Old Man Gloom - Seminar VIII: Light of Meaning

2020 will be a year that is remembered as a dark period. A year when we were challenged as a race to survive; to come together and simultaneously fall apart at the seams. It is a period that has tested many, leaders have wilted under the pressure, our ignorance has been highlighted and it has been the creative that have shined. As an industry, tours have crumbled and albums delayed, some until 2021. Yet, Old Man Gloom through Profound Lore have released not one, but two albums during the season of the virus - unprecedented times, unprecedented releases.

Light of Meaning (Seminar VIII) was supposed to have a release date a week after Darkness of Being (Seminar IX); however the band and label agreed to release Seminar IX earlier as a gesture to will us through quarantine. Old Man Gloom do not care about record sales. Recording records for them is an excuse to hang out together, they have been mates for decades; and to profound Lore’s credit, any other label would have balked at an early release during a pandemic. What the early release meant was that there was a two month gap between the albums that were conceived as one piece, divided into two. This did however give fans a chance to absorb the wonderful Darkness of Being before the light shined. In this case, that light being their love to their friend Caleb Scofield.

Light of Meaning literally picks up where Darkness of Being left, except not really, as Seminar VIII technically comes before IX, but released after - confused? These guys are sneaky pranksters! There is a familiar and super catchy riff on the closing track By Love All is Healed. Could it be a re-working of an old track? I scanned their back catalogue, and re-watched their documentary. Never did I think to listen to the opening track of Darkness of Being, where it is looped with eery Halloween themed keys. I was in the bands own words: Gloomed. 

Sonically, Light of Meaning is not a different beast to Darkness of Being. Both albums are super heavy in places, with melody shining through at times, all wrapped together in the Old Man Gloom tapestry. Light of Meaning is beautiful in places, it is dark, cathartic and emotional. Darkness of Being was still a record that was deeply rooted in moments that channelled Caleb; however on Light of Meaning there is a three track curve: True Volcano, Final Defeat and Calling You Home that is a true rollercoaster of beauty and grief. There was a track on Christmas called Volcano that originally began as a Caleb demo, and Aaron and co turned it into something else entirely. In its own right it is a brilliant song, yet Caleb’s early vision was different, and on True Volcano Old Man Gloom have payed homage to that track. Final Defeat was a Zozobra demo, and the final version here is mostly Caleb, with some heart wrenching lyrics from Steve Brodsky.

Nate Newton goes to some deep places on Calling You Home, however the opening guitar solo (played by Aaron Turner) is a moment so raw that it bleeds grief, with his guitar gently weeping. There is another remarkable guitar loop that comes in at 5.35 and lasts a minute, before the track reaches a thunderous climax, with Nate baring his soul (there is a lot of that on this release). Calling You Home is quite possibly Old Man Gloom’s greatest moment. It is this track alone that pushes Light of Meaning ahead of Darkness of Being.

After the electronic bleeps and industrial glitches that opens Wrath of the Weary, a funeral doom like riff comes in with some deep gutturals from Aaron. But if you know your Gloom, then you know that things will change, and they do. A beautiful melodic guitar section peers from the dark cloud of this track. This changes up into a terrifying climax. Ambient noise is used very well here, giving the track a gut wrenching atmosphere.

All of the tracks on Light of Meaning start and often end with sprawling noise transmissions. Strange and weird electronic bleeps, glitches, moans and industrial clashes, and Aaron swallowing a microphone. The album was produced and mixed by three of the best in Matt Bayles, Kurt Ballou, and Randall Dunn. Much like the songs that make up these albums, the different strengths and techniques used by these producers further adds to the dynamic pull on display.

Could Gloom have combined Light and Dark into one album by making the noise, ambient and strange sections more cohesive by weaving them into the mix, rather than adding minutes? Yes. But that would not be Old Man Gloom, and while it often leaves the listener scratching their heads as much as picking jaws from the floor, or wiping away a tear or two; Old Man Gloom made Dark and Light for themselves, not the listener. But they can still be rated as brilliant releases. As much as it is a moving tribute to Caleb, and as equally as touching as Cave In’s Final Transmission, both Light of Meaning and Darkness of Being are still Gloom being Gloom.

This greedy band now has two albums in the TGK Rolling Top Ten of 2020, and it will be difficult for that to change. 

OLD MAN GLOOM are: 

Caleb Scofield - bass/vocals 

Nate Newton - guitar/vocals 

Santos Montano - drums/talking 

Stephen Brodsky - bass/vocals/guitar 

Aaron Turner - guitar vocals electronics