Birmingham, Alabama, atmospheric doom four-piece EMBR will release their debut full-length, 1823, on July 17 through New Heavy Sounds, and if you stick around until the end of the new single “Where I’ve Been” taken from the seven-song/40-minute offering, you’ll catch a vicious scream from vocalist Crystal Bigelow. That’s a theme to which the band returns throughout the offering, but the most significant impression of 1823 is also right there in the same track’s blend of tonal heft and melody. Guitarist Mark Buchanan and bassist Alan Light crunch out weighted riffs and chug as Crystal‘s voice careens overhead in the mix, drummer Eric Bigelow anchoring the proceedings and rolling them forward from one verse to the next.

Opener “Prurient,” which directly precedes “Where I’ve Been” on the album, is more immediate in its execution, but if EMBR are quick to showcase their breadth early on in the record, that’s something that only continues to serve them well as the rest plays out, the sprawl early on in the subsequent “Stranger” giving way to an especially massive lumber before receding again, demonstrating an awareness of structural variation as well as an ability to simply shift between levels of aggression, tempo, and so on.

Those with a veteran experience of New Heavy Sounds‘ output might be tempted to hear “Where I’ve Been” and liken EMBR with Welsh outfit Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard, and granted some of the melodic float is a shared aspect, but aside from a lack of sci-fi thematic throughout, certainly the growls and screams that intertwine in the verses of “Powder” are a distinguishing factor, and one Crystal uses fluidly to add richness to the material. She works in layers on “Powder,” and though it’s one of just two tracks under five minutes long on the album, it earns its place as the centerpiece both through its sheer impact and through the shift it represents in style.

With “Eyes Like Knives” unfolding with an emphasis on patience after, EMBR bring out some synthsizer to further bolster the melody as 1823 works into its second side, and though they weren’t exactly daring monotony up to that point, neither does it feel like too much, the depth of the mix allowing plenty of space for the additional element. “Eyes Like Knives” resolves in a memorable hook with the line, “Come and take it all away,” repeated, ahead of a last crash and amplifier hum transitioning into the quiet start of “Your Burden,” which surges forward before its first minute, the guitar finding a melancholic place that is both familiarly doomed and distinct in its conveying of mood. The verse opens and Crystal enters over quiet guitar, bass and drums, but naturally the chorus picks back up, and surprisingly, “Your Burden” doesn’t recede again until the close.

Harmonies at the outset of closer/longest track “Vines” (6:50) offer a false sense of security for the harshness to follow. Atop backing growls, Crystal‘s rings out, lines delivered atop sustained shouts in a repeating cycle, dramatic and of considerable presence. A tolling bell and nastier screaming takes hold after the midpoint, and the song caps with a final melodic stretch giving way to leftover guitar and ambient noise, speaking as did the harmonies throughout to a progressive bent that, even after three prior EPs, EMBR seem to be just beginning to explore.

As 1823 ends its run, it characterizes EMBR somewhere between doom and ambient sludge or post-metal, but one of the most encouraging aspects of the album is that it’s less about conforming to style than it is about offering its own take through largesse and range alike, the changes in structure and arrangement adding to the focus on craft that is so prevalent throughout. These aren’t days for making predictions, so I won’t take a stab at what it might lead to, but fortunately 1823 offers a satisfying enough listen that one has no real need to leave the moment.

The video for “Where I’ve Been” is premiering below. Beneath that is more background from the PR wire.

Please enjoy:

EMBR, “Where I’ve Been” official video premiere

Pre-orders: http://smarturl.it/Embr1823

Within the genre of heavy metal there can be an abundance of variation, color, texture and tone. There are many different shades and many different categories within that catch-all phrase. It’s not all about throat ripping vocals or Neanderthal riffage. As many who are not drawn metal’s immediate charms may perceive.

Heavy music can encompass a whole panoply of sounds, moods and ambition. It can surround you with emotional elegance and distressing chaos. There can be subtleness, thoughtfulness and deep introspection even when things get exceptionally heavy.

