Flush It Friday: See You Soon, Love Always
An ode on Winter Park, Florida.
Originally self-released on CD by the band in 2004, Dove was Dove‘s lone attempt at putting together a full-length. Recorded at Atomic Audio in Tampa, FL, it showed the full breadth of what the short-lived Henry Wilson-led band could do. Sitting quite comfortably exactly in the middle of Cavity and Floor, every song on the original 14-track album was short, built around a swaggering sludge riff or two, with Wilson’s almost-melodic punchy yell making it all unmistakeable and unforgettable. It wasn’t quite as misanthropic as Cavity nor as impossibly down-tuned as Floor; rather, it was the rock star version of that South Florida sound. Because, make no mistake, Wilson was and is a rock star in the glamorous, sparkling sense of the term. While he wasn’t the original drummer for either Cavity nor Floor before embarking on his own journey with Dove, he did play on Cavity’s 2000 Supercollider—the first Cavity record I ever heard/owned—and has been Floor’s drummer since the 2001 two-track Floor/Dove split released on Berserker Records.
That split was our introduction to Dove and our initiation into the absolute force Floor would become. That same year, Dove would release two more tracks on Berserker Records’ compilation South of Hell: 14 Songs from the New South. Despite its immensely regrettable artwork, this compilation was an incredible collection of artists: Atlanta’s Leechmilk, whose “The Garrote” is one of the heaviest and deranged songs to ever be released; Norfolk rednecks Beaten Back to Pure; Icepick Revival,Lafayette’s very own answer to Today is the Day; NOLA legends Hawg Jaw; the oft-overlooked Mugwart from Virginia Beach; and, oh, look at that, Little Rock’s Rwake contributing their by-now classic “Piss and Shit” as the album’s closer. To this day, South of Hell is eminently listenable, a perfect snapshot of a time when southern sludge, in what I suppose you would call its second wave, was as fucked up and messy and out there as its first wave. An expertly captured moment in grimy time.
In the years between the initial release of Dove, songs have been added to subsequent releases. While the 2010 vinyl release from Financial Ruin kept the same 14 tracks, the cassette edition added “Time Get Crucial,” one of Wilson’s beloved forays into the world of reggae/dub. Ultimately, Dove was re-released in 2017 as a digital-only compilation, adding the track from the Floor/Dove split “One Year After” (it should be noted that Floor’s contribution was “Bombs to Abaddon”), the two South of Hell tracks “Eight Letters” and “What’s Best in Life”, and two tracks recorded in 1998 and previously unreleased. (They’ve also now been re-issued on a 7″ in the Netherlands limited to 100 copies called the Morrisound Demo, in honour of the legendary Tampa recording studio. Additionally, Chunklet released the South of Hell tracks as a 7″ in 2021 with the classic Electric Warrior album art, the very album art that adorned the best Dove shirt I ever owned. Wilson is sort of the Marc Boland of Florida sludge, but, fortunately, he’s still alive.)
I’ve been lucky throughout the years to see Wilson play, whether it be behind the drums with Floor where he kicks about like Sideshow Bob or fronting Dove where he brings that kind of impossible glam rock cool to the dingiest of venues in Jacksonville or Daytona Beach. I was fortunate to be aware of Dove from the first release to the last, to return to Dove in its now 20-song glory, whenever the mood strikes. Many years after Dove came to an end and Floor became Steve Brooks’ Torche side project, Wilson founded House of Lightning. Based out of Miami and featuring the very recognizable talents of Rick Smith (Torche, Tyranny of Shaw, Shitstorm, a bunch of other stuff) and Eric Hernandez (Torche, Wrong ex-Kylesa, ex-Shitstorm, and more), House of Lightning is something like, if you can believe this, Torche blended with T. Rex and also a little ’80s metal flare. It’s a wild record, full of panache and gusto.
And so, it Goes Without Saying: Thank You For Your Patience. It’s Never A Straight Line with me! I was clearly On A Mission and spent who knows how many words Without Warning on something that maybe You And I have previously discussed, but, and This You Can Trust: Neither Today Nor Tomorrow will I ever stop loving Dove, Dove, or Henry Wilson. I hope everyone’s safe in Florida.
But enough of that. We’ve had a big week on the site, and it’s time to flush.
Some good No.’s in TMP this week and some big releases as foretold in TTT.
Gage came out the woodwork to slap their first-ever 5/5 on the new Heriot.
Reliquary Tower delivered one of ToH’s best articles of the year with this absolutely delightful interview with dungeon synth magician Vaelastrasz.
Toilet Radio episode 521 features Joe n Jordan talkin’ Dead Alive with Greg from Nefarious Industries. Great flick.
Toilet Radio 521 – Dead Alive (feat. Greg from Nefarious Industries)
Oh, whaddyaknow. I premiered, very exclusively mind you, a new single from Ritual Fog. Really ripping stuff.
Exclusive Track Premiere: Ritual Fog’s “Nocturnal Suffering”
Oh, whaddya double know. I premiered, even more exclusively, the full stream of the new Hell is Other People. Album’s out today! Go snag it from TO!
Exclusive Early Album Premiere: Hell is Other People’s Moirae
Metal Aged Mom is here to rustle jimmies and highlight a bunch of bands with a wide range of sounds. Tons o’ fun!
Thanks to everyone who spent time reading through these posts and leaving comments on them. Disqus can rise again. Let’s get those comment sections hoppin’. And while you’re at it, slap some GBUs in the comments. As for me? You can find me Somewhere Between. Hugs and kisses to you all.
