★★★★★
"Guess what, assholes," began a Facebook post from the sporadic metal supergroup Old Man Gloom in early November, five days before the release of what was presumed to be their sixth record. "The Ape Of God is two entirely different albums. If you downloaded some leaked shit, you don't have either."
Working in cahoots with their new label, Profound Lore Records, Old Man Gloom had circulated an eight-track, 46-minute promotional download called The Ape of God, portraying it as their second...
- pitchfork.com
2014-12-08
★★★★★
The term "supergroup" tends to get thrown around, but when it comes to post-metal outfit Old Man Gloom, it's an apt descriptor. Formed in the late '90s by Aaron Turner (Isis, Mamiffer, Hydra Head Records) and drummer Santos Montano (Zozobra), the band also includes Nate Newton (Converge, Doomriders), Caleb Scofield (Cave In, Zozobra) and electronics guru Luke Scarola. Having called it quits following 2004's , the group reunited to release the stunning doom- and sludge-soaked 2012 LP, ...
- exclaim.ca
2014-11-08
★★★★★
Old Man Gloom are a sludge/doom metal/post-metal super-group currently based in Boston, MA. Formed by Aaron Turner (Isis) and drummer Santos Montano (Zozobra) in 1999, the band now include Nate Newton (Converge) and Caleb Scofield (Cave In, Zozobra). No is their first album since 2004's Christmas and its release marks the continuation of a new productive period for Old Man Gloom, who just played several dates in the U.S., their first live performances in years, at the beginning of May...
- exclaim.ca
2012-06-28
★★★★★
Sound: Old Man Gloom has been a sort of sludge/doom/metalcore supergroup in the Boston scene for the last decade, and their latest release, "No", shows that their dark, tormented sound still has staying power. Following on the heels of their droning, pounding "Christmas", "No" is an album full of detuned riffing and maddening noise, but that is exactly what Old Man Glooms are looking for...
- www.ultimate-guitar.com
2012-05-28
★★★★★
Sound: Old Man Gloom (full name: The Old Man Gloom Alien Simian Defence League)is a post-metal recording project started by Aaron Turner of Isis, and features members from Converge, Agoraphobic Nosebleed, and Zozobra. Old Man Gloom incorporates quite a bit of ambient qualities, and uses spoken word samples during breaks in the music. The songs in Christmas don't blend together like they do in Isis albums, and it changes direction really quickly...
- www.ultimate-guitar.com
2010-08-07
★★★★★
Old Man Gloom wouldn't mind having apes become our masters. I can't blame them. If the Simian Alien Defense League, to which the band says it belongs, had a member running as a candidate in the last presidential election, I'd have voted for it. The group's lenient position on public masturbation alone would have swayed me, just as long as its platform didn't call for human enslavement. I've got to draw the line somewhere...
- www.lostatsea.net
2009-10-30
★★★★★
Old Man Gloom wouldn't mind having apes become our masters. I can't blame them. If the Simian Alien Defense League, to which the band says it belongs, had a member running as a candidate in the last presidential election, I'd have voted for it. The group's lenient position on public masturbation alone would have swayed me, just as long as its platform didn't call for human enslavement. I've got to draw the line somewhere...
- www.lostatsea.net
2009-10-30
★★★★★
Three years in the making, Christmas is the triumphant return of the Old Man Gloom Simian Alien Defense League, which features members of Isis, Converge, and Cave In. This is the fifth full-length release from these noise mongers, but I haven't heard an entire album other than this one, so I really don't have anything to compare it to...
- www.adequacy.net
2009-07-21
★★★★★
The problem with Old Man Gloom made itself plain upon the release of their second and third albums. Released in tandem, Seminar II: The Holy Rites of Primitivism Regressi and Seminar III: Zozobra revealed the band's two major sides: heavy doom-stoner-metal riffing and long excursions into ambient meandering. On Seminar II, the two co-existed outside of themselves, offering the listener an uneasy experience of wavering back and forth between near-silence and punishing noise...
- www.stylusmagazine.com
2009-06-08