In 2002,
Sourvein celebrated their tenth anniversary, and the southern alternative metal band had evolved considerably during the course of ten years. 21st century members of
Sourvein, which was formed in Cape Fear, NC, in 1993, have described the band's early work as a combination of
the Melvins, Millions of Dead Cops, and
Black Flag. But in the early 2000s,
Sourvein was combining
Black Sabbath-minded guitar riffs with a death metal-ish vocal style. Singer T-Roy Medlin (formerly of
Buzzov-En) was favoring the sort of tormented, larynx-shredding vocals one associates with death metal, black metal, and grindcore bands, but
Sourvein's early-2000s approach didn't include the insanely fast tempos one expects from death metallers; instead, guitarist Liz Buckingham (formerly of the New York-based
13) went for slow, plodding riffs that were consistently mindful of
Sabbath guitarist
Tony Iommi and put
Sourvein in the doom metal category (which has given listeners
Sabbath-influenced bands that range from
Candlemass to
Saint Vitus to
Grief).
Over the years,
Sourvein has had more than a few lineup changes. Buckingham has been on board since 1998, the year
Sourvein moved from Wilmington, NC, to New Orleans.
Sourvein went through various drummers in the late '90s and early 2000s -- including Jimmy Bower (of
Eyehategod, Crowbar, and
Down fame) and former Mason Dixon Overdrive member Slim Spencer -- before hiring Henry Vazquez. JC, one of
Sourvein's band's former bassists, was around in the late '90s but was replaced by Miguel Veliz when
Sourvein moved from New Orleans to Texas. In 2001,
Sourvein signed with the San Francisco-based Man's Ruin Records, which had put out a lot of stoner rock, alternative metal, and punk. But Man's Ruin never released anything by
Sourvein; when the independent label experienced financial problems,
Sourvein ended up looking for another record deal. In 2002,
Sourvein signed with Southern Lord Records, and the band's Medlin/Buckingham/Veliz/Vasquez lineup recorded the brutal Will to Mangle that year. 2005's Emerald Vulture EP preceded a pair of Split 7-inches with
Church of Misery. Two EPs,
Ghetto Angel and Imperial Bastard arrived in 2007 and 2008, respectively, and in 2011 the band issued a new studio LP,
Black Fangs, via Candlelight Records. The next full-length studio album, 2016's
Aquatic Occult, saw the group move to Metal Blade. ~ Alex Henderson