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Witch Ripper & Brume Stream Split MMXIX in its Entirety

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So, first things first: Witch Ripper and Brume release their Split MMXIX this Friday, March 15, through DHU Records. Second, with Witch Ripper working with Matt Bayles and Brume working with Billy Frickin’ Anderson on production, it should come as no surprise that the thing sounds awesome. From the opening High on Fire-through-a-meat-grinder churn of the early going in Witch Ripper‘s 13-minute-long “1985” and the melancholy creep that follows before they build back up to the last apex, to the fallout symptoms at the end of “Man-Made” (you’ll see it in the video) to the timeless and familiar strains of “In the Pines” as rendered through Brume‘s melodic lurch and longing, Split MMXIX is of course more than the sum of those behind the board, behemoths of the monolithic — or was that monoliths of the behemoth? — as they are, it’s also the result of two bands working each on their own level to affect that consuming sonic largesse. “1985” was recorded when Witch Ripper tracked their 2018 debut, Homestead, while Brume‘s “Man-Made” and “In the Pines” are older and newer recordings, respectively, brought to bear with the sense of lumber one has come to expect from the San Francisco three-piece.

With its extended runtime, the opener consumes the entirety of side A of the vinyl and puts it to good use. Tones are weighted and the initial plod is given duly guttural vocal accompaniment for about the first half of the track, and as it hits the midpoint, “1985” breaks to a stretch of quiet, classically metallic guitar, dramatic and atmospheric and a stark turn from the grit preceding, but not entirely out of place — or at least not anymore than it’s intended to be. Clean-sung lines top as the bass and drums casually work their brume witch ripper split mmxixway back in and Witch Ripper push forward on a subtle build for the next couple minutes, a tolling bell seeming to signal the shift into the grander instrumental solo section that pays off the track in epic metal fashion. The band note below that “1985” was taken off the album because it was too long, and listening to it, one tends to believe them. It is long, but that only seems to make it all the more worthy of the showcase it has here alongside the work of Brume, who follow their 2017 debut, Rooster (review here), with these two tracks showcasing their evolving personality.

“Man-Made” — the video below directed by the band’s own Jordan Perkins-Lewis — seems to rumble out its start in answer to “1985” back on the A side, but obviously that’s just coincidence of tone; it’s an older song recorded before the band knew it would be on this split. The impact of its riffing is well met by the nuclear test footage sped up to match the rhythm of the strumming guitar, and over the eight minutes, “Man-Made” evolves into a maddened beast before, like “1985” before it, dropping to mellow but tense guitar. The difference is “Man-Made” resumes its previous heading and caps with its central riff in the forward position and feedback leading the way via fadeout into “In the Pines,” written by Huddie “Lead Belly” Ledbetter and given generational breadth through a particularly tortured performance by Nirvana on MTV Unplugged. Brume make it sound massive, thereby demonstrating not only the malleability of the song itself, but their own reach as they move beyond their debut into this release and whatever might come after.

Below, you’ll find all three tracks on Split MMXIX presented across three different YouTube clips. Not how these kinds of things usually work, but go with it. Witch Ripper have a creepy spider to go with “1985,” while Brume have a static image for “In the Pines” and the aforementioned bomb-dropper clip for “Man-Made.” One way or the other, it all makes sense atmospherically with the release itself, which is unapologetic in its heft and worthy of whatever volume you can give it.

Comment from the bands and more follows the videos.

Please enjoy:

Witch Ripper, “1985”

Brume, “Man-Made” official video premiere

Brume, “In the Pines”

Witch Ripper on “1985”:

Recorded during the “Homestead” sessions by Matt Bayles (Isis, Mastodon, Minus the Bear) it was cut from the full length because frankly, it was too damn long to fit on the vinyl. Luckily we found a home for the song as our side of a killer split with San Francisco doom weirdos Brume. The song “1985” is one of our most ambitions creations yet. At 13 minutes strong the song moves from grunge inspired doom riffs to a psychedelic clean bridge and huge musical soaring outro. It’s got a lot. Lyrically it’s about knowing that you love music, not knowing how long you can do it for but not wanting to give up that dream. Something that I think we can all relate too.

Brume on “Man-Made” & “In the Pines”:

Brume’s two tracks on the split are a celebration of the SF Trio’s second home, the Pacific Northwest and bring to light recordings old and new. “Man-Made” is the first track the band worked with producer Billy Anderson (Neurosis/Sleep) and was recorded in Portland while on their first West Coast tour in 2015. “In the pines” is the most recent track recorded with Billy (also in Portland), some three years after. The cover was pulled together for a show in Seattle, paying homage to both Nirvana and Leadbelly. What better way to release these tracks than with label mates Witch Ripper from Seattle?

Brume/Witch Ripper Split MMXIX

Side Witch Ripper
A1. 1985

Side Brume
B1. Man-made
B2. In the Pines

Pre orders go live Friday January 25th at 7PM CET

Official release date March 15th

The Brume/Witch Ripper Split will be released on 3 different limited edition color vinyl options

DHU Exclusive: Limited to 90 copies
Witch Ripper Edition: Limited to 100 copies
Brume Edition: Limited to 100 copies

Brume
Susie: Vocals/Bass
Jamie: Guitar/Vocals
Jordan: Drums

Witch Ripper
Curtis Parker: Vocals/Guitar
Joe Eck: Drums
Brian Kim: Bass
Coltan Anderson: Guitar

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