Until Pinkish Black/The Great Tyrant came along, circa 2008, did anyone else notice a distinct lack of black metal in the Fort? There’s been metal, sure, and a lot of angry punk and hardcore. But black metal, the kind of heavy music that relies on a lot of incantatory vocalismo and occultish vibes? Not much.
But that’ll change for at least one night early next month, when the non-pretentious gothic duo Sabbath Assembly comes to town. Or, more accurately, when half of the band arrives –– the other half already lives here.
Back in the early ’00s, bassist/vocalist Jamie Myers fronted SouthMouth, a pretty popular outfit despite its niche hard-rock sound, before leaving to join major-label black metalists Hammers of Misfortune in Oakland, Calif., taking Garuda frontman and future husband Brian Waits with her. In 2006, Myers and Waits moved back to the Fort. “I was expecting my first and only son [Errol Gene Waits] and decided that coming home and being close to family was important,” she said.
Though no longer part of HOM, Myers has been making a lot of music. In addition to singing on an album and EP from one of the most important and popular metal bands on the planet, Wolves in the Throne Room, Myers began working with Sabbath Assembly founder Dave Nuss, an HOM fan, last year.
Sabbath Assembly was created in 2009 to share the teachings of the Process Church of the Final Judgment, a short-lived organization from the late 1960s that stressed embracing both good and evil as the true path to peace. The unique concept intrigued Myers.
She also saw collaborating with the New York City-based Nuss as a “great opportunity to work with some stellar musicians and to do some touring.”
Now that Sabbath Assembly has returned from a Scandinavian and European tour that culminated with a performance at the increasingly popular Roadburn Festival in Holland, Nuss and Myers are wrapping up Sabbath Assembly’s third album. They’re also touring Texas.
For their Friday, Nov. 1, show at The Grotto (517 University Dr., 817-882-9331), they’ll be joined by fellow Texas-touring artists Mike Scheidt and Uzala and the veteran bone-crushing Fort Worth group Solomon.
For obvious reasons, Myers can’t focus on Sabbath Assembly full-time –– flying to The Big Apple and back constantly would be a drag. “For that reason, I like to have something local going on as well,” she said.
Her local effort is an unnamed project with Dallas guitarist Jason Mullins (Vorvadoss, Damage Case), who, perhaps not coincidentally, also plays in Sabbath Assembly. “We have been writing new material and look forward to recording and playing locally soon,” Myers said.
Cover to the all-ages show/liturgy is $8-10.
Contact HearSay at hearsay@fwweekly.com.