This is why New Heavy Sounds is thrilled to unveil our latest signing. We have partnered with four musically kindred spirits from Birmingham, Alabama, collectively known as EMBR. EMBR tick all the boxes overhead and beyond. We are very excited to be releasing their debut full length album ‘1823’.

EMBR already have 3 mighty EP’s under their belt. ‘261’ released in 2016. ‘271’ released in 2017 and their last EP titled 326: Spiritual Dialysis’ released in 2018. All 3 got them on the heavy underground radar.

After these 3 releases EMBR spent most of 2019 writing 7 new songs for ‘1823’. The album was recorded by Matt Washburn at Ledbelly Sound Studio (Mastodon, Royal Thunder) in Dawsonville Ga.

At this point, it is worth stating that the title ‘1823’ has special significance. It’s not just a numerical title, it has substance. Eric Bigelow (drummer) has been on the list for a kidney for around 4 years.

Eric received a kidney transplant in May of 2019. This happened right in the middle of writing the album. The kidney was from a deceased donor and all Eric and Crystal Bigelow (singer and Eric’s wife) know about the donor is that it was a young woman between the ages of 18-23. The album is dedicated to the donor and the surgeons at Vanderbilt hospital in Nashville TN. And what a fine tribute it is.

Musically ‘1823’ could be categorized as ‘Doom’. However, on this debut it’s obvious that EMBR have range, drive and a desire to add to the genre, to broaden it whilst staying true to its core fundamentals.

Rest assured, the band have all the nuts and bolts in place. Mark Buchanan (guitar), Alan Light (bass) and Eric Bigelow (drums) keep everything tight and weighty. Massive drop-tuned guitars, chest rattling low end, pounding drums, fuzzy distortion, it’s all there. But they also add in synths, a bit of grunge and alt rock flavors.

‘1823’ is set for release on New Heavy Sounds on July 17th 2020.

Like all NHS releases there will be a deluxe vinyl LP, in 2 color Black/Blue cosmic swirl vinyl. With printed lyric inner and full download. CD 4 panel digipack, with lyric booklet. Also available on all digital platforms.

Artist: EMBR
Album: 1823
Record Label: New Heavy Sounds
Release Date: July 17th, 2020
01. Prurient
02. Where I’ve Been
03. Stranger
04. Powder
05. Eyes Like Knives
06. Your Burden
07. Vines

EMBR are:
Eric Bigelow, drums.
Crystal Bigelow, vocals.
Mark Buchanan, guitar.
Alan Light, bass.

EMBR, 1823 (2020)

EMBR on Instagram

EMBR on Thee Facebooks

EMBR website

New Heavy Sounds on Thee Facebooks

New Heavy Sounds on Bandcamp

New Heavy Sounds website

Alright, here’s me spending your money. Dig it. From Philly and Minneapolis, respectively, come Heavy Temple and Wolf Blood with the new Split From the Black Hole on Riff Merchant Records. The fact that such a thing exists should probably be enough reason for you to shell out $10 for a 7″. Right? Heavy Temple? Wolf Blood? Yeah, that’s what I’m saying.

But wait — they’re also both covering Funkadelic on here, with Heavy Temple adopting the nom de guerre Funky Temple and meeting up with Wolf Blood as Atomic Wolf and yeah, that’s even cooler. All the money goes to Black Lives Matter — if you’ve been paying attention to demonstrations around the US, you’ll note Minneapolis is where George Floyd was killed and Philadelphia has a long history of resistance going back to the rich white guys who decided they didn’t want to be British anymore because the taxes were too high. The vinyl’s supposed to be ready in August, and plague-willing, it will be, but preorders are up as of today, so just go ahead and make that happen.

In other words, I want you to hit it. Hit and quit it. Also, I got a thing, you got a thing, and both our things are heavy. Fucking a.

Info:

HEAVY TEMPLE & WOLF BLOOD – Split from the Black Hole

Heavy Temple and Wolf Blood have teamed up to pay homage to George Clinton and Funkadelic on this mind-melting split 7″. Without the influences of Black musicians the world of heavy metal wouldn’t exist, and our record shelves would be empty. Get ready to shake your groove thing and tear the roof off the mother on this sick reinterpretation.

