Metallic doomrock with Southern and Stoner influence.

8 MP3 Songs
METAL/PUNK: Doom/Stoner Metal, ROCK: Southern Rock



Details:
"Until you eat the sand, wield a bloody hand, sleep among the scorpions, we're not the same" - "Downer" by Venomin James.

Venomin James's music recalls classic bands like Black Sabbath, Cream, and Led Zeppelin, and contemporary sounds like Kyuss, Down, C.O.C., and Entombed. The band describes their music as "heavy doomrock".

Much of that doom is based on Jim Meador's personal involvement with world events; he kept a journal during his tour of duty as a Sergeant in the Army during the second Iraq War. That journal is filled with lyrics of fear, isolation, and despair alongside lyrical snapshots of patrolling the charred roads of Baghdad, hunting mortar men at night, and also of nights spent inside the torture-stained walls of Abu Ghraib as an MP. When he returned to the States after his tour was up, he needed an outlet. He had faced his mortality and was ready to speak about it.

In the spring of 2006, the band Venomin James were seeking a vocalist that would compliment their heavy sound.

Guitarists Tomasz Scull and Joe Fortunato grew up as ravenous listeners of classic guitar rock and heavy metal. Bassist Erin Corcoran combines Geezer Butler's style from early Sabbath, with groove and tasteful dynamics. Drummer Jared Koston brings precision and power, a highlight to the band's hybrid metal sound. Meador's angry and introspective lyrics fit well with Venomin James' doom-laden music, and some of his harsh and more questioning observations communicate the group's more brutal and frantic pieces.

Venomin James is also inspired by their home, the historic Kirtland area of eastern Cleveland, Ohio. Known as "Kultland" by the locals, Kirtland has a strange, esoteric past that reads like the gothic horror of Lovecraft or Poe. From the first Mormon temple in 1836 to the 1989 Lundgren cult slayings, there is a sense of mysticism and foreboding in the area - even the air feels noticeably colder as you travel through certain parts. "You know when you're in Kirtland because you feel it in your bones," says guitarist Joe Fortunato, "and our music reflects that feeling."

The band released their debut full-length album, Left Hand Man, in August 2007 on their own label, Kultland Recordings. They have begun work on their sophomore album, Year One Now, tentatively scheduled for release in January 2008.

(Venomin James has shared the stage with a variety of respected acts, including: Fu Manchu, Brand New Sin, Seemless, Unearthly Trance, Mushroomhead, Bad Wizard, Early Man, 3 Inches of Blood, facedowninshit, Artimus Pyledriver, Abdullah, Red Giant, and Prong.)