforgiving earth rose up and swallowed you whole, dragging you down into the fabled depths of hell. The word “brutal” is thrown around a lot when describing metal these days, but this is true brutality at its best, shouted from the tallest mountains as they crumble and crush the nonbelievers underneath their massive weight.
Slow, sludgy, and soul-crushingly heavy, this band exudes a resounding, fuzzy, distorted atmosphere with only three members, sending listeners on a strange acid trip through arcane occult ceremonies and smokey midnight witch burnings with an undeniable bluesy groove, crashing drums, and raw, bloodcurdling vocals.
Light one up and bang your head to the dark, hypnotic rhythms of what may be the heaviest band currently tearing down the Northeastern Pennsylvania music scene.
For fans of: Electric Wizard, Witchfinder General, Pentagram, Saint Vitus, Candlemass, Cathedral, Sleep, Black Sabbath, Down, Crowbar, Corrosion of Conformity, Deep Purple, and Blue Cheer
Number of albums/EPs released: Three (“Earthmouth” in 2013, “Voice of the Mountain” in 2014, and “Harvest of the Autumn Sun” in 2016)
Latest release: “Harvest of the Autumn Sun,” released Feb. 12, 2016
Fun fact: Lead singer Gooby Ugebun has a side project called Goobtron.
Online: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Bandcamp, SoundCloud, ReverbNation, YouTube, and earthmouth.com
Upcoming shows:
March 10: Scranton Zine Fest All-Ages Benefit Show at The Other Side (119 S. Main St., Wilkes-Barre) with Stay Loud!, Walau-eh, Karate Camp, University Drive, and Family Animals, 7 p.m.
March 11: Century (1350 S. 29th St., Philadelphia), 8 p.m.
March 17: Stamps Bar (98 Main St., Tonawanda, NY) with Sustruga, Sons of Ghidorah, and Short Attention Span Theatre, 8 p.m.
March 19: The Bug Jar (219 Monroe Ave., Rochester, NY) with The Highest Leviathan and Deskekrator, 8 p.m.
April 1: Lucky 13 Saloon (644 Sackett St., Brooklyn, NY) with Elephant Killer, Family Animals, Traverse the Abyss, and Stag Party, 8 p.m.
See photos of Earthmouth performing at the Irish Wolf Pub in Scranton last year here.
Photo by Cami Kyttle/CLK Photography