It’s easy to reduce SOON to superficial contradictions. After all, who would’ve thought singer/guitarist Stuart McLamb and drummer Thomas Simpson of indie stars The Love Language would emerge with this righteously heavy offshoot?

However SOON’s Vol. 1 debut, set for release via Temple Of Torturous this March, quickly dissolves the easy narrative of acclaimed popsmith taking the left hand path toward heavy metal. What’s more obvious is the immediate chemistry between McLamb and Simpson, bassist Rob Walsh (Bitter Resolve) and guitarist Mark Connor (Grohg).

Though SOON employs the heavy, distorted riffing and contemplative pacing of doom, the band shares none of the genre’s antagonistic, abyss-gazing tropes. It’s dynamic, melodic and adventurous. The Chapel Hill, North Carolina-based quartet pulled from a deep well of influence and experience in crafting its eight-song LP. SOON spent a concentrated week of revising and tracking, plus two months of tinkering, at the Greensboro studio Legitimate Business with engineer Kris Hilbert (Torch Runner, Between The Buried And Me, The Body) at the helm.

If SOON has a signature, it’s the unlikely pairing of heavy doom and elegant melody. Simpson and Walsh conjure storms in the low-end, while McLamb and Connor balance mettle and melody, shading these songs with psych-rock textures and melodic finesse. Rather than using their low, slow riffs as dredging sinkholes, deliberate momentum turns meditative—with strong forward pushes devoid of any dead weight. Airy melody and psychedelic flourishes keep these songs nimble and even pop-oriented. The balance of power and grace evokes more triumph than decay, but never sacrifices its grand heft. Standout tracks “We Are On Your Side” and “See You Soon” are bursting affirmations that ride heavy groundswell for a powerful uplift. Eager to push their boundaries, “Mauveine” is a stately dirge that uses sparse acoustic strums and somber strings to showcase McLamb’s rich croon. While “Rise” summons a deep otherworldly drone to form a foundation for a funereal incantation.

SOON is undoubtedly a departure from any of its members’ past efforts, but the band’s casual formation and openness to exploration yields a compelling new entity. SOON’s enveloping debut is as much a product of deliberate focus as it is the offspring of laid-back jam sessions and weekend cookouts. [words by Bryan C. Reed]

Vol. 1 Track Listing:

We Are On Your Side
Burning Wood
See You Soon
Gold Soul
Glass Hours
Mauveine
Datura Stramonium
Rise

SOON’s Vol. 1 will see release on CD, LP and digitally via Temple Of Torturous on March 4 2016, pre-order here:
http://templeoftorturous.com/shop/product_info.php?products_id=456&XTCsid=3uurgnc3bc745rvsdkmtgnpe55

SOON (US) - Burning Wood

Alien World

Release

Dawn For Nobody

Giant Monologue

Mirrors

Blind Ocean

Solitary IV

Fanfare

Post-metal fans, meet your new favorite band: Finland’s Besra. Featuring former Callisto guitarist Johannes Nygård, Besra marry the elasticity of Burst with the ter-riff-icness of Pelican, the battering acrimony of Cult of Luna, and the dreamier pastures of Isis, resulting in progressive, forward-thinking metal guaranteed to knock you on your ass.

The band will release their debut album, Anhedonia, this spring on Swedish underground label Temple of Torturous, but MetalSucks has a taste of the goods for you to try now in the form of the song “Dwell in Gloom.” You’re so welcome!

Check out the track below. The single is available digitally and will also be released as a split 8″ with Atlases, sold only on tours. Get all of Basra’s upcoming tour dates at the bottom of this post. We’ll give you a heads up when Anhedonia has a set release date!

https://www.facebook.com/besraband/
https://www.facebook.com/ToTRecords/

Besra - Dwell In Gloom

Underground record label Temple of Torturous, based out of Gothenburg, Sweden, has set March 23 as the worldwide release date for the vinyl edition of IMPERIAL TRIUMPHANT’S EP Inceste. This special, limited LP edition of the album includes 4 new B-side tracks, which were created to expand upon the original release and are exclusive to the vinyl release.

