Article By: Pat ‘Riot’ Whitaker ‡ Edited By: Leanne Ridgeway
Out of the ashes of two revered, well-known bands experiencing a seeming cessation of events in 2018, comes the newly formed SPIRAL GRAVE.
With the 2018 passing of doom metal‘s iconic guitar legend Al Morris III of Maryland’s famed Iron Man as well as the disbanding of long-running Virginia subterranean heavyweights Lord last year, members from each act have rallied together as SPIRAL GRAVE.
The new project sees the three surviving members of Iron Man, vocalist “Screaming Mad” Dee Calhoun, bassist Louis Strachan, and drummer Mot Waldmann, teaming up with Lord guitarist Willy Rivera. Rivera originally laid the groundwork for the new band by approaching Calhoun in the summer of last year (2018) with the idea for a band he envisioned as “Doom meets Black Sabbath’s ‘Dehumanizer‘ (album)”. Dee embraced the idea, suggesting his bandmates from the Iron Man rhythm section round things out, and thus, SPIRAL GRAVE was born.
Events for the new band are happening quickly, as they are already set to enter the studio in February to record their first single. Talks with an established, independent label to possibly release the recording are also underway, and soon all shall be revealed.
While currently still a work in progress, SPIRAL GRAVE has shared a rehearsal-quality version of their original composition, “Nothing” (streaming below), with more to come!
