Doomed Confessionary: Bryan Reed (Doomsday Profit)

Doomsday Profit is an acid-sludge band from Durham, North Carolina.

The band’s 2021 debut, »In Idle Orbit«, earned accolades for its dystopian fusion of sludge metal grit, stoner-doom groove, and psych-rock sizzle.

Eager to make good on the promise of »In Idle Orbit«, Doomsday Profit has performed throughout the Southeast, playing alongside Thou, Bongzilla, REZN, Black Tusk, The Well, Year Of The Cobra, USX, Cosmic Reaper, Restless Spirit, and more.

Doomsday Profit are Bryan Reed (guitar, vocals), Kevin See (guitar, vocals), Ryan Sweeney (bass, vocals), and David Ruiz (drums).

Can you say a few words about your band?
Doomsday Profit is a sludge metal band from Durham, North Carolina, USA. We’re gearing up to release a split album with our good friends Smoke from Lynchburg, Virginia on Olde Magick Records. It feels like we’ve taken ages to get these songs out, and we’re very excited for people to hear the recordings!

What was the biggest challenge for the band?
I don’t think the challenges we’ve faced as a band are anything out of the ordinary. Balancing full-time work, family obligations, and band logistics is always a challenge, but we’re all very supportive of each other and committed to making time for Doomsday Profit.

The biggest challenge, in hindsight, has been getting new music released. It always takes longer than you expect it to. We recorded the tracks for our split with Smoke back in 2022, and our original drummer, Tradd Yancey, left the band shortly after that. We were fortunate enough that our friend David Ruiz was able to step into the role pretty quickly and keep everything moving forward on the live front, but it took some time for us to figure out what the best way to release the songs we’d already captured. We’re very happy these songs are finally going to be available for people to hear, and we’re working to make sure we don’t wait another three years between releases.

What can you be most proud of so far?
I’m proud of how much this band has grown together. This is the first band I’ve been in that actually made it to the point of playing shows and putting out records, which is pretty wild in itself. But it’s been really wonderful to see each of my bandmates developing as musicians and as people over the past few years. Ryan Sweeney, our bassist, has really honed his chops on the bass, and manages all of the business side of things. Kevin See, our lead guitarist, has stepped up his songwriting and arranging in a big way. David has pushed us to be more technical and dynamic as players, and we’ve been eager to step up our game. Having these guys next to me has really pushed me as a musician, and as a human, in really positive directions.

What was your biggest regret?
I try not to dwell on regrets. Certainly, we’ve made mistakes and had challenges – as a band, and as individuals. But who doesn’t? It’s always interesting to go back and listen to our older songs, for instance, and think about all the ways we could’ve done it better, but I try to put that energy into whatever we’re working on next. Hopefully, every new song we write is better than the ones before it, and every show we play is a little tighter and more exciting for the audience. It’s all a process, and that’s part of what makes it fun. No regerts here.

What was the best concert/tour so far and why?
Most of the time, just playing a show is its own reward. Ryan likes to joke that you could throw us in the van to play in an alley for a dozen stray cats, and we’d be stoked to do it. He’s not wrong. If we could figure out a way to play out full time, we would. So narrowing down the “best” shows is a tricky task. I think if you asked each of us the same question on any given day, you’d get a lot of different answers. We’ve been really lucky to have some amazing shows.

Our first tour with Cosmic Reaper ended with a packed show in Asheville opening for USX, and that really motivated us to keep going and playing out.
We haven’t played a ton of shows this year, but the ones we’ve played have been mostly great. We played a hometown show with Prosperity Gospel from Columbia, SC, who are not only an incredible band, but became fast friends. David’s black metal band, Antiquity, was on the bill, too. Stephen Tyree, the bass player from Smoke, surprised us by driving down for the gig. It was such a big, friendly hang-out.

