Old Man Gloom
United States · formed 1999 · last active 2020
Old Man Gloom is an experimental sludge/post-metal supergroup formed in 1999 in Santa Fe, New Mexico by Aaron Turner (Isis) and drummer Santos Montano, later expanding with musicians from the Boston hardcore and metalcore scene. Their music juxtaposes crushing sludge and hardcore with noise, drone, and ambient soundscapes. Bassist/vocalist Caleb Scofield died in a car accident in March 2018; Stephen Brodsky, his Cave In bandmate, subsequently joined the band. Their albums have appeared on labels including Hydra Head Records (and its Tortuga imprint), founded by Aaron Turner, as well as Profound Lore.
SCORE PROFILE
Accent numbers counted towards the index. Hover an axis — or hold it on a phone — for what it means.
MEMBERS
- Aaron Turnerguitars, vocals, bass, electronics· also in Doolhof, Greymachine, House of Low Culture, Isis, Jodis, Lotus Eaters, Mamiffer, Neurosis, Split Cranium, Sumac
- Santos Montanodrums, backing vocals· also in Zozobra
- Nate Newtonguitars, vocals· also in Cave In, Converge, Split Cranium
- Caleb Scofieldbass, vocals· also in Cave In, Zozobra
- Stephen Brodskybass, vocals· also in Cave In, Converge, Mutoid Man
CONNECTIONS
- Cave Inpath →
Caleb Scofield was a member of Old Man Gloom; Stephen Brodsky joined Old Man Gloom in 2018 after Scofield's death, and Nate Newton is also a member. source ↗
- Convergepath →
Converge bassist Nate Newton is the guitarist and singer in Old Man Gloom, which he co-founded in 1999. source ↗
- Doolhofpath →
Aaron Turner of Old Man Gloom plays guitars and effects in Doolhof. source ↗
- Greymachinepath →
Aaron Turner of Old Man Gloom is also a member of Greymachine. source ↗
- House of Low Culturepath →
Aaron Turner of Old Man Gloom also runs the project House of Low Culture. source ↗
- Isispath →
Aaron Turner co-founded Old Man Gloom and is the guitarist/vocalist of Isis. source ↗
- Jodispath →
Aaron Turner in both — guitars, vocals, bass, electronics in Old Man Gloom, vocals in Jodis. source ↗
- Lotus Eaterspath →
Aaron Turner in both — guitars, vocals, bass, electronics in Old Man Gloom, guitar, electronics in Lotus Eaters. source ↗
- Mamifferpath →
Aaron Turner of Old Man Gloom is also a member of Mamiffer. source ↗
- Mutoid Manpath →
Stephen Brodsky (Mutoid Man, Cave In) became a permanent member of Old Man Gloom in 2018 after filling in for the late Caleb Scofield. source ↗
- Neurosispath →
Aaron Turner in both — guitar, vocals (joined 2024) in Neurosis, guitars, vocals, bass, electronics in Old Man Gloom. source ↗
- Split Craniumsatellitepath →
Aaron Turner in both — guitars, vocals, bass, electronics in Old Man Gloom, vocals, guitar, noise in Split Cranium. source ↗
- Sumacpath →
Aaron Turner is a member of both Sumac and Old Man Gloom. source ↗
- Zozobrasatellitepath →
Both Zozobra members Caleb Scofield and Santos Montano were also in Old Man Gloom, where Montano is a founding drummer and Scofield played bass. source ↗
- James Plotkinpath →
James Plotkin mixed and mastered the 2023 reissue of Old Man Gloom's "Seminar II: The Holy Rites of Primitivism Regressionism" ("Mixed By [Processed By], Mastered By", credited as "Captain James Plotkin"). source ↗
- Acid Mothers Templepath →
Shared label roster: Ektro Records, per MusicBrainz. source ↗
- Cave Inpath →
Shared label roster: Magic Bullet Records, per MusicBrainz. source ↗
- Circlepath →
Shared label roster: SIGE, per MusicBrainz. source ↗
- Full of Hellpath →
Shared label roster: Profound Lore Records, per MusicBrainz. source ↗
FURTHER LISTENING
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- Mathcore / DEP-verseEI 4ZozobrasatelliteHardcoreDoomTechnical
Zozobra is an American sludge/post-metal band conceived in 2006 by bassist-vocalist Caleb Scofield (Cave In, Old Man Gloom), taking its name from the giant effigy burned annually at the Fiestas de Santa Fe in New Mexico. It gave Scofield his first outlet to write his own songs, and its debut album Harmonic Tremors (2007) featured Old Man Gloom drummer Santos Montano; the band toured the U.S. with Isis and Jesu in early 2007. Later releases Bird of Prey (2008, with Aaron Harris of Isis on drums) and Savage Masters (2013) followed, with the project ending after Scofield's death in 2018.
