Doomed Confessionary: Chas Storrow & Connor Gibson (Universe Complete)
Hailing from Taos, New Mexico and Denver, Colorado, Universe Complete is a desert psych rock duo that formed in December, 2022. Universe Complete have just released their self-titled debut album in 2025 on the summer solstice.
Universe Complete is raw and unpretentious, reflecting the band’s rural upbringing and the high desert settings where the music was born. The drums are dented, the guitars are encrusted with years of desert sand. The undeniable groove reflects the band’s wandering musical tastes, from hard rock and metal to blues and funk to spoken word poetry, with extended jams that take the listener on a journey.
Universe Complete consists of Chas Storrow (guitar, bass, vocals) and Connor Gibson (drums, vocals).
Can you please say a few words about your band?
Chas: One day I sat down and said I’m gonna write some riff’s in A minor. I just wanted some fuzzy guitar tones and straight forward jams. I usually tune my guitar to D# Standard cause I love Jimi Hendrix and that’s what he did. So that would really make the songs in the key of G# minor. Anyways those songs turned into what I called »Turtle Mountain« or TM. Because I like turtles and mountains. So we had TM 1, TM 2, TM 3 etc. At this point Connor and I had jammed a bit in years past, always just messing around. We have known each other since we were kids, growing up in rural Vermont. Then I decided to send him some very rough demos, which had a crappy drum machine on it.
We ended up playing together again over the winter here in Taos, New Mexico. Which was a couple years ago now. We were jamming in an earthship – a house built into the ground made from recycled materials. It has thick walls packed with tires and earth, wooden beams inside, great acoustics. So we decided to try jamming TM 1 , which became »The Mountain Rises!«. The first iteration was a lot slower, Connor had the idea to speed it up, and we ended up around 154bpm.
A lot of these songs I would just play on bass as best I can while jamming with Connor. If we were to play live right now we would be a two piece. With heavy bass and drums. Bass strings are not forgiving though.
Eventually the songs took shape and the rest of the album followed pretty organically. Connor helped with the arrangement of the songs. He has a good ear and had some great ideas to help the songs flow better. Finally we settled on the name Universe Complete. Cause like space and stuff.
Connor: For me, things became serious after I started getting versions of what would become »The Mountain Rises!« back from Chas, with his vocals and early guitar solos. The recording quality and the quality of the song itself was much better than I was expecting. Chas has a talent for finding melodies, whether he’s singing them or playing them as a hook. He can play guitar solos that are impressive, but more importantly, he always prioritizes musicality over showmanship.
About six months after we started tracking that first song, we decided to go all-in. We acquired drum mics and a better interface, rented a cabin in a remote location for a week, and tracked all of the rest of Chas’ »Turtle Mountain« demos, along with three other tracks that were based on ideas we came up with during improvised jams. It was a really satisfying experience because we had just enough time to track the core parts of each song. During the last night of the trip, we played ourselves an early draft of the album while we packed up our gear.
What was the biggest challenge for the band?
Chas: Writing lyrics for me. And then singing the songs. Finding places to play and the time to get together to practice and jam, because I live in a small space that is shared by others for much of the year. I drove into the mountains and recorded some vocals in my car, just so I could be alone to really belt it out (quietly).
Connor: Learning to record and mix an album without any professional help. It was very slow for me, because I was starting with almost zero knowledge or experience. I got a few basic tips from a couple engineers (Jackson Maddox and John Remington) about microphone placement and the mixing process, from the most basic EQ plugins in Logic to more intermediate stuff like parallel compression for vocals and instruments. Other than that, it was just me watching YouTube videos and learning to solve problems as they came up. We also wound up re-recording several things, which greatly improved the album, but took well over a year after we had already tracked the core instruments.
What can you be most proud of so far?
Chas: I enjoyed the process of creating these songs. It’s certainly made me a better guitar player. And reaching the end finally. So many guitar solo’s haha. And now the album is out which is really cool!