The records are being pressed at Gotta Groove Records in Cleveland Ohio, with an anticipated completion date of mid-August. Heavy Temple side recorded and mastered by Red Water Recording. Heavy Temple guest appearance on the keys by the Ace of Cups (Sean Hur) from Ruby the Hatchet. Wolf Blood side recorded and mastered by Adam Tucker at Signaturetone. Cover art by Matt Guack.

Side A:
Heavy Temple – Hit it and Quit it

Side B:
Wolf Blood – I got a Thing, You got a Thing, Everybody’s got a Thing.

Variants:
Black: 200 copies
Random Color: 100 copies
Wax Mage Edition: 25 copies

Each comes with a DL card.

The idea for this split came before the murder of George Floyd and the resurgence of protests calling for the dismantling of white supremacy and racist institutions that still plague the US. In light of this, I recognize that it is not enough to simply “pay homage” to the Black community with words. Therefore, we are donating 100% of the sales (all of it, not some “net-profit” bullshit) of the Wax Mage Variants to Syracuse Youth Black Lives Matter. I’m working with Wax Mage to make these variants positively INTERSTELLAR.

https://www.facebook.com/HeavyTemple/
https://www.instagram.com/heavytemple
https://heavytemple.bandcamp.com
Wolfblood666.bandcamp.com
Facebook.com/wbminneapolis
instagram.com/wolfbloodmn
https://www.facebook.com/riffmerchant/
https://www.riffmerchant.com/

This shit sounds pretty fucking fierce and I stumbled on the audio sample on Twitter (yeah, Twitter, because somehow I decided my life need more social media and not less) before I even got this press release, so yeah, I’m posting about it. I know jack squat about Atramentus — nothing beyond what I heard in that sample and what’s in the press release below, which by the time this is posted I can only assume I will have read — but it sure seems to me that the more eternally miserable I myself get, the more death-doom seems to make my blood curdle in just the right way. 20 Buck Spin? Well, they put out Samothrace — you know, among a ton of other cool stuff — so they need not prove their know-heavy-when-they-hear-it to the likes of me. I’ll fuckin’ take this and be quite happy to have it, thank you very much.

I’ll be lurching back to my wretched fucking cave if you need me. Don’t call. Don’t text either.

PR wire:

ATRAMENTUS: Quebec Funeral Doom Act To Release Stygian LP Through 20 Buck Spin; Audio Excerpt Posted

Longueuil, Québec-based ATRAMENTUS – with members of Chthe’ilist, Funebrarum, Gevurah, and more among its ranks – presents its debut LP, Stygian, now confirmed for August release through 20 Buck Spin.

From the frozen northlands, ATRAMENTUS unveils the icebound agony of the monolithic Stygian. Birthed on a cold winter night in 2012 and during an autumnal sunset in 2013, the cursed tale remained dormant for years, only recently being put to tape so the nameless knight’s saga could be told.

Granted immortality through the gift of the God’s sword, the nameless knight eventually witnesses the death of the sun and the end of all life on Earth. Surviving the great deluge, he is left to wander amongst the ruins of a now frozen earth under a sunless sky for eternity, alone and unable to die even by the scorching-cold blizzard winds around him, enduring perpetual physical torture while haunted by the memories of his past life and everyone he once knew buried under miles of ice.

Each of the three epic songs contained within differ widely to reflect the changing of autumn to perpetual winter. While adorned in the language of extreme funeral doom and dark ambient soundscape, ATRAMENTUS owe further debt to epic doom metal in sound and aesthetic and black metal’s anguished ferocity, but always the arc of ATRAMENTUS remains bound to the tumultuous melancholy and guttural immensity of extreme doom. Stygian is thematically tied, on different timelines, to the themes on Chthe’ilist’s latest EP and forthcoming album.

