fans of doom,drone metal should know the name of earthdog promotions
very well.ed is one of the most dedicated,honest people i have met in 15
plus years in the underground.if you are band/label looking for
honest,indepth review or possible interview defintly check out ed and
his MANY zines/promotion pages or forums.ed is also a huge supporter of
black,black/death etc. so if your not really a doom fan take a few
min.to check out his pages as he also has some interviews with various
other bands and genres.enjoy!!!
patrick
nterview with ed editor/owner of earthdog promotions,doom metal
aliance and doom room forums.done by patrick
1.hello ed how is your week going? please tell the readers a little
about yourself.
ed - Its been another busy week for me,don't get much time to rest
anymore.With a full time job,the websites and a baby to take care of
it makes it pretty hard to relax ever !
2.i believe you started listening to doom,rock,metal etc.in the mid to late 70's
correct? who were some of the first bands you listened to?
ed - I have been listening to Heavy Rock/Metal since 1973 when i was 8
years old.Sabbath was the band that really kicked things off for me
but it was in the 80's with bands like Trouble and Saint Vitus that my
affection towards Doom Metal really grew.
3.besides the obvious creation of the internet and computers.how would
you say the underground metal/music scene has changed over the years.
ed- It has changed in so many ways,one of the biggest changes has been
the creation of sub-genres for Metal bands.In the Doom Metal genre now
days there is Stoner Doom,Traditional Doom,Gothic Doom,Progressive
Doom,Viking Doom,Drone Doom,Death Doom etc etc.When it first started
it was all under the banner of "Doom Metal".The sub-genres can be
useful for describing a band's sound but its also confused things a
little.The Internet age has made a huge difference because now anyone
can get their music heard,in the old days you were doomed to remain
bashing out the music in your garage or bedroom and that is where the
music stayed.The underground used to be real underground in the old
days,the only way you got to hear underground bands was through tape
trading,now you can discover new bands everyday just by turning on
your computer.
4.anyone who has you read your zines/promotion pages can see you are a
true fan/supporter of all things doom.when did you begin listening to
doom? who are your all-time favorite doom bands? what about in the
"current"scene are their any bands the readers should watch out for?
ed - It was in the 80's when Doom really got into my blood.Bands like
Trouble and Saint Vitus in the 80's where so different compared to
other Metal bands at the time.It was the beginning of the whole
Speed/Thrash/Black scene and bands like Trouble and Saint Vitus didn't
fit in at all with that.My favorite bands in Doom Metal would have to
be Saint Vitus,Trouble,Electric Wizard,Early
Cathedral,Sleep,Candlemass and of course Black Sabbath.I know they
were never a real Doom band but it all stems from Sabbath in my
opinion.The current scene has so many great bands like Dawn Of
Winter,Doomraiser,Church Of Misery,Black Pyramid,Kin Of
Ettins,Brigantia,Iron Void,Alunah,Tank Destroyer, Altar Of
Oblivion,Acid Witch,Hooded Menace,Stonehelm,Elliotts Keep and that
list can go on forever.I wouldn't like to try and name every band
because i know i would leave someone out and that wouldn't be fair.The
Drone/Doom scene is also alive with so many great projects happening
like Within The Torn Apart,A Death Cinematic and Desolation.
5.i believe earthdog promotions.was your first page/zine. when did you
get the idea to create earthdog promotions? how did you come up with
the name for the zine?
ed - Actually there was another zine before that one but it got
deleted by the powers that be on Myspace.It was at that point i
decided to start again but with a more professional/serious
approach.Last year Earthdog Promotions became a registered company and
i started dedicating the entire site to Promotion,Reviews and
Interviews.In real terms the site has been around over 3 years but its
really only been the last 18 months that its really taken off.The name
stems from the fact my nickname has always been "Dog",i don't really
know why ha ha.The "Earth" part came from the Iron Maiden album
"Maiden Japan" which on the back cover they thank all the
"Earthdogs".I have never seen that written anywhere else so i thought
it was kind of unique.To be honest i wish i had a better name for it
but its too late now.Earthdog Promotions it is !!
6.obviously doom and it's sub-genres{stoner,
sludge,drone etc.} are your favorite genre's but i have also seen some
reviews and interviews with black,death,thrash bands on your
sites.would you say you have a open-mind towards metal?
ed - Yes i have always listened to different kinds of Metal but i draw
the line at hair bands/glam commercial and real mainstream stuff.Most
of that stuff i don't class as Metal anyway.I am still obsessed with
old school Black/Death Metal and these days that style has made a real
comeback so its been great.I will always interview/review anyone but
if the band has a Doom edge then its a bonus.I am also a huge fan of
the Progressive and Proto-Metal bands of the early 70's.
