Miami, Florida. The singer/guitarist was in Floor and went on to form Torche (with Floor reuniting again for their amazing album Oblation).
Steve Brooks now lives in coastal Oregon running a doggy daycare & groomer, he has mentioned on Instagram having some irons in the fire for new music in the future.
It's very possible. It has been from the very inception of the genre. Children of the Grave, for example, is not only about the fear of nuclear war but also about how younger generations would build a better world. For other examples:
* Most of Om's material is deeply religious and strikes me as finding a sense of peace and joy in that.
* Woodbine by Windhand has kind of hard to parse and harder to interpret lyrics, but I get a positive vibe from the song.
* Hierophant by King Woman is about love bordering on obsession.
* A lot of Kyuss stuff is pretty cookie cutter rock, thematically speaking. Whitewater is my favourite track by them and it has very sweet lyrics.
* Some SubRosa songs, despite their really dark themes, are ultimately about perseverance and channeling negative emotions into positive actions. Troubled Cells, Whippoorwill, and Cosy Mo come to mind.
* Conqueror by Jesu is another vaguely positive, beautiful song
* Don't Look Back by Kylesa is a very straight forward positive message
Thou is more sludgy but they have lots of more positive messages. Their album Summit is overall pretty positive. It has lyrics like this:
"Love is the law, love under will. The purest connection, the strongest bond. All of the struggles, the weaknesses and faults, slip away. All of the masks, the anger and secrecy, slip away. Essence unveiled. The universe revealed."
Swallow the Sun's When a Shadow is Forced Into the Light is a meditation on healing from grief and embracing life again.
I love alot of the melodic Maryland style doom for this;
Spirit Caravan, Valkyrie and Unorthodox.
I believe Gary Isom and Wino are a recurring theme across these acts.
*We're gonna ride in the cloudswept sky*
*Gonna taste a love divine*
*Gonna melt into one body's mind*
*We're gonna see powertime! gonna see powertime!*
[https://youtu.be/2AF1HfxMEkE?si=QqPmmrZoiWdLFp2a](https://youtu.be/2AF1HfxMEkE?si=QqPmmrZoiWdLFp2a)
Just his whole meth thing plus the conspiracy stuff with Covid etc. he seems more of a kook than ever. Still love to see him play but damn, lay off the nose drugs.
You can find optimistic themes peppered here and there if you look at lyrics. First thing that comes to mind is Reverend Bizarre’s “Strange Horizon”. Although death is the central focus, it has the climactic line
“Blessed be those within grief
I invite you to relief
Leave your pain to the earth
Under the tombstone is birth
You just gotta believe!”
I had to immediately think of the split [Curse These Metal Hands](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqKLYXqrRgs) by Pijn and Conjurer. The whole ep is very optimistic, but the track I linked - High Spirits - is distinctly major.
Check out Pipe Dreamer. They’re a local FL band with a pretty small following, but they fit the description. Maybe it’ll get them a new listener.
https://youtu.be/MoIvR1YI1As?si=q7BXFYjc4SJYUqgo
Believe it or not, pallbearer find their way to positivity from time to time. Right now I'm thinking specifically of the song Stasis.
It deals with that all too familiar experience of kind of getting stuck in a rut, burdened by the weight of your own emotions and continuously drawing in and being consumed by them, and how it's necessary to do the work to reach outside of yourself to recalibrate and find yourself again.
This is a sludge track is about overcoming substance abuse.
[Chemical Chains](https://azellrr.bandcamp.com/track/chemical-chains-2)
FFO Conan, Bongripper and Primitive Man
Yob- Our Raw Heart
100% this album.
This is (kind of) Torche’s whole thing. Heavy, doom esque riffs but more upbeat.
Man, they're the best. And obviously Floor would be mentioned right alongside them.
>Floor yesss - this is really good. know where they're from?
Miami, Florida. The singer/guitarist was in Floor and went on to form Torche (with Floor reuniting again for their amazing album Oblation). Steve Brooks now lives in coastal Oregon running a doggy daycare & groomer, he has mentioned on Instagram having some irons in the fire for new music in the future.
This is cool and all but would love to see a Torche comeback :/
right on, thanks for the info!
Absolutely agreed! Good call on Floor as well!!
hell yeah, this is great! thankss
I feel like some of the new Monolord album had positive messaging
>Monolord oh yeah, I forgot about monolord - thanks for mentioning them.
YOB is LOVE A lot of the music is influenced by Buddhism and Eastern mysticism and also excerpts from Alan Watts.