Stygian was recorded, engineered re-amped, and mixed by Xavier Berthiaume at Studio Tehom in Montreal, mastered by Greg Chandler (Esoteric, Lychgate) at Priory Recording Studios in Birmingham, and is completed with artwork by Mariusz Lewandowski (Atlantean Kodex, Bell Witch, Mizmor) and layout by Chimere Noire.

20 Buck Spin will release Stygian on LP, CD, cassette, and digital formats on August 21st. Fans of Unholy, Evoken, Worship, Mournful Congregation, Disembowelment, Skepticism, Thergothon, Esoteric, The Ruins Of Beverast, and Morgion, watch for additional audio samples, preorders, and more to be issued over the weeks ahead.

Stygian Track Listing:
1. Stygian I: From Tumultuous Heavens… (Descended Forth The Ceaseless Darkness)
2. Stygian II: In Ageless Slumber (As I Dream In The Doleful Embrace Of The Howling Black Winds)
3. Stygian III: Perennial Voyage (Across The Perpetual Planes Of Crying Frost & Steel-Eroding Blizzards)

ATRAMENTUS:
Phil Tougas – vocals, guitars
Claude Leduc – guitars
François Bilodeau – keys, dark ambient elements,
Antoine Daigneault – bass
Xavier Berthiaume – drums

https://www.facebook.com/AtramentusDoom
https://www.instagram.com/atramentusqc
http://www.20buckspin.com
http://www.facebook.com/20buckspin
https://www.instagram.com/20buckspinlabel

Atramentus, Stygian excerpt

The human productivity machine known as Tony Reed — Mos Generator, Big Scenic Nowhere, all your vinyl mastering, etc. — offered up Constance Tomb‘s MCMLXXXVIII in April for those who might take it on, showcasing influences in gothic rock that would probably be a surprise to a decent portion of his fanbase. The songs were written, indeed, in 1988, when Reed was 19 years old, and recorded this past March and April, as apparently the dude lining up multiple Mos Generator releases and an acoustic solo record for 2020 had a few spare minutes to work with, and the result is a present reconciliation with past that is both distinctly Reed‘s own and still outside the scope of what he’s best known for, which at this point is of course heavy rock and roll.

Not every artist would be so bold as to look back in this way, so it seems all the more fitting that DHU will release the album on vinyl. Good. Now Reed can go write a new album for the project.

The PR wire has details:

New signing to DHU Records: Constance Tomb

DHU Records is honored to announce the signing of Mastermind, multi instrumentalist, producer and all out awesome individual, Mr. Tony Reed’s personal project Constance Tomb!

As many of you know Tony Reed is responsible for most of the vinyl masters of the DHU catalogue, not to mention many, many other labels he’s mastered for. So when asked by the man himself he wanted to release something with DHU Records this was, of course, more than a privilege!

Constance Tomb’s debut album entitled MCMLXXXVIII (1988) will be released this Fall on Limited Edition vinyl including Test Press, DHU Exclusive and Band Editions

More details and info coming soon…

STAY DOOMED STAY HEAVY

BIO

I wrote and recorded somewhere around thirty songs in 1988 (my 19th year). A large percentage of them were heavily influenced by the gothic movement of the early 80s. Bands like Bauhaus, Christian Death, Tones On Tail, Mighty Sphincter, Death Cult & Samhain were obvious inspirations during this time in my life.

In 1988 I was making music with a band called Twelve Thirty Dreamtime and in that year alone I worked with three different rhythm sections. All of the songs I wrote that year were captured on tape but the recordings were done on the most primitive equipment in the bedrooms and basements of people that would let us make noise in their space. At that point I was doing 2 track tape to tape overdubbing and after a few passes the tape hiss would be almost unbearable.

When I listen back to the old recordings sometimes I think those limitations are cool and add to the eerie quality of the music but over the last 32 years I’ve also wanted to hear what the songs would have sounded like done in a proper recording studio. I did my best to NOT overplay or add too many additional ideas beyond the original versions. When I would start to add extra layers to some of the tracks I almost always scrapped the idea soon after.

This collection is what I consider to be the ten best songs of that era recorded the way I heard it in my head all those years ago.

