As the creative center and driving force behind Earth, guitarist Dylan Carlson seems to have a permanent seat at the forefront of progressive musicality. For over 20 years (admittedly, with a break in there following 1996′s Pentastar: In the Style of Demons), Carlson‘s droning work has been instrumental in setting the course for bands across a variety of genres, and his influence can be felt in modern psychedelia, doom metal, stoner rock, noise and elsewhere.

Even that’s selling it light. I remember a chance meeting with the dudes from hippie/freak folk outfit Akron/Family in 2008 and all they wanted to talk about was Earth‘s then-new release, The Bees Made Honey in the Lion’s Skull. The level of impact albums like Earth 2, the recently-reissued Extra-Capsular Extraction and Hex: Or Printing in the Infernal Method — the latter the launch-point for what Carlson seems to thinks of as “new Earth” — is inestimable. As Earth have always existed outside the confines of genre or expectation, so too has their reach been limitless.

I’ve already reviewed it, so I’ll keep the ranting about Earth‘s latest album, Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light I, to a minimum. Carlson — once again tasked with revamping the band’s lineup around himself and longtime drummer Adrienne Davies — focuses on heightened melody and improvisation, less layering than there was on The Bees Made Honey in the Lion’s Skull, and by incorporating the warm bass of Karl Blau (already left the band) and the cello of Lori Goldston, the group arrives at a sound both natural and constructed, pastoral and exciting. It is a varied, and frankly, gorgeous record.

We spoke for the following interview for nearly an hour. Carlson‘s voice shares some of the same hypnotic deliberate calmness as does his guitar, and as he spoke about his opinions on physical vs. digital product, Earth‘s rotating cast, the differences between instrumental and vocalized songwriting, the themes at play on Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light I and why his preferences have shifted to playing live over recording, it was easy to hear that the atmospheres affected through his music are a clear extension of the man himself. I hope that comes through as you read.

Full Q&A is after the jump. Please enjoy.

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At this point, 21 years into a massively influential career (if the band was a person, that person would be able to drink legally), Olympia, Washington, drone champions Earth are really only comparable to themselves. Guitarist/bandleader Dylan Carlson, whose work has set more ships sailing than did Helen of Troy, continues ceaselessly to refine and redefine Earth’s sound, working with a range of players and adopting conceptual aesthetics on a by-album basis. Earth’s latest hour-long opus, Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light I (Southern Lord) continues a line of remarkably strong outings, started with the band’s 2005 studio revival, Hex: Or Printing in the Infernal Method and continued on both the 2007 Hibernaculum EP of re-recorded earlier material and 2008’s brilliant The Bees Made Honey in the Lion’s Skull full-length. Fans of those offerings will recognize some elements on Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light I, but as ever, Earth have maintained their penchant for subtle sonic shifts that wind up making a huge difference in their overall affect.

Earth’s music is like a sentence that does the work of a paragraph. Joining Carlson on Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light I are longtime drummer Adrienne Davies and newcomers Karl Blau on electric bass (Angelina Baldoz will play live) and cellist Lori Goldston, who makes her mark on the album immediately on opener “Old Black.” A rocker by Earth standards, “Old Black” isn’t so far removed from the Americana vibes of Hex: Or Printing in the Infernal Method, but the bare minimalism of that record is replaced by a fullness of sound brought on by the inclusion of bass and most especially the cello, which runs a naturalistic drone in long-held notes playing beneath the guitar and drums. Goldston runs her own lines for sure, accompanying rather than following Dylan’s guitar as Blau mostly does on bass, and making the songs all the more lush and engaging. The purported concept behind Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light I was a partial paean to British acid folk, and listening to “Old Black” or the closing title track, I could almost hear a Sandy Denny-type of voice over the material, though a song like “Father Midnight,” which follows the opener, is most exemplary of Earth’s own work over the last six years.

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Perhaps the most striking thing about Earth’s A Bureaucratic Desire for Extra-Capsular Extraction — which combines the band’s 1991 debut EP, Extra-Capsular Extraction with cuts from their 1990 demo previously available as bonus tracks from No Quarter’s 2001 reissue of 1995’s Sunn Amps and Smashed Guitars Live (you get all that?) — is that if it came across my desk today and I popped it in for review, it wouldn’t be at all out of date. I wouldn’t call it innovative, or laud it for how it will change riffy drone forever, but this kind of stuff is most definitely still being made. It goes to show that whatever the venerated Olympia, Washington, outfit get up to, they seem to be ahead of their time. Certainly they’ve continued to prove that throughout their career, from the low frequency noise of Earth 2 in 1993 to the beginning of a new era with 2005’s Hex: Or Printing in the Infernal Method. Even now, as main songwriter and guitarist Dylan Carlson prepares to enter his 21st year operating under the Earth moniker, the push is still toward innovating and refining the creative process.

