Illinois has long been a land of variety. Urban, suburban, and rural areas all come together to make up the state – Chicago to the north, Springfield to the south, farms in between. Our long history of agriculture, industry, and innovation has attracted people from all over the world. From the particle accelerator at Fermilabs near Batavia, to the Worlds Fair in 1933, to the first Farm Aid concert outside Champaign, Illinoisians have a strong, storied history to be proud of. Like all states though, we are not without our darker side.
The ghosts of HH Holmes, John Wayne Gacey, and Richard Speck still haunt the land. Legends of the sea serpent of Lake Michigan, the Enfield Horror, and the Wolf Man of Chestnut Mountain lurk in the recesses of our minds. As we graze on our Italian beefs, we can take a moment to reflect upon the natural sense of dread, mystery, and horror that soak our fields, hills, and forests. It is through this, that our locals channel our state’s brand of doom.
That is not to say Illinois only does one kind or style of doom – much like the makeup of our population, ideas and sounds from all over compose our scene. Every artist is shaped by the state. History aside, an Illinois winter is enough to make the most hardened writer feel compelled to make some truly miserable doom metal to cope with the long, grey days. But much like the immigrants and people of various stripes that compose our populace, variety is the key to our scene.
Heavy hitters come from all parts of the state – we have Minsk capturing the desolation of the exurbs through their crushing, post-metal tinged doom. Lair of the Minotaur capture the raw fury often experienced living in a major city with “Let’s Kill These Motherfuckers.” Hypervolume swaggers their way through their track ‘Wicked‘ with the effortlessness of a trip on Highway 57 at 3AM. Gamma Goat pair doom and grunge like Chicago pairs giardinara and pizza. Cokegoat offer thick harmonies and searing keyboard leads, a combination more warm and friendly than a Chicago Handshake. Huntsmen, Ladies of Leisure, and Dead Sun Rising showcase our state’s diversity of sound, blending Prog, Post, Stoner, and Doom. Something if offered for heavy fans of all stripes on this compilation, and proves we are much more as a state than just Chicago.
Our next crop is ready for the harvest – come see our bounty with Weedian‘s ‘Trip To Illinois.’
Words by Eric Zann (Plague of Carcosa)
Purchase and stream the compilation on Bandcamp:
Tracklist:
01. High Priest – Blessed Rain 04:58
02. Tummler – Lost Sense Of The Cosmic 08:09
03. Earth Witch – Riff Rider 04:29
04. Canyyn – Bring Me Down 07:12
05. Lair of the Minotaur – Let’s Kill These Motherfuckers 02:41
06. Black Road – Hash King 07:15
07. Deepspacepilots – Light Of The Sun 07:57
08. Spillage – Erased 04:30
09. Hypnochron – Eradication of Light 08:15
10. Dead Feathers – Horse and Sands 05:37
11. Cokegoat – Buried In The City 04:29
12. Faces of the Bog – Drifter in the Abyss 04:06
13. Minsk – Invoke/Revive 14:22
14. Plague of Carcosa – Hastur 06:36
15. Dirt Wizard – Devil’s Velvet 03:32
16. Beware Of Gods – Nightmare In The Dreaming House 06:54
17. The Waterfall King – Filth 06:33
18. Huntsmen – Colossus 06:27
19. Mutha Trucka – Wizards & Gods 04:21
20. Ladies of Leisure – Farce of The Moon Landing 04:11
21. WIZZO – Sacrificial Lamp 04:47
22. Scientist – Barbelith 06:10
23. Gamma Goat – Sea of Flies 06:29
24. Bloody Gulch – All My Friends 04:33
25. Snakebite Delight – Sorcerer’s Scroll 03:09
26. Dead Sacraments – Men, Now Lords 10:06
27. Dragon Feeder – Bad Motherfucker 05:18
28. BLAKE – Unfathomable Darkness 08:48
29. Unto the Earth – It is a Good Day to Die 06:05
30. Long Live The GOAT – The Dealer 02:58
31. Sun King Ba – Writhing Mass 04:07
32. Farseer – Burial 04:34
33. Witchbanger – Kraken Rising 06:48
34. Tombstone Eyes – Hungry Ghosts 06:56
35. Dead Sun Rising – Dead Stars Lit Our Path 05:37
36. Stondar – Hibernation Sickness 06:36
37. Fuzznukl – Dark Days Of Doom 04:41
38. Minos – The Lamb Will Kill The Lion 04:16
39. Our Earth Is A Tomb – Found 08:05
40. Hypervolume – Wicked 04:20
41. Blunt – Shrooms 09:26
42. The Electric Lettuce – Stoned 07:06
43. White Shape – A Cave, A Candle, and Your Pupils 06:55
44. Huntress of Stars – Sentries of a Dead Earth 06:11
45. Starless – This Hallowed Eve 08:08
46. the Hÿss – Disco Frankenstein 05:06
47. Scum Giant – Flame Will Tell 03:53
48. Plastic Crimewave Syndicate – Son of None 06:42
49. Mushroom Forager – Restoration – Lust of Ruin and Death 10:26
50. Night Mother – The Void 11:37
51. Grim Reefer – Beyond the void 04:48
52. Heavy Down – Captive 02:28
53. Blue Dream – Iz What It Iz 03:43
54. Plague of Carcosa – Sacred Vapor-Orbit 06:18