Clyde Peterson’s documentary collaboration with drone metal legends Earth, perfectly melds their cinematic soundscape with grungy and timeless Super8 footage of the Pacific Northwest.
The film meanders through Seattle’s swampy rivers and Earth’s unlikely paths in life in the best possible way—with an original score created for the film by the band themselves.
Screened as part of NZIFF 2023
Even Hell Has Its Heroes 2023
Eschewing more traditional rock doco trappings, Pacific Northwest artist Clyde Peterson has created a singular portrait of drone metal pioneer Dylan Carlson and his band Earth. The incredibly cinematic soundtrack produced by the band themselves demands a big screen sound system and pairs perfectly with atmospheric Super8 footage of the band and their Seattle environs.
“Since 1989, the slowest metal band on the planet has conjured some of music’s most striking tectonic changes. Not only did the band Earth create a glacially paced subgenre of metal and play a pivotal role in the popularization of grunge, but visionary leader Dylan Carlson also did it while battling small-town boredom, heroin addiction, and the tragic death of his roommate and best friend, Kurt Cobain. Despite the high volume of its beloved and beautiful drone metal, Earth has rarely had much to say for itself. For the first time, in a moving saga that respects the music as much as the ragtag cast of eccentrics and surreal Pacific Northwest majesty that shaped it, Clyde Petersen gets to the core of the could-have-been-tragic triumph of Earth, the slow band that changed everything it touched.” — Grayson Church