Track Premiere: Wretch- “Running Out of Days”

Doom metal, like many sub-genres, is a natural breeding ground for songs about fantastical subjects: wizards, haunted woods, ancient castles. While this is all fine and good, what about every day life? Doesn’t the passage of time in our cruel reality bring enough inspiration? And can that inspiration be used to expose and then heal the wounds of tragedy and loss?

Wretch is the newest project from vocalist/guitarist Karl Simon, and the band’s self-titled debut is meant as a tribute to Karl’s fallen The Gates of Slumber bandmate, Jason McCash. And as you listen to the anxious, plodding desperation of “Running Out of Days,” you can feel Karl (assisted by drummer Chris Gordon and bassist Bryce Clarke) wrestle with the senseless loss of a friend whose loss seems “without reason, without rhyme.”

Commenting on the song’s origins, Karl noted that

The title, “Running out of Days” refers to comes from a song that Jason wrote almost exactly one year to the minute before he died. The lyrics and music are totally different, but the title is the same, in honor of him. Lyrically, the song is about the memories I have of the last few years of his life as the drugs took hold.”
 

The album, due out on August 26, is meant as a tribute to Jason and the time he and Karl spent together as bandmates. Tragedy, awful as it is, often makes for great art (Temple of the Dog or Black Gives Way to Blue…anyone?). Let’s hope Wretch keeps cranking out spooky tunes like this, long after the dust of sadness clears.