Earth are a musical group based in Olympia, Washington, formed in 1989 by frontman and only constant member Dylan Carlson. They got signed by Sub Pop and released their debut EP, Extra-Capsular Extraction, in 1991. Far removed by the then emerging Grunge and Alternative Rock scenes, is was a good 32 minutes of minimalist riffs being played as slow as possible. It wound up being the Trope Maker for Drone Metal, a subgenre of Doom Metal.
Their first full-length, Earth 2: Special Low Frequency Version, took that up to eleven. Drums are removed from the equation entirely, guitars are layered on top of one another, there's only three tracks over the course of its 73 minute runtime, and the final track, "Like Gold and Faceted", is a good 30 minutes of the same chord stretched out to an ungodly length. If Extra-Capsular Extraction was the Trope Maker for Drone Metal, than Earth 2 was the Trope Codifier.
Carlson would tone the formula down for Phase 3: Thrones and Dominions and the live album Sunn Amps and Smashed Guitars, before completely swerving into Stoner Rock for Pentastar: In the Style of Demons, albeit still minimalistic with the drones returning for the tracks "Crooked Axis for String Quartet" and "Sonar and Depth Change". Heck, Tallahasse even got a music video!
Dylan put Earth on hiatus afterwards, citing his heroin addiction, connection to Kurt Cobain's death, and brief incarceration as reasons. He then got the project starting again in 2000, now with Adrienne Davies on drums. Davies would go on to become the second consistent member of Earth, not having left since her arrival. They have also expanded their sound to include Country, Folk Music, and Jazz influences, and are now best described as Post-Rock. The Bees Made Honey in the Lion's Skull is considered a classic of the genre.
Dylan Carlson was notably friends with Kurt Cobain. Cobain claims to have written "In Bloom" about him, and it's believed that Carlson owned the shotgun Cobain killed himself with. Also worth mentioning in their influence on Sunn O))). They started off as an Earth cover band, and named themselves after the amp Dylan used.
Discography
- Extra-Capsular Extraction (EP, 1991)
- Earth 2: Special Low Frequency Version (1993)
- Phase 3: Thrones and Dominions (1995)
- Sunn Amps and Smashed Guitars (Live Album, 1995)
- Pentastar: In the Style of Demons (1996)
- Hex; Or Printing in the Infernal Method (2005)
- Hibernaculum (EP, 2007. Consists of older tracks rerecorded to fit the style of Hex)
- The Bees Made Honey in the Lion's Skull (2008)
- Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light I (2011)
- Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light II (2012)
- Primitive and Deadly (2014)
- Full Upon Her Burning Lips (2019)
Tropes
- Epic Rocking: Masters of it. Obviously there's Earth 2, but the live track "Living in the Gleam of an Unsheathed Sword" is probably the longest track they've recorded at nearly an hour long.
- New Sound Album: Pentastar for its more accessible and Stoner Rock driven sound, and Hex for its heavier country influence and shift into Post-Rock territory.
- Siamese Twin Songs: All of Earth 2, to the extent that it feels like a singular track split up into three tracks for ease of navigation.
- Word Salad Title: Pretty much 90% of their albums and songs.
