Our journey back to the first half of 2024 continues! Necropanther, who have been consistently on our radar in recent years, released a new EP titled Oblivion Jones back in May, and the year has only stayed busy for them since. A handful of recent live dates include an appearance at Elevation Music Festival this coming weekend in Alma, Colorado, so it seems like a pretty good time to refamiliarize with the new material. As expected (well, also perhaps unexpected), Oblivion Jones covers plenty of ground and introduces a whole lot of new and different ideas under the Necropanther banner across these four tracks. And it all comes together really effectively. I’ll spare you all from my trying to describe it, and instead turn it over to our latest Profile. To help us unpack all of the awesome stuff going on here, guitarist Joe Johnson – the visionary behind this EP – took some time to share some really interesting details about the Necropanther project, this release, and offer some perspective on the larger scene in general. A Bandcamp link is available further below, so be sure to give that a listen as you dive in. Enjoy!

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How and when did you first get into playing music, or metal more specifically, and how did your band get its start? Any pushback from family/those close to you?

Some of my first exposure to music was from my dad’s record collection: Led Zeppelin, Dire Straits, Toto, Fleetwood Mac. We listened to a lot of music on family road trips. He had a pretty great stereo system and a pair of JBL L-100 Centuries. Once when I was a kid, I ripped all the foam cubes off of the iconic grilles, so you could say that was the origin of my aggressive impulses in music.

I started playing guitar when I was ten. My family got me an acoustic guitar after a few years of exposure to MTV, Metal Edge, and Guitar World. My parents were supportive. I had a few stops and starts early on, but I had several excellent teachers, including John Carney and Jennifer Walden. Once I got the basic technique and understanding of how to play, it was all I wanted to do. I’ve been playing in bands since I was 13.

Necropanther started in 2014 when Paul Anop moved from Wichita to Denver, and I answered his Craigslist ad. I had been auditioning for bands for a couple of years after the dissolution of a previous project. Paul had a three-song demo. Those songs spoke to me, and our goals and character were aligned to make this a long term project. Those demo songs made it to our first record, and 2024 is our 10th year as a band.

How would you describe your band and what you play to someone who is completely in the dark?

You can still listen to music in the dark. I do it all the time.

We play melodic blackened thrash. We have an expansive view of metal, both for our own creativity and for the durability and vibrancy of the medium. We take cues and influences from all five main subgenres of metal (thrash, death, black, power, and doom), as well as music from beyond metal. All four of us write music and lyrics, so there are a lot of different impulses in our material. We tend to do short, uptempo songs, and we try to write melodic hooks. The lyrics are typically about futuristic dystopias. We try to be high-concept, lowbrow.

Is there one (or more) thing about your latest album or about your band that no one will find in any interview or review that you care to divulge?

Our new EP, Oblivion Jones, is the latest in a series of EPs that we do between albums, where one member of the band “takes over” to lead the artistic process. As I said, we all write music, so it’s a negotiation to figure out what material makes it to each full-length, and there’s always good material left over. The EPs give us a chance to explore some more unusual turf and to stretch our legs to say something as individuals, with the support and collaboration of our bandmates.

I’m lucky enough to get to write and produce this latest release. The most obvious new feature about the record is saxophonist Rico Jones. Rico is a world-class jazz player that we happened to see at a club that we both played at while we were developing material for the record. I hadn’t originally planned this music with sax in mind, but when I heard his playing, I knew that I wanted him on the record, and he graciously agreed to collaborate with us. 

Something a little more subtle is that I tried to articulate a 4-movement symphonic form with the 4 tunes of the EP. There are lots of great examples of full length LPs and CDs, but fewer examples of EPs that work as a cohesive listening experience. I wanted to find a way to pursue our expansive metal project by working different subgenre styles into a single form that possibly other metal bands could follow. We’ve had metal for 50 years. I’m interested in ways to help it stay vital for another 50 years and beyond, and expansive forms that require different styles of music is one way that I think we can facilitate more quality expressions of the art form.

The second tune is quite long and downtempo for us. It includes a bass solo, some spoken-word answers to a “Proust Questionnaire” type format, which itself contains some Easter eggs. It also contains double- and triple- guitar solos, as well as a “phasing” solo influenced by the works of minimalist composer Steve Reich.

This record includes some acoustic guitar for the first time in a Necropanther release.

As I said, I originally conceived this music before I heard Rico’s sax playing, so versions of the songs without sax are presented as bonus tracks. Funhouse mirrors and ghostly doubling emerged as a motif of the EP, and the alternate versions are one expression of that.

Any funny stories from playing shows / tours / festivals, etc?

