By the time opener “Easter Island” has halfway reached its 7:38 duration, it has veered – quite deftly, mind you – from plaintive shoegazer to doom/death bludgeon to AmRep-derived epilepsy. And it still has three minutes to go. The doom really piles on come the back end of the song, reconciling Cull as a reckoning force from the get-go. As gargantuan as that individual track might be in itself, it appears almost spartan compared to the remaining two songs, which pass the ten-minute mark -- view it in the rearview mirror, wave in a perfunctory manner and keep on driving. On “Make the Desert Bloom,” epic guitar chimes in over classic doom riffs and black metal shrieking (by a female, no less – shades of Thorr's Hammer?). By contrast, the closer titled “Tides of Stone” carries the day with droning male vocals mixed into the aforementioned harpy-screamed fray, while shards of melody splinter off the guitar riffs and threaten to lacerate everything within close range. Everything works and nothing flops, making this a completely essential first release from – where else? – the Pacific Northwest. So let’s do the cross-pollinating roll call, shall we? All fans of Asunder, Ludicra, Yob, Across Tundras and Remains of the Day, or those who lap up anything on Southern Lord, here be slurpin.’ Score one for you and yours for a host of reasons, up to and including the brilliantly illustrated DIY artwork.

our set at pdx pop now! sunday 7-26-09 can be found for free:

on itunes

or here




portland radio authority recorded the whole festival... list for everything is here or here. and... more info on portland radio authority lives here.

rad.

we have decided to throw in some prizes for the Dirty and Pink Alleycat in Boise this June.

More info about the race here: http://dirtyandpinkalleycat.blogspot.com

up the lady bike punx!!!!!

xoxo

Hey all... we're on the Empire On Fire volume 1 compilation CD! Along with a pile of our favorite portland bands/best friends. If you didn't get it from us on tour, you can download the whole thing here: http://www.mediafire.com/?dfxczzbhnog



Tracks from:



...Worms

Acre

Anon Remora

Bird Costumes

Book of Belial

City of Churches

Cull

Gone to Croatoan

Moths to the Flame

Order of the Gash

Purple Rhinestone Eagle

Rabbits

Rapids

Sheets

Slam Dunk (with authority!)

The Cysts

Transient

Under Mountains

With Caro



With contact info for all the bands and handy family tree so you can see for yourself how incestuous the whole thing really is. Also available on tour for free from most/all of the featured bands.

and... to get emailed updates and other free prizes, sign up the empire on fire email list at empireonfire.org

crush kill destroy!

Ragnar of Ravensfjord


Reviewed 2009-04-06 



Powerful, riffy metal with growly female vocals from Portland. Just 3
songs but they all run in an epic direction incorporating the heaviness
of doom and a few areas of modern metal like Kylesa, Ludicra & the
Seattle doom band, Grey. One slight downside is the cymbals are mixed
too loud. Although, this doesn’t detract much from making this an
otherwise awesome debut. They're a killer live band, too.



(((((((1)))))) Slow, moody indie rock-ish intro exploding into a giant
& catchy riff. Raw but audible vocals. Gets really doomy around the
6 min. mark. Kick ass!

((((((2))))) Epic vibe with lots going on. Clean strums, a bit of fuzz
bass & slightly jagged tempos that build up nicely and get to some
major riffin’ around 2:23. Really good pacing & interplay with the
riffs & vocals. Gets a bit “noodly” near the end.

(((((((3))))))) Another slow & moody intro with sullen male vocals.
Oddly similar to the 90’s band Codeine quickly turns into some doomy
metal. Excellent, cyclical & very strong riffs that never seem to
cease. Some really good bass & drum work, too. Long fade at the
end.

(the promotional newsletter from my  job, found here: http://www.discmakers.com/html_email/cdbaby/cdbabyufa0309.html)

"....With tendencies that are both intricately melodic and firmly abrasive,
the group strives to gut everything stereotypically associated with
doom/black metal and start fresh, eschewing the tough-guy rants and
focusing instead on a family mentality (the brothers in the band help
this along), specifically one that welcomes women into this often
male-dominated genre. Erosion is equally mold-shattering, containing only three songs but clocking in at almost 35 minutes..."

As the sparse light of late winter signals the rising of the fauna, the
minor subterraneans scurry at the feet of an awakened behemoth-- new to
us, but seemingly older than the damp hills which held it dormant. Its
name is Cull...

Yes, it is another gift from the musical birth
machine of Portland, Oregon. And I promise I am not just posting Cull's
new CD because Jacqui has been kind enough to comment here in the past
and might be one of the cooler people on the planet. This post comes
mostly from my sincere love for all things darkly metallic and crusty,
and from my new and instantaneous appreciation for this band. The
tendency to compare slow and heavy bands to Neurosis is a bit tired, so
I'll choose some newer candidates with regard to Cull. The overall
experience reminds me of the dissonant guitar cavortings of another new
favorite, Agrimonia, as well as the deep and blackened forays of
melancholia explored by Asunder. The three tracks are long, but are in
no way indulgent, nor will you find yourself consigning them to
"background music." The songwriting is entirely too inveigling for
that, as are the scathing and bewitching screams that punctuate its
urgency. So, what shall we label Cull? As you can see from the tags
below, such an enterprise is neither easy, nor necessary. I can imagine
fans of "progressive metal" claiming them, but I can also foresee a
fair number of modern crusties lured into the fray (especially fans of
the more epic bands like Remains of the Day, Fall Of Efrafa, Wake Up On
Fire, etc.). Basically, if the harmonious melding of beauty and
ugliness is what you seek, you can add the name Cull to your personal
repository.

preview for our show tonight from the willamette week:

"After nearly two years as a band, the quartet known as Cull self-releases its debut album tonight in the side room at NoPo’s favorite pizza joint. In light of these economic times, the CD is free with admission. Cull cultivates a melodic, melancholic form of metal that focuses on themes of cultural decay, deforestation and urban erosion. Vocalist Jacqui Beast rasps like an anarchist sea hag that has abandoned all hope. The group is comprised of two women, and two literal brothers, making for a family dynamic that offsets an otherwise depressive atmosphere. NATHAN CARSON. 9 pm. Mississippi Pizza, 3552 N Mississippi Ave."

make the desert bloom

stagnant rivers ache to meet the sea
imprisoned in concrete
diverted by greed
canyons long-drowned buried in silt
the soil is salted to stave the drought

stagnant water aches to meet the sea
burned up dry heat
diverted by greed

rain doesn't follow the plow
into harsh lands
with the arrogance of true belief
we made the desert bloom

canyons submerged
fish drown in air
killed all other ways of life
to make the desert bloom

turbines light urban sprawl
with the arrogance of true belief
we made the desert bloom

to slake the endless thirst of industry
you must control what was wild free vast.....
rivers caged in concrete and steel
silt builds up
water level drops
this must come down.......

easter island

across the empty sea
hunger drives the ships of empire
the land is constant until bulldozed & flattened
the landslides of clearcuts cut new creeks into barren land
the boundless has been tamed...

we've conquered the boundless
and canceled the future
clearcuts will become fallen cities
while we consume eachother