Constance Tomb ~ MCMLXXXVIII

Side A:
A1. Spiritual Stairway
A2. Amokt
A3. The Doomsday Subliminalist
A4. Crawl
A5. Neurosleep

Side B:
B1. The Last Picture Show
B2. Orthodox Seduction
B3. Big Brother Doom
B4. Poison Perfomances
B5. Blood Red Eternity

All songs written by Tony Reed in 1988.
Recorded at HeavyHead Recording Co. March / April 2020.
All sonic manipulations, instruments and vocals by Reed.
Mastered for vinyl by Tony Reed at HeavyHead Recording Company

https://www.instagram.com/constance_tomb/
https://tonyreed1.bandcamp.com/
darkhedonisticunionrecords.bigcartel.com/
https://www.facebook.com/DHURecords/
https://darkhedonisticunionrecords.bandcamp.com/

Constance Tomb, MCMLXXXVIII (2020)

Mostly, I just feel stupid. Like I’m walking around with blinders on. Here I am, combing through my emails in the morning. Drinking a coffee. The act of feigning relevance feels even sillier than usual. So what? I’m supposed to pretend there’s nothing bigger happening in the universe than some band releasing an album? Some tour putting itself off until next year? What the fuck is next year going to look like? What the fuck is tomorrow going to look like?

I feel like I haven’t slept for more than two hours at a clip for the last three months, should I really be concerned with whatever it is waiting to be reviewed for tomorrow? My throat hurts. Should I have a panic attack about it, or should I go drink some water and remember that it’s also allergy season?

My position is one of privilege. I am untouched by racial discrimination, and so it’s not like I’m out there marching with or without a mask on, forsaking social distancing because COVID-19 might kill you in a week or two but a cop might kill you today. I’m in my house, and my nerves are frayed not because I have to go to work, but because my kid is whining he wants blackberries for breakfast and I need to go to the grocery store.

And the people at the store don’t wear masks anymore. And frankly, I don’t believe those fuckers ever washed their hands in the first place, never mind did it all special because if they didn’t their lungs would catch fire. This moment in which we reside is so, so, so fucked that actual human beings are deciding to ignore the advice of health officials for political reasons. I shit you not, the guy who lives down the street told me yesterday in all seriousness that he thinks Nancy Pelosi and Adam Schiff cooked up the coronavirus with the Chinese to try and undermine Donald Trump’s base of support. “Obviously didn’t work,” I told him.

Are you fucking kidding me? This is life?

I’ve whined about missing live music already, so I’ll spare you that, but doing this has gotten to the point where it feels weak. Like there are more important things I can and should be doing with my time. And I don’t just mean protesting. I should be raising my son, right now, not to be a racist dickweed. I should be cleaning the house, checking in on my mother, checking in on my wife’s mother, checking in on my wife, offering her support for her work THAT ACTUALLY SUPPORTS US FINANCIALLY and instead, I’m here at my keyboard formatting record label links for a news story about some release that I probably won’t even get to hear, let alone have time to review or, heaven forbid, actually appreciate. What is the point?

In the 11-plus years that I’ve run this site, I’ve never felt like it’s an empty venture as much as I do now. I’m not saying I’m going to stop — I couldn’t if I wanted to — but I can’t ignore the fact that there are those out there for whom the stakes are so incredibly much higher than they are for me. Music matters. Of course music matters. But nobody’s dying if I don’t do a track premiere. There are writers out there providing strength and vision. I’m putting up press releases. It feels like a cop-out. Feels cheap. Useless on a whole new level.

Whether it’s COVID-19 or the ongoing movement for civil rights happening across the US, the hugeness of right now looms overhead every time I open my computer, everytime I obsessively reload the news on my phone, and while I’ve in the past prided myself on putting my head down and getting to work, I’m not sure who or what the work is helping. Me? Is it making my life better? How and why?

I feel useless. Old. Sad. Like I’m waiting for a normalcy to return that isn’t coming back, and even if it did, what would that serve? Did I really just ask for a press pass to a Candlemass live stream?

