With the biggest and best instalment of Doom Over London – chapter V – on the horizon, I caught up with organizers Paola and James to get their thoughts on the growth of the festival over the years, the ethos behind the fest, and a taste of what people can expect on 04 April at The Dome, London.
“From humble beginnings as an event to championing underground acts spanning all facets of doom, Doom Over London has consistently strived to bring exclusives to the UK and look beyond ‘in favour’ streams of identikit bands that have pervaded the airwaves to both positive and less than positive acclaim. Doom has always been a genre that has been driven by the underground as this is where its roots lay, and has seen a huge surge in mainstream appeal as the one form of metal that hasn’t bowed to commercial pressures. It has stood the test of time, weathered fad trends in rock and come back darker, more excoriating and more filthy with each ebb of the tide.
For the fifth Doom Over London iteration, 2015 has brought the widest bill of positively gloomy and downright heavy doom together. From pioneers of death doom Asphyx, to the seasoned groove of Death Penalty, the outright nihilism of Forgotten Tomb, the Gothic charm of Draconian, the experimental approach of Khost, and the psychedelic haze of Pombagira, we feel the line up represents not just acts that have carried, but also diversified doom metal. We have also taken the approach of developing acts from outside the UK, which as we all know has a rock market heavily dominated by commercial rock and metal interests, subsequently seeing several UK first shows and exclusives, as well as pushing some great UK talent.
The underlying ethos of Doom Over London is to be uncompromising whilst seeking to bring something different to fans and lovers of all things doom. Each and every event has brought special performances and enabled acts to bring their particular brand of misery to bear.”
Paul Carter.
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