MP3 Admiral Browning - Magic Elixir

A complex liniment we call "stoner-prog instru-metal" bearing many influences from the psychadelic, metal, progressive and hardcore scenes.

5 MP3 Songs in this album (34:33) !
Related styles: METAL/PUNK: Stoner Metal, METAL/PUNK: Progressive Metal



Details:
The three erstwhile shipmen of Middletown, Maryland's Admiral Browning cut their seafaring teeth in various projects and forms. The Admiral's origins lie in the restless and somewhat aimless musical imaginations of guitarist Matt LeGrow and drummer Tim Otis in or around March of 2002. Sporadic free-form jamming with shifting lineups - including at one point both Tim's and Matt's younger brothers - continued until the new year 2004. Joined soon thereafter by second guitarist John Marion, the band began building a signature sound along with a formidable catalog of instru-metal.

Though the bass position was still in flux, the Admiral's four-song Maiden Voyage demo was completed in early March 2005. Soon thereafter the final peg was hammered with the union of the Admiral and Ron "Fezz" McGinnis, a battle-tested veteran of the early '90s Bay Area thrash metal scene, bringing rhythmic experience and classic metal influences, along with a dash of southern-rock. Steeped blackly in the legendary Maryland/DC Doom scene, the Admiral's unique sound developed partially as a reaction to forward-thinking contemporaries like Trephine, Isis and Pelican along with more diverse influences like Ozric Tentacles, the Allman Brothers, and Don Caballero, yet also bathed in a deep respect for more traditional metal forms and the healthy tensions between its members' eclectic tastes. The Admiral released their first full-length album in 2007, Dead Pets, as a four-piece to positive reviews, with guests Brian Dodds (ex-Funhouse Mirror, who also produced), Jon LeGrow and Steven Kerchner (The 7th Gate). Soon after the release of the album, guitarist John Marion departed.

The Admiral decided to continue on as a three-piece, and much of 2007-2008 saw a band in transition, gigging steadily, focused on refining their sound and musical approach, challenging themselves with such diverse side projects with The Pat Paul Band, as well as some studio work, in addition to providing recording, mixing and mastering services to other local bands. The latter part of the year saw the lads working up a new batch of songs into the heady brew that is Magic Elixir. This liniment serves the twofold purpose of quenching the thirst of our fellow seamen, while breaking in the new three-piece lineup. Continuing the tradition of shanghaiing conquered sailors, guest M. Dodge Mumford joins the Admiral for the ride this time around. The EP was engineered and recorded at South Mountain Studios and mixed/mastered by the band at Metalsound Studios. It finds the band redefining themselves again, tighter, heavier and more technical, while remaining true to the spirit of the voyage by exploring ever new frontiers and sonic textures.

Sailing comfortably under the aegis of Admiral Browning, these adventurers have since settled at over 100 ports of call since commencing gigging in early 2005, focused mainly in their home state of Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and Washington, D.C. Several mini-tours canvassed the Southeast US and as far west as Arizona. Along the way the Admiral has had the honor of sharing the stage with established acts such as The Bakerton Group, Stinking Lizaveta, Valkyrie, Earthride, Unorthodox, Abdullah, Tonegrown, Minsk, Christine, Sasquatch, Acid King and the Terminal Lovers, as well as playing multiple festivals including 2006-2007's Stoner Hands of Doom VII and VIII, Cabin Kegger of Doom I-III, and 2007's Doom or Be Doomed.

2009 looks to be an exciting year, as the Admiral looks for new sonic frontiers to explore as they continue to write and play out songs for an upcoming full-length LP. Already confirmed on the prestigious doom metal tradition of Stoner Hands of Doom X in September, the new year also brings The Sarsaparilla Roadshow,scheduled May 15-30th which brings the Admiral to new shores through the Northeast and Midwest.