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Sorge Stream Self-Titled EP in Full

SORGE (Photo by Matt Carter)

Washington D.C. newcomers Sorge are set to self-release their self-titled debut EP on Friday, and when it comes right to it, one of the most exciting aspects of the 27-minute four-tracker is how settled it isn’t. From the Danzig-ian wails, theatrical synth and rolling sludge riffs of opener “Faith of a Heretic” onward, the five-piece troupe seem to actively work to defy the conventions of microgenre, instead honing a sound that is both aggressive and thoughtful, but without the pretense inherent in so much prog-tinged modern heavy. “Faith of a Heretic” and “A Horse in Turin,” as well as the low-end-distortion highlight “Argent” and the driving finisher “Astral Burnout” are all marked by plotted guitar leads that underscore the band’s surprising level of self-awareness in terms of their methodology — this is not a group haphazardly tossing elements together and seeing what sticks — and the complexity of the progressions surrounding those solos, instrumentally and vocally, draws from an array of sources. It’s not a shock to learn there are multiple creative forces in the band, or that they have some measure of variety in their own personal tastes, but Sorge‘s Sorge makes all the more of an impression because of their refusal to let anything dominate their sound so much as their individualist impulses and concurrent tonal heft.

Two guitars — Joshua Gerras (also vocals) and Logan Boucher (leads) — plus Christian Pandtle on bass, Jake Filderman on synth and Mike Romadka on drums, and as they push into “A Horse in Turin” they sound like some futuristic vision of traditionalist doom, not quite catchy, but not quite not-memorable either, and the wash they bring to bear in the song’s midsection isn’t to be missed, either for its flourish of drama or the Sorge sorgesheer depth of its mix, solidifying around a lumbering riff before bursting forth once more, this time shifting into all-out blastbeating as though to further demonstrate their lack of constriction. “Argent” and “Astral Burnout” are shorter (the EP runs longes-to-shortest), but not my much, and the unbridled atmosphere of the first two cuts continues to hold sway across the churning severity surrounding the crashes late in the proceedings, squibbly soloing seeming to wink at more extreme metal even as laserz-yes-with-a-‘z’ synth accompany. More pummel awaits in “Astral Burnout,” but there’s a hint of melodic fluidity to come there as well — “Faith of a Heretic” had it too, for that matter — that speaks to the angle of growth Sorge might be looking to undertake over the longer term. If they’re the kind of band who are going to look to tour when/if such things are possible, they’ll likely get there that much faster.

They’re young, or at least young-ish, and sound it. There’s patience to be learned in their craft, but in the meantime, I’ll happily take the swinging finish of “Astral Burnout” and the overarching groove that seems to draw the different pieces of the song together into one entirety. Again, Sorge‘s first release isn’t one that finds them declaring outright the rigid parameters of their sound, but rather, the place from which their scope will spread outward, and already they have a significant breadth at their disposal. As to which direction their work might ultimately take, I won’t hazard a guess onto to feel silly later, but for what it’s worth, they show an impressive level of command in their songwriting for a band both new and stylistically varied, and their forward potential only makes this EP more exciting to hear in the present.

You’ll find the four tracks streaming in their entirety below, followed by comment from the band.

Please enjoy:

Sorge on Self-Titled EP:

We’re rather proud of this as our debut release. It took us a little bit to find our feet together and start playing shows, but we all were friends before this so it was a blast playing together. The patience certainly paid off as our collective nerves couldn’t handle bombing a show. Best to practice in a smokey basement for two years, huh?

These songs were written collaboratively during that time, thus allowing us all to infuse our individual inspirations. Josh comes from more of a punk background, where I’ve always been into extreme metal. I also make electronic music as a solo artist, as does Jake. Logan was into shredding and technical stuff in high school. Heavy music was Mike’s first love, but he’s also dabbled in more genres than we can list. I find this interesting because it has been an eventful few years, all of us have changed as people throughout our writing and recording process. These songs, especially Faith of a Heretic and a Horse in Turin, are thus time capsule of sorts, capturing our collective feelings and imaginations from the time. We wanted to draw from our diverse influences while making fucking heavy music and are pleased enough with the results. We’re all our worst critics and when you’ve been drilling and writing for a few years it’s easy for those narratives to become the dominant ones in your head. We’ve been blown away by the initial reception and are so appreciative that people are getting what we’re putting down.

Recording the EP was a real trip. We’re pretty DIY but after self recording/mixing a two song demo we realized that we’re serious enough to be working with professionals. Mike and I were frankly kinda shocked when Kevin from Developing Nations got back to us, some of our favorite albums of the last few years were recorded there (e.g. Ilsa’s Corpse Fortress and Outer Heaven’s Realms of Eternal Decay). That being said, recording is expensive and we’re a bunch of young dudes so we ended up recording the whole thing in four days over two weekends without a click. Most stuff had to get done in one or two takes. That experience really solidified what we had already been screaming at each other for years: don’t waste a moment of your audience’s attention. We’ve written a ton since then and are extremely keen to get back on the road and in the studio when it’s safe to do so.

Joshua and I come from a background in western philosophy and were feeling adrift and depressed when we started this project. We kinda just started writing riffs together and before long had brought Mike, Logan, and Jake into the fold. I think we all realized on some level that doing something creative as a group is better than doing nothing at all and we were able to use that insight along with constant self-criticism to create something that we hope is more than the sum of its parts. We wanted to capture the urgency of living, that sense of restlessness that lives even in the most peaceful of hearts.

We’re at an interesting point in history and we couldn’t not express the low key, yet productive, angst that typifies our generation. We and especially those younger were born atomized and are conditioned to believe it’s the only way to live. Much our initial work into Sorge was driven by a need to prove to ourselves that disconnection is not the only way of living. Sorge is a German word meaning “care, or concern” and can refer to that fundamental concern we have for all beings, and thus for ourselves.

SORGE will independently release Sorge digitally on Friday, June 5th, with a physical release to follow. Find digital preorders at Bandcamp HERE.

SORGE:
Christian Pandtle – bass
Joshua Gerras – guitars, vocals
Mike Romadka – drums
Logan Boucher – lead guitars
Jake Filderman – synths

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