Imagine the Titanic sinking, the band playing on. Do they really need someone there to review the show? Because that’s me. I’m that guy. That’s who I am.

New stuff from all-lowercase anything-goes-let’s-try-it desert rock weirdos earthlings? should inherently be thought of as a specialty item. It isn’t for everyone, and it doesn’t happen all the time, and when it does, it’s to be thought of as something special. It’s been four years since the band released their third album, Muddafudda on Last Hurrah Records — it’s streaming below — and with Dave Catching and Pete Stahl at the core, they’re back with a new untitled two-songer through the same label that’s available now for ordering. I’m not trying to spend your money on five different versions of the same release or anything, but for those of you who might NOT have it, let me explain the collector’s mindset: Every copy of this earthlings? 7″ I get is one copy no one else owns.

You see what I’m saying?

I haven’t found the tracks streaming anywhere, and there are 500 copies of the single available. If you’re listening to Muddafudda and thinking you might like to get yourself a piece of that action, the vinyl’s long gone. That’s kind of how it goes with this stuff. Word to the wise and all that.

Here’s the release info for the single:

– NOW AVAILABLE – earthlings? Untitled 7-inch

Last Hurrah Records is proud to announce the release of earthlings? brand new Untitled 7-inch, featuring artwork by “Bad” Otis Link. A limited edition of 500 records, the vinyl is available in five different colors:
SAND (translucent brown),
SKY(translucent magenta),
VEGETATION (neon green),
ASTRONAUT (translucent blue),
and SOLID BLACK.

The 7-inch record contains two unreleased tracks – the lumbering juggernaut “The Clapper” and the slightly more light-hearted “Off My Nut”.

For this interplanetary escapade, the earthlings? are co-piloted by David Catching (Mojave Lords) and Pete Stahl (Goatsnake, Scream) above the star-filled sky over Rancho De La Luna in Joshua Tree, California. Also present during blast-off are drummer Adam Maples, the multi-talented Matthias Schneeberger, and bassist Molly McGuire.

https://www.facebook.com/earthlingsJTree/
https://earthlings1.bandcamp.com/
http://www.earthlingsinfo.com/
http://lasthurrahrecords.com/

earthlings?, Muddafudda (2016)

Terminology hasn’t really caught up yet with modern the two-song release. The tradition, obviously, comes from a single’s A and B sides, and very often, that tradition is upheld, and a band releases a single as a 7″. As both songs on Human Impact‘s new foray, Transist / Subversion, run near/at six and a half minutes, they’re a little long to fit on a 7″, and unless they’re feeling cheeky and want to do an 8″ — they wouldn’t be first — and if they’re just leaving it digital, it is what it is. When it comes to this kind of thing, I like “two-songer.” Says what it is, gives the B-side a bit of validity, and lets the audience know they’re getting more than just a “single.” If you have to specify, you might as well be specific.

So hey, Human Impact have a new two-songer. It’s not an EP. It’s not just a single — the second track, “Subversion” is a noise wash but lacks nothing for substance in that — but for those who dug the band’s 2020 self-titled debut (review here), it’s an appreciated check-in from the corporeal-chaos noisemakers.

It’s pick-your-apocalypse these days, so we might as well take joy as it comes, huh? Here you go:

HUMAN IMPACT SHARE TWO STANDALONE SINGLES; “TRANSIST” AND “SUBVERSION”

To find out more, visit: https://lnk.to/HumanImpact

Following the release of their debut self-titled album, Human Impact have been releasing brand new material, including the recent single, “Contact” which was written and recorded shortly before the outbreak of Covid-19. The band share two further standalone singles “Transist” and “Subversion.”

About these latest singles the band remark, “Transist” was from a group of songs that we recorded and mixed just prior to the current pandemic. The song is a reflection on what the world looks like as things fall apart. Our broken ideals, the unstable foundations of our civilization, our trusting dependence on technology and our subservience to the ruling governments/corporations. The shining object held up by society that will never be realized. All creating a pressing need for change.”

