Epic Down is a duo from Leipzig, Germany dedicated to the sluggish grooves and lumbering riffs of sludge & doom. Founded in the pandemic turmoil of the year 2021, by Mitzschi (guitar(s)/bass) and Fabian (drums/vocals) to musically express the deeply felt horror about the excesses of the established abysses of a consumerist civilization with pronounced destructive traits and a reality marked by war, disease and destruction, and to preserve it as a defining sound of this so-called turn of the times. Influenced by primal doom, drone and stoner legends like Sleep, Earth, Melvins and Spirit Caravan, the sound of EpicDown is mainly characterized by solid downtempo grooves and rolling walls of guitars, complemented by slightly melancholic vocals. With the release of their first EP "Equinox Pt1" and its sequal "Equinox Pt2" in 2023, which were only available in digital way, the band stepped into the light of publicity. After signing to Argonauta Records the band decided to celebrate that deal with an album with almost new material. „Since we already messed around with some new songs and didn‘t want to only re-release, there was only one way to go.“ After a long summer in the studio the concept of the record started to emerge. With the release of „days of oblivion“ they now ring the bells of doom again and celebrate the dance on the volcano.
-Interview- (3/7/23)
1. How did you get started with music and how did you develop your sound? How did the name "Epic Down" come about and is there any meaning to it?
M: We both found the way to music quite early in our youth and from then on it initially carried us independently of each other in different line-ups through the alternative underground music scene of Germany from occupied house’s to wagon places, from gig to gig. During this time, our musical influences were probably also sustainably influenced.
F: When we both met for the first time, a familiar feeling quickly arose when jamming together. Mitzschi’s riffs came around in a fascinating sound costume to me, there were blatant synergies and the number of meetings increased over time. We didn't just play music during that time. I am a passionate sound tinkerer and fortunately we share this love for the details in the sound image, which leads to sometimes intensive test series with different effects and amplifiers, musical journeys that we undertake together and of which both participate.
The story about the band name is relatively unspectacular. We initially fully focused on the music and already recorded it when we began to fill a piece of paper with ideas for potential band names during the breaks. After some time it was full and we picked out the most suitable ones and wrote them on the next piece of paper. Then we started playing with the words, we wrote down the results again and then the sheet lay around for a while without being noticed further. One day Mitzschi came to the session and told about our SoundCloud and that he uploaded a few tracks there. My reaction: Cool, under what name do I find that? Well, you can think of the rest, we haven't changed it anymore and so there is a story to the name, but no deeper meaning. He describes the music quite well in the end.
2. What do you want people to take away from your music?
F: Ultimately, of course, it is up to each listener to take what he wants from our songs. Our music is not exactly uplifting and we are in a rather small subgenre, so we can probably be happy at the moment when people find their way to us and like one or the other song.
M: Yes, that's kind of hard to say. When composing, we do not have the focus on the later listener impression, especially at the beginning we had to find out who hears us at all. This is an ongoing process.
3. How would you describe your sound to the average listener?
F: Well, something like: doom metal with hardcore elements, memorable, carrying riffs in songs with a serious message and audible length.
M: Someone once wrote to us that we sound like a mix of Type O Negative and Black Sabbath, only with acceptable vocals, I don’t remember which song the person was listening to before.
4. Who are three bands you’d like to tour with?
M: There are some really remarkable Doom/stoner/xxx band’s with whom a tour would certainly be a lot of fun. Picking out 3 now is a bit tricky.
F: Being the warm up act once in a lifetime at a show with Sleep, Earth and Sunn O))) would be nice.
5. How has Covid affected what you do?
Massively, exactly at the time when COVID began to turn people's lives and the ongoing business of the event industry upside down in this country and all over the world, we found time and circumstances that somehow offered us the necessary distance and space for abstract reflections and creative development and thus ultimately contributed to the formation of the band in this form. The aftermath of the pandemic are still noticeable, all this has left a clear mark on the individual people and also in the music world. We are certainly no exception.
6. What’s your take on the current state of Doom Metal?
The genre has grown and is now widely branched. There is an incredible variety of styles, from raw to glamorous, with or without vocals, different instrumentations. There are some good bands and also festival line ups and fortunately also committed people and structures that maintain and network the respective local scenes.
7. What’s the current music scene like there in Germany?
It's hard for us to say right now. We have spent the last few years more or less in our microcosm, making music and recording it in the studio. As far as the locations are concerned, some projects have not survived the pandemic. Essentially, the path already drawn in the time before towards booking agencies and label's shows with low risk for the venues seems to continue to assert itself. The small shows with the band's next door and the combo on tour still exist, but less often.
8. What’s your take on the royalties that streaming services pay out to artists?
It's simply not worth mentioning. Strictly speaking, you pay back your income with an existing account at the end. If you look at the real effort that is necessary for the equipment, studio, graphics and so on and expect it to balance out, you have to do more than do your best.
9. What’s next for Epic Down?
First of all, there will be a second single and shortly afterwards our album "days of oblivion" will be released. Of course, we have been working on new material since the album work was done. We never stop tuning on the sound and writing songs but another album on CD is not planned so far. Nowadays, physical sound carriers are almost a niche and we don’t want to swim in unsold goods. But there will certainly be a lot to come, we are also working on the production of content for videos, so it remains exciting.
10. Any shoutouts?
Of course, goes out to Michele, Gero and the argonauta crew, the grandsound guy’s, Mike (From the Depths Entertainment) Jason (Fly Nightmares), the quiet barber, constant_x and all the dear people who support us. This really means a lot to us and we are really happy to be able to experience it this way.