7.if any bands or labels are reading this are you currently looking
for new bands and labels to work with? where can the interested
labels/bands get in touch with you?
ed - Bands can contact me through Earthdog Promotions @
http://www.myspace.com/earthdogpromotions or The Doom Metal Alliance
Site @ http://www.myspace.com/doommetalunion.There is also my main
blog site @ http://earthdogsvisionsofdoom.blogspot.com where you can
send a message or leave a comment.There is also my email at
doommantia69@yahoo.com.
8.besides earthdog promotions you also created/run the doom room
forums.when did you start this up? for the readers who have never seen
the doom room please give some information about it.
ed - The Doom Room is a group page on Myspace for Doom/Drone/Stoner
Metal fans and bands to discuss and promote music.It was started a
couple of years back but despite having nearly 800 members its pretty
much dead these days.The page was set up to provide a alternative to
the regular Myspace forums which are full of trolls who do nothing but
criticized things people post.None of that goes on in The Doom Room,if
they do they are removed.
9.do you have any advice to anyone reading this who is thinking of
starting up a promotions page/site or even a zine?
ed - If you are serious about it,be prepared to spend every spare
moment you can on it.Its real hard work if the site becomes popular,i
spend every spare second working on the sites.With 4 main Myspace
sites,a blogger site and a DMA forum on the Napalm Drones site which
you can find at http://napalmdrones.niceboard.net/forum.htm my spare
time is 100% devoted to these sites.Its has got to the point now where
i can't even sit down and have lunch at work,i have to spend the time
keeping up with the Zines/Webpages.The main thing you have to do is be
dedicated to what you love and be real about it.Don't promise bands
things you can't do and follow through with what you say.There is a
lot of fake people on the Internet so keep it real and you will
succeed.
10.as if working on earthdog prom.and the doom room forums.you
recently took over the site/page "the doom metal alliance".when did
you begin working on this site?
ed - Yes been doing for a while,i can't remember exactly when i took
it over but its close to a year.Thanks has to go out to Derek Edward
Kellington who started the site,he really made the site what it is
today.The site is huge,comments,messages never stop and Friend
Requests push the 100 mark every week.The site has become so big the
DMA name is everywhere,i have a google account that traces the hits
and pushes the site name up on web searches.I can see it becoming the
number one site, on Google if you type in the word "Doom Metal" you
will see its almost there now !
11.for the readers unfamiliar with the DMA.please give a history of
this site/page?
ed - The site was started by Derek Edward Kellington because he wanted
to help spread the word on the Doom Metal underground.The site became
so big he felt it was taking up too much of his time so he offered it
to me.To be honest i was a bit hesitate at first because i knew the
work involved in keeping up with it.The site is now bigger than ever
and the DMA name is soon to extend itself to T-Shirts,Patches,Buttons
and hopefully to CD distribution.The DMA logo is everywhere and its
almost outgrown Myspace now,it is time to take the DMA to the next
step.
12.i know one feature on the DMA.is the DMA.music sampler.which people
can download for free from the site.how many samplers have you all
done so far?how often do you all do new samplers?
ed - Yes the Sampler's have been pretty successful with each one being
more downloaded than the last.There is 5 Sampler's with number 5 being
a 2 CD free download.I get many messages from people saying they
discovered a band from one of the Sampler's.This is the greatest
compliment of all because that was the point of the Sampler's to begin
with.Sampler Vol.6 is almost done and should be up within a week or
two.There is already bands sending in songs for Vol.7 so these
Sampler's will continue for a long time yet.The links for the
Sampler's are all posted on the Doom Metal Alliance Site.
13.if any bands/labels are reading this do you only feature doom bands
or will you consider any type of metal genre?
ed - I will consider almost anyone on Earthdog Promotions but the DMA
is all about Doom/Stoner / Drone so i try and stick to that as much as
i can.
14.i know at one time we were talking and you had mentioned about
possibly trying to "expand" and start a small label/distro.is this
something you would like to still try?
ed - Yes i have been in discussions with different people and its a
real possibility.I hope to have something going before the end of this
year,i am also working on setting up a online store to sell
CD's,Shirts etc etc.The site is actually already up but it will be the
end of the year before there is any official announcement.One of the
main differences with the distro is the CD's will be advertised for
free,i know some other promotional companies charged a reasonable sum
of money to promote a CD and some of them don't do much at all.I want
to offer a alternative to that if possible.
