Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Death-metal support group

Metal transplant Sarantopoulos (sleeveless) finds kindred souls.
Metal transplant Sarantopoulos (sleeveless) finds kindred souls.

North County melodic-metal band Ghoulgotha has signed with Dark Descent, a Colorado-based record label with a roster of artists with names such as Ritual Necromancy, Mortuary Drape, Sinistrous Diabolus, and Entrails. They play subgenres dubbed “black death metal,” “sludgemetal,” and something called “funeral doom metal.”

“We play ‘death doom,’” says Ghoulgotha founder/guitarist Wayne Sarantopoulos. “It’s death metal, really, but slowed down.” Death metal is known for its aggressive, growling, indecipherable vocals. “Traditional doom is regular singing. Death doom is more melodic. It’s death metal but slower. This isn’t for your average person. The average person isn’t going to figure out what’s going on [in the lyrics]. We’re not trying to convert anybody. If you don’t get it, you never will.”

But those who do (he estimates it’s “1 out of 100,000”) form a tight support group.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Sarantopoulos, who moved to San Diego from Massachusetts last year, reckons that Ghoulgotha is the only death-doom band in San Diego. “I didn’t know anybody when I first got here. We’ve had this lineup for about three months.”

He says there are plenty of local clubs to play, but the limited number of extreme-metal bands makes it hard to put lineups together. He mentions that Disgorge and Cattle Decapitation are sonically similar.

“We’ve had one show so far. We played with a bunch of thrash bands. My only wish is that there were more bands like us. As it is, now you might be forcing someone to go see a punk band, a trash band, and a death-metal band all thrown together.”

Just as rockabilly has its greaser, ’50s aesthetic, and ska kids have their clean-cut, sharp-dressed look, extreme-metal bands appreciate the gruesome.

“Yeah, we lean on the blasphemous side. We have a lot of demons and monsters. We’re really into horror-movie posters. Our music is so underground that the average person probably doesn’t even know it exists. So, they won’t be offended by it.”

Sarantopoulos says the demonic side of his music shouldn’t be taken seriously. “We are not overly religious.”

Ghoulgotha appears Saturday, December 1, at the Til-Two Club in City Heights.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Why Unified® Review: What To Expect Dropshipping (Positive & Negative)

Next Article

Hip-hop artist Don Elway makes movies for his music

Not Ordinary EP tells a story of life on the streets
Metal transplant Sarantopoulos (sleeveless) finds kindred souls.
Metal transplant Sarantopoulos (sleeveless) finds kindred souls.

North County melodic-metal band Ghoulgotha has signed with Dark Descent, a Colorado-based record label with a roster of artists with names such as Ritual Necromancy, Mortuary Drape, Sinistrous Diabolus, and Entrails. They play subgenres dubbed “black death metal,” “sludgemetal,” and something called “funeral doom metal.”

“We play ‘death doom,’” says Ghoulgotha founder/guitarist Wayne Sarantopoulos. “It’s death metal, really, but slowed down.” Death metal is known for its aggressive, growling, indecipherable vocals. “Traditional doom is regular singing. Death doom is more melodic. It’s death metal but slower. This isn’t for your average person. The average person isn’t going to figure out what’s going on [in the lyrics]. We’re not trying to convert anybody. If you don’t get it, you never will.”

But those who do (he estimates it’s “1 out of 100,000”) form a tight support group.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Sarantopoulos, who moved to San Diego from Massachusetts last year, reckons that Ghoulgotha is the only death-doom band in San Diego. “I didn’t know anybody when I first got here. We’ve had this lineup for about three months.”

He says there are plenty of local clubs to play, but the limited number of extreme-metal bands makes it hard to put lineups together. He mentions that Disgorge and Cattle Decapitation are sonically similar.

“We’ve had one show so far. We played with a bunch of thrash bands. My only wish is that there were more bands like us. As it is, now you might be forcing someone to go see a punk band, a trash band, and a death-metal band all thrown together.”

Just as rockabilly has its greaser, ’50s aesthetic, and ska kids have their clean-cut, sharp-dressed look, extreme-metal bands appreciate the gruesome.

“Yeah, we lean on the blasphemous side. We have a lot of demons and monsters. We’re really into horror-movie posters. Our music is so underground that the average person probably doesn’t even know it exists. So, they won’t be offended by it.”

Sarantopoulos says the demonic side of his music shouldn’t be taken seriously. “We are not overly religious.”

Ghoulgotha appears Saturday, December 1, at the Til-Two Club in City Heights.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Taco Taco Poway still has 99-cent fish tacos

Tacotopia prizewinner is well known among Powegians
Next Article

Yo-Yo Ma, Wagner, and Tchaikovsky come to San Diego

Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.