They continue, ““Subversion” emerged from a 30 minute intro from our last live show (on March 14). We started that show with a 30 minute improv noise/ambient set. All members of the band have varied histories in soundtrack work and scoring music to picture. We look forward to getting back to live shows and expanding on this more.”

HUMAN IMPACT is
Chris Spencer (Unsane, UXO): Vocals/Guitar
Jim Coleman (Cop Shoot Cop): Electonics
Chris Pravdica (Swans, Xiu Xiu): Bass
Phil Puleo (Cop Shoot Cop, Swans): Drums

https://www.facebook.com/humanimpactband/
https://www.instagram.com/humanimpactband/
https://humanimpact.bandcamp.com/
https://www.humanimpactband.com/
https://www.facebook.com/ipecac/
http://ipecac.com/
https://blixtmerchandise.shop/ipecac-music-store

Human Impact, Transist / Subversion (2020)

The 15-year history of Vestal Claret is nearly as murky as the cult-minded doom in which the Connecticut-based outfit specialize. Their new self-titled full-length arrives as a return for multi-instrumentalist/engineer Simon Tuozzoli (also of Owl Maker) and vocalist Phil Swanson (Seamount, ex-Hour of 13, etc.), as it’s been six years since they issued The Cult of Vestal Claret (review here) through Cruz del Sur Music. That offering was as cohesively metal as anything the band had done up to that point, and it seems that the new one is looking elsewhere for inspiration. I dig that, and medieval folk and cult doom go together pretty well, so yeah, sign me up for this one. Justin de Tore on drums don’t hurt either.

Interesting though that for the record they wanted to get less metal they got a dude who’s worked with Power Trip and Cavalera Conspiracy to mix it.

Wonder if they’ll do shows when such a thing becomes possible? It’d be something to see Vestal Claret live after all this time.

From the PR wire:

Vestal Claret release new album

Critically acclaimed occult metal band VESTAL CLARET are pleased to announce that they have released their new self-titled album via Bandcamp.

Purchase/Stream the album here: https://thecultofvestalclaret.bandcamp.com/album/vestal-claret

After a dozen physical releases on various formats and labels, to a more and more saturated genre, Vestal Claret set off to compose something musically broader and songwriter-oriented. Cliches were avoided, as well as anything that could gallop or be muted in its riffing.

The first two songs written from the new record were “Abandoned” and “Shadows.” Their creation, released as the demo Two Stones 2017, was meant to be an experiment to pursue the possibility of stepping away from any heavy metal tendencies. Those two songs became a template for creating a new life for Vestal Claret, while also bringing the band back closer to its original intent.

Musically, the new recording relies on Simon’s natural progressive nature. Influenced by his years in the New England music scene and his love of medieval folk, the creative process for this recording was an ideal situation. He had complete freedom to perform and produce as broadly as he could imagine.

Phil wrote the lyrics while driving cross country, spending well over a year living in a van, split between the beaches of Southern California and the Sedona Arizona desert. Isolation and recluse are its strongest influence.

Mixing and mastering was provided by Arthur Rizk (Powertrip, Sacred Riech, Cromags, Cavalera Conspiracy, Code Orange, Pissed Jeans, Ghostmane, Inquisition) and drums were performed by Justin de Tore (Magic Circle, Innumerable Forms, Mind Eraser, No Tolerance, Rival Mob).

No boundaries or barriers confine this new vision of Vestal Claret. It contains as much simplicity as it does complexity. It has no intent nor idea to be a genre recording. Its only ambition is to complement the bands maturity as musicians and songwriters to the best of its current ability.

Vestal Claret is:
Phil Swanson: Vocals
Justin DeTore: Drums
Simon Tuozzoli: Guitars, Bass, Organ, Percussion, Vocals, Various Instruments

Additional musicians:
Matt Campbell: Piano
David Caldarella: Violin
Jessie May: Cello
Madeline Baldwin: Vocals
The Mother: Vocals

https://www.facebook.com/VestalClaret/
https://thecultofvestalclaret.bandcamp.com/

Vestal Claret, Vestal Claret (2020)