Dark Matter: Official Album Thread

General Pearl Jam discussion.
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Rank Dark Matter

5 Stars
119
56%
4 Stars
65
31%
3 Stars
19
9%
2 Stars
2
1%
2 Star
1
0%
%#*! Andrew Watt
5
2%
 
Total votes: 211

guitar_davey
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Re: Dark Matter: Official Album Thread

Post by guitar_davey »

This Zane Lowe interview is fantastic, but Mike is wayyyyyy off.
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Birds in Hell
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Re: Dark Matter: Official Album Thread

Post by Birds in Hell »

Strat wrote:
Clem Halibut wrote:
lvc wrote:
Aunt_Claire_Foy wrote:
Strat wrote:
Birds in Hell wrote:
Strat wrote:
Birds in Hell wrote:
Birds in Hell wrote:
Strat wrote:
lvc wrote:Niche subset of this Howard Stern post, specifically the Yellow Ledbetter video:

Close-ups of Mike's pedal board. I can identify the MXR flanger, script logo Phase 90, and UniVibe, and Carbon Copy delay (a surprising amount of MXR -- for a guy who could get any hand-built boutique thing in the world, he has a pedal board you could put together at Guitar Center for like $800 plus that big switcher). I also see a Line 6 delay (hard to miss) and a Boss Vibrato. Can't make out what the golden pedal is or the one to the left of that (black with white writing). And obviously a wah though I don't recognize the logo.

I know there used to be a place to talk gear but it seems to have disappeared. Anyone else geek out to this stuff and have insight on the right half of Mike's board?
I was actually quite pleased to the see the carbon copy delay. i thought he had just been utilizing the digital line 6 for so long now. The carbon copy is one of the best/most affordable delay pedals and i absolutely love mine. It seems to be at the top of most players lists for best all around.

I cant pick out what overdrive he is using though.
Image

To my eyes, the beginning of the chain looks like a Mission expression pedal, a barely visible gold pedal (overdrive?) followed by an EHX Stereo Electric Mistress - and then the MXR Flanger, Phase 90, etc.

Mission make (or used to make) a wah but it's purple, so I'm leaning towards it being an expression controller instead, which means Mike could be relying on a digital wah from the switcher/multi-effect.

Mystery gold pedal could be the MXR Custom Badass Modified Overdrive.
Back to the drawing board, it can't be the MXR.

The switch is placed too close to the bottom of the enclosure and, unlike the MXR, there's no text in that spot.
When stone goes over there and hits that, what looks like a mission expression pedal, it certainly sounded like a wah to me......so im confused!
I think that switcher also has effects, so I'm presuming he has it set-up to act like a wah.
His board now stresses me out. Time for a rig rundown!
I was going to say the gold one is the Wampler Tumnus but can't make out the detail design (if any).
My thoughts first went to the Tumnus on the gold one, but from another angle it looks like it has maybe brown knobs so I'm not convinced. He has to have some kind of mid-boosting drive because I can hear it. Maybe it's just an empty box controlling something in the switcher (kind of like the theory of that expression pedal acting like a wah).

My only other thought is that he is rocking an absolute brigade of modulation. If that is an electric mistress, he's got a flange/chorus, flange, phaser, univibe, vibrato all stacked. That's a lot of wibbly wobbliness.

This mini-thread inside the thread has just made my morning. I love solving mysteries and I love guitar pedals so this was a treat.
Could also be a J Rocket Archer or one of those Klon clone pedals too
I'd love to know what that overdrive pedal is
That overdrive sound he gets on Scared of Fear (Howards Version) sounds great
Would've thought he'd have a fuzz on the board somewhere too given his love for Jimi & SRV & getting that cocked Wah and Fuzz sound
Could also just be a custom pedal made by some dude he knows!
Clem Halibut correctly called it, it's a J Rockett Archer Ikon:

Image

Image
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dprival78
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Re: Dark Matter: Official Album Thread

Post by dprival78 »

ed wants to play felicity's surprise??

do it you pussies
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VinylGuy
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Re: Dark Matter: Official Album Thread

Post by VinylGuy »

Ah, great interview. Lots of cool things to talk about, the DM sessions seemed to be really good and special for the band. I loved that moment at the end with Jeff and Eddie, talking about those unsend letters, and the hug between them.