- Turner-verse / Hydra HeadEI 9SumacHardcoreDoomTechnical
Sumac is an American/Canadian post-metal trio formed in 2014, built around guitarist/vocalist Aaron Turner (ex-Isis) with bassist Brian Cook and drummer Nick Yacyshyn, playing some of the heaviest, most improvisational music of Turner's career. Their studio albums include The Deal (2015), What One Becomes (2016) and May You Be Held (2020). The band has also released collaborative records with Japanese multi-instrumentalist Keiji Haino, including American Dollar Bill – Keep Facing Sideways, You're Too Hideous to Look at Face On and Even for Just the Briefest Moment Keep Charging this 'Expiation' Plug in to Making It Slightly Better.
- Turner-verse / Hydra HeadEI 20GreymachineHardcoreGlitchDoom
Greymachine is an experimental industrial noise project formed in 2006, built around Godflesh and Jesu frontman Justin Broadrick and Isis frontman Aaron Turner, with bassists Dave Cochrane (Head of David) and Diarmuid Dalton (Jesu). Broadrick described it as needing "something black to Jesu's white," pairing crushing beats, dissonant guitar, and harsh electronics. Their debut album Disconnected was produced by Broadrick and released on 4 August 2009 via Turner's label Hydra Head Records.
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Godflesh are an English industrial metal band from Birmingham, formed in 1988 by Justin Broadrick and G.C. Green, evolving out of the earlier group Fall of Because. Through their fusion of hip hop-derived drum-machine programming, downtuned metal riffs, and industrial dissonance - heard on their acclaimed debut album Streetcleaner (1989) - they developed a sound widely regarded as foundational to industrial metal and post-metal. Broadrick had earlier drummed in Napalm Death, and the band signed to Earache Records before disbanding in 2002 and reuniting in 2010.
- Post-metalEI 8Cult of LunaDoomHardcoreTechnical
Cult of Luna is a Swedish post-metal band formed in 1998 in Umeå, emerging from members of the local hardcore group Eclipse. Widely regarded as a leading force in post-metal alongside Neurosis and Isis, their songs are long, slow and crushing, layering heavy distorted passages with orchestral interludes and post-rock-esque forays. Their discography includes Salvation (2004), Somewhere Along the Highway (2006), and the Metropolis-inspired Vertikal (2013). In 2016 they released the space-themed collaborative album Mariner, recorded with American vocalist Julie Christmas.
- Post-metalEI 17NeurosisHardcoreDoomTechnical
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- UnaffiliatedEI 13Head of DavidHardcoreDoomGlitch
Head of David were a Birmingham-area experimental/industrial-metal band formed in 1986 and signed to Blast First, whose abrasive noise-rock was once described as being about as harsh as music can get 'without descending into pure noise.' Their releases include Dustbowl (1988) and Seed State (1991). Justin Broadrick drummed for the group from 1987 to 1989, a stint between his early stretch in Napalm Death and the founding of Godflesh.
- Patton-verseEI 4Human ImpactsatelliteHardcoreGlitch
Human Impact are a New York noise-rock supergroup formed in 2019, welding Chris Spencer's Unsane fury to Jim Coleman's Cop Shoot Cop-derived industrial electronics. The debut lineup added the Swans rhythm section of Chris Pravdica and Phil Puleo; their self-titled debut appeared on Mike Patton's Ipecac Recordings in 2020, followed by Gone Dark (2024). By 2024 the rhythm section had turned over to ex-Daughters drummer Jon Syverson and ex-Made Out of Babies bassist Eric Cooper.
- Patton-verseEI 9MelvinsHardcoreDoomTechnical
Formed in Montesano, Washington in 1983 around the constant core of Buzz Osborne and Dale Crover, Melvins fused punk with a heavy Black Sabbath influence and in doing so godfathered sludge metal, leaving fingerprints on everything from grunge to doom and stoner rock. Relentlessly prolific shapeshifters, they have cycled through bassists and configurations — including the Kevin Rutmanis era and the double-bass-driven Melvins Lite with Trevor Dunn — while releasing a torrent of albums on Mike Patton's Ipecac Recordings since 1999. Their gravitational pull is such that Japan's Boris took their name from the title of a Melvins song, and collaborators have ranged from Fantômas and Jello Biafra to Lustmord and Napalm Death.