Connor: The album is out, the first recordings either of us have ever been featured on. And we did everything ourselves. It’s fun to be able to say that and it’s gratifying to hear the final product after two and a half years of hard work.
What was your biggest regret?
Chas: How long it took to finish the album. Not enough time spent playing guitar.
Connor: Having to make a living instead of just making music.
What was the best concert/tour so far and why?
Chas: We are not really a touring band, more like a recording project between two friends. We would like to play some shows in the future. TBD.
Connor: Our parents saw us improv some songs in a garage a few months ago. I guess that was our best and only show.
Chas: We recently had a co-worker/friend of mine run in (unexpectedly) screaming and jumping for joy during a jam we were doing in the Earthship. I think she made it into that day’s recording too haha.
What was the biggest surprise on the music scene for you?
Connor: How robust the stoner/doom scene is, all over the world! We have connected with many great bands since we put our album out and listening to their music has been fun. This is the second thing that Doomed Nation has published on our behalf, and since we are accumulating a new following from scratch, that exposure really means a lot to us.
Chas: Probably when Weedian reached out to us, right after the album went online. They were really cool and are genuine about helping bands share their music. And I’ll echo Connor about how the doom scene is awesome! I’ve always loved slow music, probably starting with Saint Vitus.
What is currently in your heavy musical rotation?
Chas: For me right now it’s HELL, Boris, Black Sabbath, Sleep, Dinosaur Jr., Castle Rat, Pelican, Godspeed You! Black Emperor. Have listened to lots of old school heavy metal like Iron Maiden, Megadeth, Overkill, Slayer, Metallica, Venom, Judas Priest. Also like electronic type stuff like Portishead, Molchat Doma, Hania Rani, barberbeats. Love Alice In Chains as well and other grunge bands. We both grew up together during the whole nu metal explosion during the early 2000’s.
Connor: Do Wu-Tang and Run the Jewels count as heavy? My big three are Tool, Alice in Chains, and Queens Of The Stone Age. Huge NIN fan as well. For heavier stuff, Slipknot, Mudvayne, Idles, Korn, System Of A Down, Bob Vylan, John 5, The Distillers. I recently went on a Powerman 5000 binge. A friend just turned me on to Amyl and the Sniffers. And shoutout to Death, the proto-punk band formed by the Hackney brothers in 1971. The two surviving members of Death live in Vermont, not far from where Chas and I grew up.
What was the best advice you’ve ever been given as a musician?
Connor: There are no shortcuts for getting better at playing an instrument. You have to practice for as many hours as you can.
Chas: Take your time, don’t rush it.
What are your guilty pleasures?
Chas: Spliffs, really.
Connor: We don’t feel guilty about all the cocaine.
Can you say something more about the current music scene in Taos and Denver?
Chas: In Taos, there is a variety of music. Lots of reggae, afrobeat, rockabilly, folk music. There was a little Doom festival that petered out called Monolith on the Mesa. The Possessed and Mars Red Sky played, among others. There is a small heavy music venue called the Goathead. There was a cool band from Ukraine that played at the solar center called Yagody. Santa Fe and Albuquerque get more well known heavy bands. Saw Sleep play in ABQ on 4/20 a few years ago, awesome show. So much smoke in the air…R.I.P. to my buddy Wookie who was there as well.
Connor: Denver has so many talented musicians and interesting bands of all varieties and genres. I enjoy seeing all kinds of music, not just the kind of music we play.
Where can we see you live this year (concerts/tours)?
*crickets*
What are your plans for the future as a band?
Connor: We’re working on album #2! We can’t spoil it much but it has a concept, and parts of it will be humorous. We already have a good chunk of it tracked.
Chas: Recording more guitar riffs and solos, really just endless solos. Working on my vocals as well.
How can people best support your band?
Connor: Sharing our music is best, and buying our music helps too. Mostly, we want friends to show their friends.
Chas: Just listen to it and enjoy it. Try not to drive too fast, I learned the hard way.
Do you have any message for your listeners?
Make sure you eat enough vegetables. The universe is not complete without vegetables.
Also we were joking about the cocaine.
Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well