For this Special DOC III Edition of Making Meaning, we’re talking with Michael Miller of Pale Grey Lore!
Catch Pale Grey Lore at Descendants of Crom III on Sunday 9.22.19 at Cattivo! Get tickets here.
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MAKING MEANING: THE BACKGROUND
Pale Grey Lore blends elements of Garage Psych, Space Rock, Post-Punk, and Stoner Doom to create hook-driven, Heavy Rock and Roll. They’re from Columbus, Ohio.
Formed in 2014, Pale Grey Lore has released two albums. Their most recent album, Eschatology, was released in early September 2019 on Small Stone Records. In addition to playing DOC III, they’re playing a run of shows September – November 2019.
Pale Grey Lore is: Donovan Johnson (bass), Adam Miller (drums), Michael Miller (guitar, vocals), and Xander Roseberry (guitar, backing vocals).
Keep up-to-date with Pale Grey Lore on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Bandcamp.
MAKING MEANING: THE SONG
Listen to the song “Undermined” from Pale Gray Lore’s album Eschatology and learn what meaning Michael makes:
“Undermined” is from the album Eschatology (2019 Small Stone Records). Lyrics by Michael Miller, music written and performed by Pale Grey Lore. It was recorded and mixed by Andy Sartain at Mindfield Recording, and mastered by Harold LaRue.
Michael Speaks
“Undermined” is an energetic, uptempo rocker carried along by a galloping beat. It features some neat guitar harmonies and spacey leads that were a lot of fun to write and perform. Like the rest of the songs on our new album Eschatology, this one reflects a portion of the album’s narrative concept. It takes place in a world not unlike our own in which rapacious capitalism and rampant militarism culminate in climate catastrophe and nuclear devastation. All this destruction and chaos attracts entropy-hungry cosmic horrors that utterly transform the planet with their arrival.
“The song is an excerpt from a philosophical treatise that became the basis of an underground religion founded long before the great war took place.” – Michael Miller of Pale Grey Lore on their song “Undermined”
The song is an excerpt from a philosophical treatise that became the basis of an underground religion founded long before the great war took place. This sect warned against the dehumanizing effects of a certain cultural logic, which had completely taken hold of the world around them. In their own time, they were ignored and written off as out-of-touch cranks, leading to the original sect’s dissolution. Years later, as the treatise’s dystopian predictions began to come to pass one after another, the text was discovered by a cabal of obscenely wealthy techno-industrialists. But instead of being horrified by the predictions it contained, these oligarchs came to believe that they were divinely chosen to accelerate the process and help to bring about every last one of these dire predictions.
“…who am I to decree what any particular arrangement of words has to mean to everyone for all time?” – Michael Miller of Pale Grey Lore on their song “Undermined”
The lyrics to “Undermined” are part of the album’s story but I also wanted them to be strong enough to stand on their own. I try to write lyrics in a way that leaves room for interpretation, allowing the hearer to make their own meaning from the words and phrases I string together. After all, language is a public medium that we all share, so who am I to decree what any particular arrangement of words has to mean to everyone for all time?
DESCENDANTS OF CROM III
We talked to Mike about playing at Descendants of Crom III. The Third Annual Descendants of Crom heavy music festival takes place in Pittsburgh, PA September 20 – 22, 2019.
How do you feel about playing DOC III?
It’s an honor and a privilege. Pittsburgh is a very cool town and we are stoked to be coming back though.
What can the audience expect from your performance?
Good bad vibes. Like when you know you just ate the brown acid, but you’re nevertheless determined to have a good time.
What other bands are you excited to see perform?
All the bands on the bill are solid, but definitely check out our Small Stone labelmates Irata because they rule!
What else do you want readers to know?
We’d like to thank Shy for putting on this killer fest and having us play. Crom is strong! He laughs at your four winds!
Thanks so much to Michael of Pale Grey Lore for talking with us about their song “Undermined” and Descendants of Crom III! We hope this adds to your experience of their band, their song, and their performance. Thanks for making meaning with us.
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