Playing Space Coke’s farewell show in Savannah, GA was special as they were the first band we played with outside of North Carolina, back in 2020. It felt like a full-circle moment being able to help send them off in a big way this year, and we were honored to be invited to take part.

And this year’s Seismic Summer Fest in Charlotte, NC was a great time, too. Our friends in Cosmic Reaper put that on with some help from Steve Reis from Does It Doom. (And I helped a bit with promoting it.) We had eleven absolutely killer bands – Satan’s Satyrs, Restless Spirit, Mean Green, BloodRitual, and more – crammed into the historic Milestone Club, sweating it out to a full house all day. It ruled.

The best shows are always the ones with friends.

What was the biggest surprise on the music scene for you?
I am consistently surprised that people seem to like our band. I don’t mean to be self-deprecating, but there are so many great bands and artists out there, it’s still very gratifying whenever folks decide to listen to our music or come out to our shows when they have so many other options for how to spend their time and money. It definitely makes me want to do everything I can to make it worthwhile!

What is currently in your heavy musical rotation?
I’m kind of an obsessive music listener, so I’m going to have to reign myself in a bit. I’m going to focus on some of my favorite new releases this year. In no particular order:
Sect – Plagues Upon Plagues
Black Tusk – The Way Forward
Thou – Umbilical
Lair – The Hidden Shiv
Dödsrit – Nocturnal Will
Prisoner – Putrid | Obsolete
King Bastard – From Whence They Came
Aseethe – The Cost
Fu Manchu – The Return Of Tomorrow
…and as soon as I send this in, I’m sure I’ll remember another five records that blew my mind at some point this year.

What was the best advice you’ve ever been given as a musician?
If you want to build a scene, you need to go to at least one show for every show you play. This advice came from one of our local venue owners. It seems obvious, but it’s so easy to get wrapped up in day to day life, especially as we get older, that going out to shows to see other bands can often fall by the wayside. Playing in a band is great. Taking photos, writing blogs, buying merch, running a DIY label – these are all important roles in building up a music scene. But sometimes the best thing any of us can do to support each other is just show up.

What are your guilty pleasures?
No shame! I can’t think of anything I enjoy that feels embarrassing or “guilty.” We all love a lot of different music, from jam bands to Boygenius. I love bad movies, Kevin loves reality TV, and Ryan and David both have pretty impressive collections of Magic: The Gathering cards. We’re just geeky dudes who make angry music.

Can you say something more about current music scene in Durham / North Carolina?
North Carolina has always been a breeding ground for amazing music, from Elizabeth Cotten to Superchunk to Corrosion Of Conformity. And that hasn’t slowed at all. There are so many great bands coming out of North Carolina right now. Cosmic Reaper, BloodRitual, Mean Green, Valletta, and on and on. It feels like people are starting to catch on to the fact that there are so many heavy bands coming up right now. We’re starting to see more people from all walks of life coming out to shows, and I hope that continues to grow into something really big and inclusive.

Where can we see you live this year (concerts/tours)?
We’ve got a handful of regional shows planned for the rest of this year, with the first being a show in Durham, NC on October 24 with Misanthropic Aggression and Psychic Scream. Hopefully we’ll be able to spend more time on the road next year, depending how everyone’s schedules work out. Either way, we won’t be idle.

What are your plans for the future as a band?
We’ve recently recorded a full-length album, so hopefully our near term plans will involve figuring out how to get that released in the next year or so. Beyond that, we’re just eager to play more shows and try to stretch our routes a little farther up the East Coast and into the Midwest. We’d love to tour Europe and play more festivals, too!

How can people best support your band?
Enjoy the music! It’s very rewarding when our music resonates with people, and at the end of the day, that’s what we’re aiming for. Obviously, it helps keep gas in the tank when people buy merch and tickets, and we’re very grateful for everyone who supports us in that way. But every stream, share, and smile is just as valuable.

Do you have any message for your listeners?
Take care of yourselves. Take care of each other. I hope y’all enjoy the new tunes!

Links:
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Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well