For most artists, writing and recording an album is rarely a linear process. There are myriad opportunities for complications and detours, unforeseen struggles and delays, all of which can drastically alter the trajectory of a record. What is the creative process, after all, if not an experiment in evolution and adaptation where ideas are borne and nurtured, dissected and reconfigured, abandoned and reclaimed, laid low and redeemed?
In the case of Atlanta doom metal stewards Order of the Owl, the journey to record their new album, We Are Here to Collect Our Crown, has been long and arduous, a prolonged trek strewn with many obstacles and more than a few dead ends. Along the way the band has undergone lineup changes, scrapped recording sessions, been forced to vacate two rehearsal studios, and endured their share of personal hardships. There have been victories too, of course, and while the majority of the album is an exploration of the darkness and difficulties that engulfed their lives while making the record, it’s the occasional moments of triumph and elation that provide the album with the emotional dynamism that makes it so compelling.
“We had a long past couple years personally and as a band,” explains guitarist Casey Yarbrough when I ask him about the themes that drive their sophomore LP. “It’s sort of a struggle, a hellish bunch of battles, and a victory over a lot of things in life and as surviving as a band through a lot of diversions.”
Originally titled The Wolves of True Diamond Hate, Order of the Owl first announced plans for their new record in November of 2014. At the time, the group was in the midst of a transition involving the departure of drummer Joe Sweat (Big Jesus, Mangled) who had helped inject the band’s crushing doom metal with a youthful dose of hardcore energy. This faster, leaner approach was captured by Andrew Wiggins (Hawks, Thousandaire) in a series of sessions the group would eventually abandon once Sweat was no longer in the picture.
To replace Sweat, the band brought in Dwayne Jones, a longtime veteran of the Atlanta metal scene who has played with the likes of Sourvein, Demonaut, Subrig Destroyer, and Telestrion. Although Jones maintained some elements of the group’s new speedier vibe, his addition signaled a return to the lurching, ominous doom and hard rock developed with original Order of the Owl drummer Corey Pallon.
But before the trio could fully regroup and regain their momentum, they were displaced from their longtime home by the tragic closing of Thunderbox Rehearsal Studios, a casualty of the ongoing wave of gentrification and skyrocketing rents that has continued to malign the city. Although they were able to temporarily relocate to Avatar Rehearsal Studios, it wasn’t long before the studios followed suit in shutting down, leaving the band without a space to write, practice, or store their their equipment. Like many artists in the city suddenly deprived of their base of operations, the group was left shellshocked and struggled to regain their focus and footing.
“[It] wasn’t easy to recover,” says Yarbrough. “We missed our space we’ve been in since day one of practice. I had personally picked out that room when it was barely a skeleton. [Bassist/vocalist] Brent [Anderson] described leaving Thunderbox and going to Avatar, then them closing too… it was like ‘getting broken up with, getting with your ex, then her dumping you, too.’ It was a difficult transition and the vibe was hindered. We lost a lot of steam, and it felt like the neighborhood we helped support basically just shoved us aside.”
Eventually, the group settled in at Jones’ farm in Powder Springs, but the arrangement was less than ideal. The long back and forth commute meant fewer practices and less opportunity to engage in creative collaboration. Still, the group settled into a routine and got to work preparing for the new record. Over time, the band began to carve a new sound for themselves, one which left behind their more dramatic, self-indulgent tendencies in favor of a punchier, more streamlined aesthetic. Songs grew shorter, more dynamic and tuneful without sacrificing the group’s primal aggression or psychedelic tumult.
“We practiced a lot and just let the songs happen,” says Yarbrough of their transformation. “We’re not trying to put a genre on it. You’ll hear a definite evolution as the songs progress through the album.”
When it came time to record the new LP, the band turned to Josh Lamar (KR’RTH), whose production sounds sharper, crisper, and more nuanced than anything Order of the Owl have done in the past. Songs like “Brought Below,” “Wolves of True Diamond Hate,” and “Wood Valley” seethe with demonic menace as malevolent riffs rain down from above. It’s nothing stoner metal fans haven’t encountered before, but the band’s newfound compactness allows them to pummel their listeners mercilessly without hitting them repeatedly over the head, so to speak. Guitarist Juan Montoya (Killer Be Killed, ex-Torche) also appears regularly throughout the record, contributing mind-bending leads and ethereal acoustic guitars that help clear space for the band’s otherwise primordial assault. The result is a haunted, hypnotic collection of songs that would seem to make good on the album’s assertive title.
Still, if not taken in jest, it would be easy to misconstrue We Are Here to Collect Our Crown as empty boasting or as an indication the band believes something is owed to them after their years of struggle and hard work. And while there is maybe some sense of reciprocation lurking in the words, for Yarbrough the title is far more an affirmation than anything else.
“Brent and I both had a rough couple of years personally, and as a band we had some struggles,” he explains. “We both hung out and even lived together in my house in East Atlanta. We both kept each other afloat and as positive as we could be. That title signifies our battles over the last bit and finally making some things happen.”
Order of the Owl will celebrate the release of We Are Here to Collect Our Crown tomorrow night, October 14 at 529. Death of Kings, Savagist, and Spore Lord play in support. Doors open at 9 p.m. Admission is $10. 21+ to enter.
More Info
Bandcamp: orderoftheowl.bandcamp.com
Facebook: @orderoftheowl
Instagram: @orderoftheowl
Twitter: @orderoftheowl