The way he tells it, things just clicked. From the very first time Dave Stoltenberg jammed with the rest of his current band, stoner metal act Forgotten Gods, it was clear that there was definite chemistry among the San Jose trio.
It was sometime in mid-2011 and Stoltenberg had just left his previous group, House of Doors. “For me, that’s like being single,” he says of being without a band. And so, like so many lonely singles, the guitarist turned to the Internet, pointing his browser to Craigslist.
“It was the first thing I saw,” Stoltenberg says, recalling that fateful evening. The ad said “guitarist wanted,” and listed a few influences, including Mastodon and The Sword. He responded and before long the Forgotten Gods lineup was cemented. “There wasn’t any big tryout. It just kinda happened. I always kinda thought it was meant to be.”
Indeed, Forgotten Gods must possess an exceptional rapport. Even for a band that’s been playing together for the better part of four years, recording a full-length album in just two days—as they did with their latest, Twin Sisters—isn’t easy, especially considering the strength of the record.
“It was pretty stressful,” Stoltenberg says—“not much room for error. But, we figured that Black Sabbath did Paranoid in one day. We had twice that amount of time.”
Twin Sisters, released in late August, may never rise to the legendary level of Paranoid. However, the record is certainly the band’s most polished effort to date—due in no small part to the enlistment of producer Tim Green.
It follows their 2013 LP, Fall of the Dagger, and 2012’s self-titled EP. After recording their first two efforts themselves, Twin Sisters marks the first time Forgotten Gods have sought the help of a producer.
Stoltenberg says his band tapped Green based on his experience working with bands like Melvins and Hot Lunch. The producer definitely boasts a long and varied resume—ranging from the punky sounds of Bikini Kill and Sleater-Kinney to the glitchy post rock of From Monument to Masses. “This guy was a pretty obvious choice.”
The band gave Green plenty of leeway in recommending tones and applying techniques to thicken up Forgotten Gods’ already-sludgy sound.
“We put our trust in him to do his thing and put his signature on it,” Stoltenberg says. “In the end, I think that was kinda cool.”
The producer beefed up Stoltenberg’s riffs by having the guitarist double many of his lines with a baritone guitar. He meticulously tuned drummer Kevin Swartz’s kit, and had bassist Pete Rice playing through the same Sunn amp that inspired the iconic Seattle drone metal band, Sunn O))). Stoltenberg liked the amplifier that Green chose for him so much that he ended up buying one for himself after Forgotten Gods finished recording.
Twin Sisters by Forgotten Gods
Recorded mostly live, with minimal overdubbing, Twin Sisters is an energetic record—rooted in blues and taking cues from early psychedelic pioneers. The ascendant riff of “Coyote,” bounds upward, recalling the pentatonic playfulness of Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello, before erupting into a Hendrixian solo that finds the sweet spot between messy and marvelous.
The following track—Twin Sisters’ epic centerpiece, the 10-minute “Kaleidoscope Woman”—alternates dynamically between creeping, bass grooves and explosive, fuzzy crescendos, not unlike Sabbath’s “Hand of Doom.”
Though Forgotten Gods meet the criteria for “stoner rock,” their tunes seem fueled by alcohol. The band’s raucous, amped-up blues licks and bouncy drumming at times recall the party metal of Every Time I Die.
The band’s tendency toward melding heavy-hitting riffs and psychedelic textures lines up with Stoltenberg’s background.
“I grew up playing metal—and in punk bands, too,” he says. “At home I would be learning Pantera and Metallica songs. But I also loved Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin.”
Also, he says with a chuckle, “I’m not that great at sweep picking,” which eliminates the possibility of him playing the more technical sub-genres of metal requiring extreme dexterity.
But more than anything, Stoltenberg says Forgotten Gods have arrived at their sound for a simple reason: it’s fun.
“I’m just way into it,” he says.
Forgotten Gods are playing with Valensorow and Pablo Escobar at Motorfest 2015, at Motorpool Automotive in Campbell, Oct. 17. Admission is free with a donation of canned goods or a new children’s toy.
.Forgotten Gods: Heavy Metal Licks