I don’t doubt that it was a bureaucratic desire that led to the album’s being reissued, perhaps by Southern Lord, perhaps by Carlson or the band wanting to mark the 20th anniversary of some of this material, but whatever it is, the new visitation of Extra-Capsular Extraction finds it no less relevant for the time passed. In fact, given the trail of influence Earth has left behind them, they’re probably more relevant now than they ever were at the time. Nonetheless, the “bureaucratic desire” is also obviously a play on the two-part piece that makes up half of the original EP, “A Bureaucratic Desire for Revenge.” On both “Part 1” and “Part 2,” Earth prove they were ahead of the game entirely, evoking an atmosphere that not even Godflesh would come close to touching for some years yet. Carlson, joined in Earth at the time by bassist/percussionist Joe Preston (Melvins, High on Fire, Thrones, etc.) and bassist Dave Harwell, provides landmark riffing that’s slow enough (especially compared to most of what was coming out of their geographic region at the time) to be called drone, but still somewhat groove-based. Sabbath heads and experimental geeks would have been on it, but the grunge kids must have shit their pants.

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As if there was ever a bad time to be on the West Coast of the US, when Earth and Wolves in the Throne Room roll into town, life must seem especially sweet. Trapped in the perpetual gray of a Jersey Spring, I wouldn’t know, but I can only imagine it involves the stripping away of clothes and the giving away of vast sums of cash. And hoverboards, dammit.

Our dear friend the PR wire confirms the varying levels and interpretations of paradise:

Earth have joined up with label mates Wolves in the Throne Room for a week-and-a-half long West Coast tour for this April. The string of dates will also include opening support from cellist Lori Goldston, who will also be part of Earth‘s live lineup for the tour.

Earth have been finalizing material for their next full-length to be released on Southern Lord Recordings by early 2011, and will be showcasing some of these new songs on the tour. The Earth lineup on these dates shall consist of:

Dylan Carlson – Guitar
Adrienne Davies – Drums
Karl Blau – Bass
Lori Goldston – Cello

Wolves in the Throne Room have just completed their first Australian tour, alongside French doom unit Monarch!, and will appear alongside Shrinebuilder at a special one-off East Coast appearance in New York City tonight.

Earth / Wolves in the Throne Room / Lori Goldston April 2010 Tour:

4/14/2010 The Oak Street Speakeasy – Eugene, OR
4/15/2010 Noctrum – Eureka, CA
4/16/2010 Slim’s – San Francisco, CA
4/17/2010 Brookdale Lodge – Santa Cruz, CA
4/19/2010 Ché Café – San Diego, CA
4/20/2010 The EchoPlex – Los Angeles, CA
4/22/2010 Rotture – Portland, OR
4/23/2010 Neumo’s – Seattle, WA
4/24/2010 Capital Theatre – Olympia, WA with special guests Mount Eerie and Ô Paon

In terms of heavy ambience, there are few in the realm of black metal who do it as well as Olympia, WA‘s Wolves in the Throne Room. Helmed by brothers Nathan (guitar/vocals) and Aaron Weaver (drums), the band has been igniting cross-genre acclaim since debuting with Diadem of 12 Stars (Vendlus) in 2006. The response to that record was so strong that it led to Southern Lord signing them and releasing follow-up Two Hunters. They explored their trance-inducing side on this year’s Malevolent Grain EP and are already in the process of issuing the next full-length, Black Cascade. Known almost as much for their strong stance on environmental issues as for their music, the band makes a strong argument in favor of paying attention to the latter with this latest work.

I’ll spare the wax poetry since the review of Black Cascade went up just a couple days ago. Certainly there’s enough of it there. In the meantime, after the jump you can read an extended interview with Aaron Weaver about the troubles of touring and playing corporately-sponsored functions such as the recent Scion Fest in Atlanta, keeping the balance between clarity and a natural sound, and tightening the Wolves in the Throne Room songwriting process so the songs can be better presented live. Dig it.

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