Are Swarm of the Lotus Reuniting?
If the question is whether or not Swarm of the Lotus might be getting back together, I guess the short answer is “I hope so.” The Baltimore crushers have been out of commission for almost exactly five years, and it was five years before that that their second and final studio album, 2005’s The Sirens of Silence, was released. That record came out on Century Media, and like its 2004 predecessor, When White Becomes Black (which was on At a Loss), it was an absolute monster. Nobody was ever quite able to blend a post-hardcore bombast with weighted atmospherics like Swarm of the Lotus seemed to be able to do, and while members have continued on in other groups, it’s never been quite the same since Swarm of the Lotus called it quits. To wit, “Call to Abandon” from The Silence of Silence or “From Embers” from the debut. Devastating.
Yeah, posting a previously unreleased studio demo isn’t exactly announcing a world tour when it comes to reunion potential, but it’s more than has been heard from Swarm of the Lotus in an awfully long time, and the track in question, “Plagued by Ritual,” captures a lot of the bombastic groove that their best moments offered, and so, if you don’t know them, doesn’t actually make a bad way to get introduced. I remember seeing them play upstairs at The Pyramid, back when shows happened in Manhattan. It’s not every band that can elicit a windmill headbang out of me, but Swarm of the Lotus did so with no trouble whatsoever.
In addition to the post that follows here about the new-ish “Plagued by Ritual,” Swarm of the Lotus recently posted instrumental demos from their two albums and said that if Meatjack did a reunion show, they’d entertain the idea of following suit. I wouldn’t mind seeing that bill.
Dig it:
And now, I give you something I’m most excited about. Not exactly NEW music but essentially is to those that never knew, which is almost everybody save the band members and a small handful of people that may remember us playing it live….a very long time ago. I bestow upon you a sleeping giant, may she awake now from her slumber………
Peter Maturi-guitar/vox
Chris Csar-bass/vox
Cole Crickenberger-guitar
Jon-John Michaud-drums
https://www.facebook.com/Swarm-of-the-Lotus-318795770789/
https://swarmofthelotus.bandcamp.com/album/plagued-by-ritual
Please check out the post Swarm of the Lotus band, Graven, featuring Maturi and Csar, along with the second guitarist on the “When White Becomes Black” EP, which put out and EP and contributed two tracks to a Dullest Records three way split with Reckoner (VA Beach, Va), and Burn Everything (Rochester, NY, members of Sulaco).
The Graven material is as crushingly heavy as Swarm, but more over the top in their vocalist and a bit more violent in their musical approach.
Also, please check out Cole Crickenberger’s band Passage Between.
Visit the Ottobar in Baltimore and you may see some of these characters at any given time.