In the world of heavy metal there isn’t a shortage of subgenres: from thrash, sludge, stoner, death, doom, speed, power, nu, black (and unblack) metal, the list goes on. Within the sub-genres are again a multitude of even more categories like Latin, Christian, Neue Deutsche Härte (New German Hardness) and pornogrind. Then we have crossover genres like folk metal, Celtic metal, glam metal and goth metal. There are even sub-genres of tribute and cover bands including drive-thru metal (developed by the McDonalds-themed Black Sabbath tribute band Mac Sabbath), and mandolin metal (developed by the German bluegrass cover band Mandowar, inspired by the American heavy metal group Manowar).
But Louisville may be home to the first Wild West heavy metal band with Stagecoach Inferno, which formed in 2008.
“Wild West heavy metal is a celebration of North American mythology,” says Stagecoach Inferno Drummer Thom Hammerheart. “There are a myriad of themed bands out there. May they be serious or silly, many of them blend cultural history and mythology to write their music. Some of our favorite bands sing about wizards, dragons, trolls, pirates and vikings. We love it, but that’s not American mythology. For us, it’s the Wild West.”
After two EPs — a self-titled in 2009, and Hell On Hooves in 2012 — the band has just finished recording their first full-length album, A Town Called Atonement, which was fully funded by fans on Indiegogo, a crowd-funding site. It’s slated to be released later this year. They also plan to release a 100-page dime store novella on the history of the band at the time of the album release.
Stagecoach Inferno will be playing a free show with Automaton, Belushi Speed Ball and Jereactors on Saturday, Aug. 20 at Mag Bar.
