"Doom Folky Fury" Premiere on the Obelisk
"Doom Folky Fury" is live on the Obelisk, along with an in-depth review of the upcoming Buzzard 7-song mini-album:
A few words about the song.
A year ago or so I started toying with the title “pure fucking vegan doom folk fury” as an entry in the tradition of song titles that reference their own genre, from punk to blues. I also get a kick out of artists who theatrically claim the mantle of their genre, swearing fealty to “pure fucking black metal” or hailing “extreme power metal glory!” However, I doubted I could ever come up with lyrics or music to back up such an OTT declaration as “pure fucking doom folk fury.”
Enter the 2024 election.
The song began with the opening couplet, which popped into my head sometime last December, likely after a bleak winter’s doomscroll. Immediately I grinned (since the dark stuff serves me as both catharsis and gallow’s humor) and grabbed a pen. Once the verse lyrics started pouring out, I realized this could be my “doom folk fury” moment, so next came the chorus, which led to a bridge, and then a second bridge… In for a penny, in for a pound, so the song evolved into a kitchen sink of metal-y and folky sections, both inward and outward looking, almost like a mini-album to my mind. Whether the song reaches its “pure fucking doom folk fury” promise or falls on its face is up to the listener to decide, but nobody can say I didn’t swing for the fences on this one.
Working on this song, and the whole 7-song song cycle as a whole, has provided catharsis and comfort over the last few months. I would listen to the latest mix or tweak on the way to and from work, hearing a voice–my voice, as it turns out, but it could be any voice–expressing sentiments–from the heart, the gut, the spleen–I might otherwise keep bottled up.
I’m not sure if repeatedly telling yourself you’re not crazy in order to not feel crazy is a path to sanity or just another form of craziness. But I do think you end up making music that does not ask for permission to exist, which is a worthy aspiration.
In fact, being a personality type more prone to accommodation than confrontation, I even considered cutting some lines or keeping a track or two unreleased. Balking at “going there,” I would wonder if some of my lyrics should remain “inside voice” only.
But I kept returning to the Buzzard mission statement, which includes going anywhere and everywhere lyrically, no matter how dark, weird, or even self-contradictory, as long as the words come authentically from true lived experience. And as long as it rhymes.
Best,
Chris