The HQ looks amazing! also reminded me how good is this band to keep stuff away from the light.

Really cool and special.
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guitar_davey
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Re: Dark Matter: Official Album Thread

Post by guitar_davey »

Hearing them talk with such reverence about the people who keep their organization running helps put some of the seemingly excessive merchandising in perspective. These guys seem to genuinely care about their family.
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VinylGuy
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Re: Dark Matter: Official Album Thread

Post by VinylGuy »

yeah, fuck you Trag!
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tragabigzanda
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Re: Dark Matter: Official Album Thread

Post by tragabigzanda »

pearl jam sucks now
Last edited by tragabigzanda on Thu January 01, 2026 4:50 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Coach
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Re: Dark Matter: Official Album Thread

Post by Coach »

We helped build that awesome HQ, team!
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Re: Dark Matter: Official Album Thread

Post by Tj »

guitar_davey wrote:This Zane Lowe interview is fantastic, but Mike is wayyyyyy off.
He was engaged in the Stern show, but he seemed totally disinterested. I'm mean he wasn't his normal self at all. Not on smile. I did notice that while he has alot of stand out lead playing on Dark Matter there isn't one song that feels like Mike song writing stamp. I wonder if there is a weird dynamic with klinghoffer or something. He actually just seems to be trying not to have a bad day. Oh well we have those.
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Leatherhead
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Re: Dark Matter: Official Album Thread

Post by Leatherhead »

It was Mike's first time at HQ.
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Re: Dark Matter: Official Album Thread

Post by Ms Harmless »

I don't think I noticed Mike being off; he was maybe a bit less excitable maybe? but he seemed engaged in answering questions and stuff

I did notice Ed singing flat, which I hate to even say I noticed; am I the only one? no other annoying vocals tics though so if he was bang on those high notes we'd be entirely back in the game
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VinylGuy
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Re: Dark Matter: Official Album Thread

Post by VinylGuy »

Mike seemed fine to me really

the whole band seems very good with each other.
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McParadigm
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Re: Dark Matter: Official Album Thread

Post by McParadigm »

Mike at 20:00 is my spirit animal for every meeting I’ve ever been required to attend that had absolutely nothing at all to do with me.
(patriotic choking noises)
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stip
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Re: Dark Matter: Official Album Thread

Post by stip »

30 minutes in but need to go back to work. great interview
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Monkey_Driven
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Re: Dark Matter: Official Album Thread

Post by Monkey_Driven »

Coach wrote:We helped build that awesome HQ, team!
It was mostly B.
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wease
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Re: Dark Matter: Official Album Thread

Post by wease »

I was screaming at Matt to say Cropduster! Or Unemployable! Or Get Right! Or Johnny Guitar!

But he said Leatherman and Setting Forth. Which are fine, but…
Let me tell you, Homer Simpson is cock of nothing!
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chadisme417
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Re: Dark Matter: Official Album Thread

Post by chadisme417 »

Just seeing Jeff and Eddie at the end openly acknowledge how really unbelievable this whole thing is and has been was really awesome.

And Mike clearly had no interest in being on that stool. We all have those days.
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WaitingForBluey
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Re: Dark Matter: Official Album Thread

Post by WaitingForBluey »

Zane Lowe did a really great job with that interview. And being that we share the same name, I guess I was born the wrong Zane... that lucky SOB
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WaitingForBluey
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Re: Dark Matter: Official Album Thread

Post by WaitingForBluey »

Also, this would make a lovely companion piece with Single Video Theory
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oneway23
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Re: Dark Matter: Official Album Thread

Post by oneway23 »

Not gonna lie...teared up a bit when Ed & Jeff shared a hung at the end there.

That's gotta be the most unguarded I think I've ever heard them...

Fantastic interview..that felt really special.

Really wish they would've put a live-in-studio performance of the full record into a deluxe package.
We still make records to be listened to — not that everyone will listen to a record track one to twelve in a row or side A or Side B — but we still make 'em in case somebody does want to listen to it like that, that's how we make em…
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