I just like hanging out with my buddies in the band. We’re about the music, but we’re also good friends. That’s part of what makes us durable and prolific. There are always goofy slap-happy jokes, but at the end of the day, we’re musicians. We want to play our best show every time, and the funny stories diminish in comparison to that.

What do you see as some of the great things happening in and around the metal scene (yours or just in general) and what are some of the worst things happening right now?

Denver is a very special metal scene and has been since the 2010’s when we were coming up as a band. We’ve been playing in this scene in other bands since before then, and we’ve been in other cities and scenes. This is something special. You can Google the bands from Denver.

Another cool thing in metal is that it’s more inclusive than it ever has been. Metal is about enthusiasm, skill, and power in the face of the dark and scary parts of life. That’s something that anyone can relate to. Everyone should have access to expressions of our art form and its resolve. If you love metal, and you see someone new in the scene, especially someone different from you, it’s your responsibility to welcome them and share the enjoyment of the art form. We see that at our shows and the shows we go to, and it’s the way it should be, always should have been.

The lousy things about metal have to do with that artistic stagnation. The main sources I see of stagnation are adherence to subgenre tropes and caricatures and reliance on derivative content, which has been accelerated by the emergence of AI technologies. Metal bands have an obligation to do something new, to do something challenging for the music and its audience.

Most folks have passions for a cause or causes that are close to them. What, if any, are some of the most important issues (social/political/humorous/etc.) for you / your band and how do you insert those issues into your music?

We are musicians first and foremost. We never set out to be a “political” band, but having standards of behavior and the type of culture and community that we want to promote eventually led us to articulate a set of values that you can find on our socials. It’s basically about inclusion, equality, and respect for people who come to our music from different backgrounds.

As individuals and as adults, we’re nowhere near aligned on everything politically and philosophically, but we can all agree on that statement as a minimum standard for our community.

Do you have day jobs or hobbies you want to share?

Haakon snow skis. Marcus skateboards. Paul is a SCUBA instructor, and he taught me how to dive. I also do some road and gravel cycling, which Marcus and I do together occasionally.

What advice do you have for music critics and outlets out there? How can we all better serve the genre in the eyes of a hard-working musician?

Ha-ha, critique the critic. Where should I start?

No, the underground press is what makes this culture viable and helps to get the independent artists to their proper audiences. What you do is essential and awesome.

With that said, in general, I see a lot of reviews that only answer the question, “did I as a reviewer like this?” That’s OK, but artists don’t set out to please everyone, and a critic’s personal taste is not privileged.

More useful questions to answer in a review might include:

– Who is this for?
– What traditions does it continue?
– Does it innovate on those traditions?
– Is it a good example of its type?
– Would I recommend it to people who like this type of thing? 

Some good reviewers answer these more objective questions, but it’s uncommon in the music press in general and the metal press in particular.

Don’t give negative reviews to underground bands. Not covering them is stern enough.

There are independent bands that are better than “major” bands. We should be clear about this. “Punching up” will promote vitality for the art form. Of course I think this, as an independent artist.

Any specific long term goal(s) in mind?

Our goals are to keep making new music and having fun as a band and friends. We own our publishing and our masters, and we can do this indefinitely. We have more stories to tell and more ideas about how to innovate in metal music. In some ways, we’re at the top of our game now. We don’t take that for granted, but we want to keep doing this at a high level for as long as we can. The next step is another full-length.

When you’re not obsessing over your own material, what are some of your favorite albums to listen to currently?

I’ve played a couple of dates sitting in with Eminence Ensemble, Joel Cummins from Umphrey’s McGee, and another amazing sax player, Scott Page (Pink Floyd, Toto, Supertramp). We’ve done some Pink Floyd, Rolling Stones, Steely Dan, Radiohead, Billy Joel, so that’s what I’ve been listening to in preparation for those dates. It’s obviously very different from Necropanther, but it’s a healthy thing for me as a guitar player to spend some significant time outside of my comfort zone, and it takes me back to my roots of experiencing classic rock in a way that I hope will bring perspective to my playing on the next Necropanther record. Plus, it’s just a blast to play live.

What is the near future outlook for you or your band? Any specific events on the horizon that the masses should be aware of?

We’re playing with Ulthar in Cheyenne, Wyoming May 5, with Artillery in Denver on June 14, at Prikfest July 28 in Salt Lake City, and at Elevation Music Festival in Alma, Colorado, in August. After that, we’ll start work on the next full-length.

Summarize your band in one word.

Expansive.

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Many thanks to Joe for the time!

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Oblivion Jones: A Tale Of False Consciousness is out now. For more information on Necropanther, head on over to their website, or you can do the Facebook / Instagram thing.