15.well ed thanks alot for taking the time to fill out this
interview.do you have any final words for the readers?
ed - Just keep on supporting the underground and keep it real.Thanks
for all the support people have shown me and the sites.Doom ON !!
patrick
nterview with ed editor/owner of earthdog promotions,doom metal
aliance and doom room forums.done by patrick
1.hello ed how is your week going? please tell the readers a little
about yourself.
ed - Its been another busy week for me,don't get much time to rest
anymore.With a full time job,the websites and a baby to take care of
it makes it pretty hard to relax ever !
2.i believe you started listening to doom,rock,metal etc.in the mid to late 70's
correct? who were some of the first bands you listened to?
ed - I have been listening to Heavy Rock/Metal since 1973 when i was 8
years old.Sabbath was the band that really kicked things off for me
but it was in the 80's with bands like Trouble and Saint Vitus that my
affection towards Doom Metal really grew.
3.besides the obvious creation of the internet and computers.how would
you say the underground metal/music scene has changed over the years.
ed- It has changed in so many ways,one of the biggest changes has been
the creation of sub-genres for Metal bands.In the Doom Metal genre now
days there is Stoner Doom,Traditional Doom,Gothic Doom,Progressive
Doom,Viking Doom,Drone Doom,Death Doom etc etc.When it first started
it was all under the banner of "Doom Metal".The sub-genres can be
useful for describing a band's sound but its also confused things a
little.The Internet age has made a huge difference because now anyone
can get their music heard,in the old days you were doomed to remain
bashing out the music in your garage or bedroom and that is where the
music stayed.The underground used to be real underground in the old
days,the only way you got to hear underground bands was through tape
trading,now you can discover new bands everyday just by turning on
your computer.
4.anyone who has you read your zines/promotion pages can see you are a
true fan/supporter of all things doom.when did you begin listening to
doom? who are your all-time favorite doom bands? what about in the
"current"scene are their any bands the readers should watch out for?
ed - It was in the 80's when Doom really got into my blood.Bands like
Trouble and Saint Vitus in the 80's where so different compared to
other Metal bands at the time.It was the beginning of the whole
Speed/Thrash/Black scene and bands like Trouble and Saint Vitus didn't
fit in at all with that.My favorite bands in Doom Metal would have to
be Saint Vitus,Trouble,Electric Wizard,Early
Cathedral,Sleep,Candlemass and of course Black Sabbath.I know they
were never a real Doom band but it all stems from Sabbath in my
opinion.The current scene has so many great bands like Dawn Of
Winter,Doomraiser,Church Of Misery,Black Pyramid,Kin Of
Ettins,Brigantia,Iron Void,Alunah,Tank Destroyer, Altar Of
Oblivion,Acid Witch,Hooded Menace,Stonehelm,Elliotts Keep and that
list can go on forever.I wouldn't like to try and name every band
because i know i would leave someone out and that wouldn't be fair.The
Drone/Doom scene is also alive with so many great projects happening
like Within The Torn Apart,A Death Cinematic and Desolation.
5.i believe earthdog promotions.was your first page/zine. when did you
get the idea to create earthdog promotions? how did you come up with
the name for the zine?
ed - Actually there was another zine before that one but it got
deleted by the powers that be on Myspace.It was at that point i
decided to start again but with a more professional/serious
approach.Last year Earthdog Promotions became a registered company and
i started dedicating the entire site to Promotion,Reviews and
Interviews.In real terms the site has been around over 3 years but its
really only been the last 18 months that its really taken off.The name
stems from the fact my nickname has always been "Dog",i don't really
know why ha ha.The "Earth" part came from the Iron Maiden album
"Maiden Japan" which on the back cover they thank all the
"Earthdogs".I have never seen that written anywhere else so i thought
it was kind of unique.To be honest i wish i had a better name for it
but its too late now.Earthdog Promotions it is !!
6.obviously doom and it's sub-genres{stoner,
sludge,drone etc.} are your favorite genre's but i have also seen some
reviews and interviews with black,death,thrash bands on your
sites.would you say you have a open-mind towards metal?
ed - Yes i have always listened to different kinds of Metal but i draw
the line at hair bands/glam commercial and real mainstream stuff.Most
of that stuff i don't class as Metal anyway.I am still obsessed with
old school Black/Death Metal and these days that style has made a real
comeback so its been great.I will always interview/review anyone but
if the band has a Doom edge then its a bonus.I am also a huge fan of
the Progressive and Proto-Metal bands of the early 70's.
