In the early ’90s, Earth released three landmark albums that set the standard for drone metal. Taking their name from an early incarnation of Black Sabbath, Earth sought to distill rock music to its fundamentals, employing repetition, reverb and distortion to hypnotic effect. The group pioneered the brooding, minimalist aesthetic that went on to inspire a new wave of atmospheric experimental rock, including the likes of Sunn O))), Boris and Om.
After an extended hiatus beginning in the late ’90s, Earth’s only constant member Dylan Carlson revived the band for the release of 2005’s Hex; Or Printing in the Infernal Method. Drawing influence from novelist Cormac McCarthy and composer Ennio Morricone, the record saw Earth’s sound transform, merging the band’s signature meditative drone with country folk-inflected rhythms and plodding, introspective soundscapes.
The three records that followed continued in the same vein, building layer upon layer of sonic sprawl, letting the space in between the notes speak as much as the music itself. Earth are hard at work on an eighth studio album, but their legacy as innovators of post-rock, drone, doom and everything in between is firmly established.
Earth’s live show is like a religious awakening: cascading, hypnotic and utterly consuming. See them on the following dates:
Tuesday June 17 – Crowbar – Brisbane
Wednesday June 18 – Rosemount Hotel – Perth
Thursday June 19 – Manning Bar – Sydney
Saturday June 21 – The Hi-Fi – Melbourne