Utter Trash--Orodruin

Mountain of Doom

An interview with Orodruin

By Bob Ignizio

“One evening I was having a wine and cheese banquet at my 17^th century-esque cottage. The vivid sounds of Vivaldi were emanating from the four corners of the room as I showed Michael J. Waske (drums) my fine collection of rare Hieronymus Bosch paintings. As we spoke and passed rhetorical retorts to one another two other intellectual free masons approached; Michael Puleo (bass and vocals) and Nicholas Tydelski (guitars). We shared a few tales and spoke of fine cheeses dating back to 11 B.C., but in the end we felt the need to collaborate for the ultimate merger in doom metal history,” says John Gallo (guitars, organ on album), spinning his version of Orodruin’s origin. Drummer Mike Waske tells a more down to earth story, but why let the truth get in the way of a good tale?

However the band came to be, they’ve been playing their brand of doom metal in the Rochester, New York area for about a year now. Of the local scene, drummer Mike Waske says, “Well, it ain’t the greatest and it ain’t the worst. Does that explain it? Rochester has only a few known acts: Withered Earth, Kalibas, Warblade. We’re trying to bring more doom to Rochester, hopefully that will boost the scene a bit.” They also hope to start playing more out of town shows. “We’re working on setting up some shows with a band called Unearthly Trance. We’d be more than happy to get down to your area and play some good ol’ doom,” says John.

The name Orodruin comes from J.R.R. Tolkein’s ‘Lord of the Rings’ trilogy. John says, “It’s known as the Mountain of Doom where the “one” ring was forged in its extreme fires. I thought to myself, there ain’t nothing doomier than that, a fucking intense mound of earth! Amen!” Certainly appropriate for a band that draws its influences from bands like Saint Vitus, Cathedral, Witchfinder General, Trouble, and Candlemass. Still, the band tries to put its own stamp on the doom metal genre. Mike Waske says, “We experiment with different riffs and grooves at rehearsals and try to mix it up a bit, but I don’t think we stray too far from our influences. The only thing we can promise is that we won’t become a predictable “stoner” group.”

The band members all contribute to the writing, but it seems the group is far from being a democracy. John says, “It’s a group effort; I tell everyone exactly what note to play and when.” According to Mike Puello, “John is a not so benevolent dictator. Once I played a wrong note and he beat me down…severely.” Nick also relates stories of abuse. Whether this dark undercurrent of violence ultimately leads to tragedy and a segment on ‘Cops’ remains to be seen. At least John was able to stop beating his band mates long enough for Orodruin to record their first full length CD. The self titled release finds the band more than capable of living up to their heavy name. “I think we’re just as "extreme" as some Death/black/grind metal bands, just in a different way,” says Nick.

One area in which John doesn’t interfere is the lyrics. Those are handled by vocalist/bassist Mike Puello. “I let the song determine what the lyrics are going to be about,” says Mike. “A song like “War Cry” gave me an epic battle setting to work with, so that song has more of a story line about a warrior in battle. “Unspeakable Truth” has some really dark overtones throughout the song. This really brought out a misanthropic lyrical theme that can be seen in one particular line, ‘Dig your own grave and die.’” John says, “I dig the lyrics Puleo comes up with, he’s good at it. I mainly listen to the riff aspects but when I hear words that sound good over that it’s the ultimate combination.”

Perhaps temporarily possessed by Barbara Walters, I decided to ask the band a goofy ass question; if the “Metal Genie” could grant them each one wish, what would it be? Nick said, “To have a shit load of money, and to have Antonio Vivaldi (the red priest) as my father.” For Mike Waske it was, “To have my hearing back to what it was 10 years ago.” Mike Puello wished for, “A FUCKING RECORD DEAL!!!!!!” And finally, all John wants is, “…to be in a band of four Bill Cosbys turning into man-beast demons with serpent wings and the Freddy Krueger claw pulling us down to hell! ARGHHHHHHHH!!!! BLACK METAL!”