7.if any bands or labels are reading this are you currently looking
for new bands and labels to work with? where can the interested
labels/bands get in touch with you?
ed - Bands can contact me through Earthdog Promotions @
http://www.myspace.com/earthdogpromotions or The Doom Metal Alliance
Site @ http://www.myspace.com/doommetalunion.There is also my main
blog site @ http://earthdogsvisionsofdoom.blogspot.com where you can
send a message or leave a comment.There is also my email at
doommantia69@yahoo.com.
8.besides earthdog promotions you also created/run the doom room
forums.when did you start this up? for the readers who have never seen
the doom room please give some information about it.
ed - The Doom Room is a group page on Myspace for Doom/Drone/Stoner
Metal fans and bands to discuss and promote music.It was started a
couple of years back but despite having nearly 800 members its pretty
much dead these days.The page was set up to provide a alternative to
the regular Myspace forums which are full of trolls who do nothing but
criticized things people post.None of that goes on in The Doom Room,if
they do they are removed.
9.do you have any advice to anyone reading this who is thinking of
starting up a promotions page/site or even a zine?
ed - If you are serious about it,be prepared to spend every spare
moment you can on it.Its real hard work if the site becomes popular,i
spend every spare second working on the sites.With 4 main Myspace
sites,a blogger site and a DMA forum on the Napalm Drones site which
you can find at http://napalmdrones.niceboard.net/forum.htm my spare
time is 100% devoted to these sites.Its has got to the point now where
i can't even sit down and have lunch at work,i have to spend the time
keeping up with the Zines/Webpages.The main thing you have to do is be
dedicated to what you love and be real about it.Don't promise bands
things you can't do and follow through with what you say.There is a
lot of fake people on the Internet so keep it real and you will
succeed.
10.as if working on earthdog prom.and the doom room forums.you
recently took over the site/page "the doom metal alliance".when did
you begin working on this site?
ed - Yes been doing for a while,i can't remember exactly when i took
it over but its close to a year.Thanks has to go out to Derek Edward
Kellington who started the site,he really made the site what it is
today.The site is huge,comments,messages never stop and Friend
Requests push the 100 mark every week.The site has become so big the
DMA name is everywhere,i have a google account that traces the hits
and pushes the site name up on web searches.I can see it becoming the
number one site, on Google if you type in the word "Doom Metal" you
will see its almost there now !
11.for the readers unfamiliar with the DMA.please give a history of
this site/page?
ed - The site was started by Derek Edward Kellington because he wanted
to help spread the word on the Doom Metal underground.The site became
so big he felt it was taking up too much of his time so he offered it
to me.To be honest i was a bit hesitate at first because i knew the
work involved in keeping up with it.The site is now bigger than ever
and the DMA name is soon to extend itself to T-Shirts,Patches,Buttons
and hopefully to CD distribution.The DMA logo is everywhere and its
almost outgrown Myspace now,it is time to take the DMA to the next
step.
12.i know one feature on the DMA.is the DMA.music sampler.which people
can download for free from the site.how many samplers have you all
done so far?how often do you all do new samplers?
ed - Yes the Sampler's have been pretty successful with each one being
more downloaded than the last.There is 5 Sampler's with number 5 being
a 2 CD free download.I get many messages from people saying they
discovered a band from one of the Sampler's.This is the greatest
compliment of all because that was the point of the Sampler's to begin
with.Sampler Vol.6 is almost done and should be up within a week or
two.There is already bands sending in songs for Vol.7 so these
Sampler's will continue for a long time yet.The links for the
Sampler's are all posted on the Doom Metal Alliance Site.
13.if any bands/labels are reading this do you only feature doom bands
or will you consider any type of metal genre?
ed - I will consider almost anyone on Earthdog Promotions but the DMA
is all about Doom/Stoner / Drone so i try and stick to that as much as
i can.
14.i know at one time we were talking and you had mentioned about
possibly trying to "expand" and start a small label/distro.is this
something you would like to still try?
ed - Yes i have been in discussions with different people and its a
real possibility.I hope to have something going before the end of this
year,i am also working on setting up a online store to sell
CD's,Shirts etc etc.The site is actually already up but it will be the
end of the year before there is any official announcement.One of the
main differences with the distro is the CD's will be advertised for
free,i know some other promotional companies charged a reasonable sum
of money to promote a CD and some of them don't do much at all.I want
to offer a alternative to that if possible.
15.well ed thanks alot for taking the time to fill out this
interview.do you have any final words for the readers?
ed - Just keep on supporting the underground and keep it real.Thanks
for all the support people have shown me and the sites.Doom ON !!