The single LP, in a simple jacket with reverse-side printing, will be limited to a total of 300 copies worldwide with 200 copies pressed on Black Vinyl and 100 copies pressed on clear vinyl (label exclusive).

The band comments on Inceste and the four new B-side tracks for the vinyl release:

"Inceste is an interpretation of the works of French aristocrat Marquis de Sade. We wanted to make a record that was sordid, invasive, and child like at times. Extreme highs and lows are everywhere on this EP. The music always reflects the lyrics. Nothing on Inceste is stable. Everything instrument bends and twists and wrenches, forcing its way inside of you.

Our fan base has an intrinsic understanding that our influences predominantly come from the Jazz, Classical, and modern Avant-garde worlds, more so than the metal world, so we thought it would be a more unique and interesting approach to make the B-side that of non-metal content. It gives the listener and fan a chance to delve deeper into the elements of our music that are not only unique to us as a unit, but that also can often times be misconstrued as ‘extra layers.’ Note that everything we put on our records is important to us as any vocal, guitar, or drum track, and we figured it would be a nice treat for the true fan if they were allowed a chance for these vignettes of our music to be heard without the squall of intensity that is IMPERIAL TRIUMPHANT i.e. with Nefertiti being a homage and nod to one IMPERIAL’s biggest musical influences.”

 

Select Quotes for the EP release of Inceste:

“In a sea of bands that are trying to be both dangerous and unorthodox, Imperial Triumphant are one of the few that actually succeed.” Metal Sucks

“With Inceste, Imperial Triumphant have fully given in to their fascination with the avant-garde, while staying true to their roots as a technical black/death metal band.” CVLT Nation

“At times downright terrifying (which is no easy feat these days) and other points equally sadistic, Imperial Triumphant bring you into a gripping vision of madness in a way that no other band is really attempting.” 9/10 Dead Rhetoric

“I’m impressed with how many twists they navigate while never sacrificing the mood for thrill.” Teeth of the Devine

"A mad, confusing cacophony of bizarre riffs, weird time changes, and wonderfully prominent yet strange bass lines, all the while enhanced by a certain air of authenticity." About.com

Inceste LP

Krokodil (choir)

IMPERIAL TRIUMPHANT - Krokodil (Chorus)

ULTAR - Swarm

Self-defined as a brutal orchestra, Vampillia is a 10-piece group from Osaka, Japan constantly pushing and blurring the boundaries of sonic extremity with their beautiful yet twisted and dark blend of metal, noise, post-rock, ambient, shoegaze, classical, progressive, folk and industrial. 
With origins in seminal rock group Boredoms and Ruins, Vampillia have conquered the admiration and respect of the press, the fans and their peers throughout the last thirteen years and numerous releases. Pitchfork for instance, called their 2011’s debut album “Alchemic Heart” “terrifying, exhilarating and intricate”. The album featured guest contributions from Jarboe, Merzbow and Inswarm, but the list of illustrious musicians that gave their approval and collaborated with the Japanese ensemble doesn’t end there, add Attila Csihar, Nadja, The Body and Yellow Swans between others. 
Yet, Vampillia were already a weirdly diverse and intriguing musical entity before these irreverent and respectable musicians showed up to help them out and judging by the forthcoming “Happiness Brought By Endless Sorrow” EP they show no signs of slowing down or compromise. Powerful, dark, intriguing yet beautifully alluring the new EP still shows the Japanese ensemble defying musical conventions and creating a sound of their own that is extremely difficult to describe let alone categorize in a single genre. 

"It’s somehow both so completely out there and insanely catchy is even more remarkable." - Metal Sucks

Happiness Brought by Endless Sorrow

Winter Ash

Vampillia - Winter Ash

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