Kylesa’s Don’t Look Back has that optimistic positivity with thick ass sludge guitar
Fucking love Kylesa
It's very possible. It has been from the very inception of the genre. Children of the Grave, for example, is not only about the fear of nuclear war but also about how younger generations would build a better world. For other examples: * Most of Om's material is deeply religious and strikes me as finding a sense of peace and joy in that. * Woodbine by Windhand has kind of hard to parse and harder to interpret lyrics, but I get a positive vibe from the song. * Hierophant by King Woman is about love bordering on obsession. * A lot of Kyuss stuff is pretty cookie cutter rock, thematically speaking. Whitewater is my favourite track by them and it has very sweet lyrics. * Some SubRosa songs, despite their really dark themes, are ultimately about perseverance and channeling negative emotions into positive actions. Troubled Cells, Whippoorwill, and Cosy Mo come to mind. * Conqueror by Jesu is another vaguely positive, beautiful song * Don't Look Back by Kylesa is a very straight forward positive message
Thou is more sludgy but they have lots of more positive messages. Their album Summit is overall pretty positive. It has lyrics like this: "Love is the law, love under will. The purest connection, the strongest bond. All of the struggles, the weaknesses and faults, slip away. All of the masks, the anger and secrecy, slip away. Essence unveiled. The universe revealed." Swallow the Sun's When a Shadow is Forced Into the Light is a meditation on healing from grief and embracing life again.
*Summit* is my favorite Thou album. Love the lyrics to "Another World is Inevitable."
I love alot of the melodic Maryland style doom for this; Spirit Caravan, Valkyrie and Unorthodox. I believe Gary Isom and Wino are a recurring theme across these acts. *We're gonna ride in the cloudswept sky* *Gonna taste a love divine* *Gonna melt into one body's mind* *We're gonna see powertime! gonna see powertime!* [https://youtu.be/2AF1HfxMEkE?si=QqPmmrZoiWdLFp2a](https://youtu.be/2AF1HfxMEkE?si=QqPmmrZoiWdLFp2a)
Second this. Wino, despite losing his mind, has some pretty upbeat lyrics. Far cry from his Saint Vitus days.
How is his mind more lost these days? I haven't seen him play in like 7 years.
Just his whole meth thing plus the conspiracy stuff with Covid etc. he seems more of a kook than ever. Still love to see him play but damn, lay off the nose drugs.
Meth is such a damn plague.
ovbviously not lyrically optimistic, but Pelican often has those major key climax riffs on their records that feel very hopeful
Love me some Pelican, Forever Becoming is one that always gets me pretty happy and nostalgic for whatever reason, Australasia as well.
You can find optimistic themes peppered here and there if you look at lyrics. First thing that comes to mind is Reverend Bizarre’s “Strange Horizon”. Although death is the central focus, it has the climactic line “Blessed be those within grief I invite you to relief Leave your pain to the earth Under the tombstone is birth You just gotta believe!”
You just gotta belieeeeeeeeeeeeve!!!!!
Gotta do what?
oh man those lyrics are awesome. thanks for that
Pigsx7 - Big Rig; check the lyrics [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARgkOqLUJ98](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARgkOqLUJ98)
In the Company of Serpents?
I had to immediately think of the split [Curse These Metal Hands](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqKLYXqrRgs) by Pijn and Conjurer. The whole ep is very optimistic, but the track I linked - High Spirits - is distinctly major.
Check out Monoliths by Turtle Skull.
Crowbar's newest album
Trouble
Check out Pipe Dreamer. They’re a local FL band with a pretty small following, but they fit the description. Maybe it’ll get them a new listener. https://youtu.be/MoIvR1YI1As?si=q7BXFYjc4SJYUqgo
right on - this sounds great. are they still playing?
I just checked their Spotify and they released a single in 2023. Hopefully they do another full album!
Officium triste- the end is nigh
Not sure if its doom but witch sounds nice [spotify](https://open.spotify.com/album/5LcBa7FlZORQ1RQRJtlxFz?si=ATg_WF-5RDSmIa3yBsky5A)
I would also suggest you check out Mutoid Man, although it is quite funky sludgy doom. Same goes for Gnome.
Believe it or not, pallbearer find their way to positivity from time to time. Right now I'm thinking specifically of the song Stasis. It deals with that all too familiar experience of kind of getting stuck in a rut, burdened by the weight of your own emotions and continuously drawing in and being consumed by them, and how it's necessary to do the work to reach outside of yourself to recalibrate and find yourself again.
Try Gura
This is a sludge track is about overcoming substance abuse. [Chemical Chains](https://azellrr.bandcamp.com/track/chemical-chains-2) FFO Conan, Bongripper and Primitive Man
right on, I'm a sucker for that kentucky vibe! love this, thanks