Right now it’s looking like Blackwater Holylight‘s Fall tour of Europe alongside Monolord is going to happen. It would not be the soon-to-formerly-be-Portland-Oregon-based outfit’s first run alongside the Swedish trio, but it arrives as a herald for Blackwater Holylight‘s third album, Silence/Motion, and that’s a significant distinguishing factor. Due next month through RidingEasy, the record brings new darkness and flourishes of extremity that coincide with the flowing psychedelia and melody previously established in the band’s sound.

Much has already been made and more surely will of the band — bassist/vocalist Allison “Sunny” Faris (also guitar on the record), guitarist/bassist Mikayla Mayhew, drummer Eliese Dorsay and synthesist Sarah McKenna — working with guest vocalists on Silence/Motion like ALN of Mizmor, who also produced, as well as Bryan Funck of Thou and Mike Paparo of Inter Arma on the record’s opening and closing tracks. I’m not saying that’s not interesting — it sure as shit was something I wanted to talk about in the interview — just also to consider the downward motion of guitar in the suitably titled “Falling Faster,” or the burst in the latter half of “Silence/Motion” itself, the charred-style squibblies in “MDIII” or the bleak post-punk in “Around You.” Yes, “Delusional” is a striking opener with Funck‘s rasp behind Faris‘ clean-sung verse, and “Every Corner” branches into territory Blackwater Holylight have never gone in its consuming second half especially, but there’s no less growth to be heard in the tense synth and guitar of “Who the Hell?” than in the novelty of the company the band are keeping.

I’m going to review the album (I kind of just did; whoops), so I’ll stem the opinion-izing there as much as possible, but in atmosphere and dynamic, Silence/Motion is a pull in a new direction from 2019’s Veils of Winter (review here) and 2018’s self-titled debut (review here), and deserves to be considered in its own light and in terms of what it portends for the band. Apparently new guitarist/backing vocalist Erika Osterhout can scream. Faris talks about wanting to write some death metal. I’d be up for that as interpreted by Blackwater Holylight.

There was, in fact, a lot to talk about, from making the album on a deadline underscored by a pregnancy in the band to working with an outside producer for the first time, to broadening the stylistic reach, to touring, to playing Psycho Las Vegas last month, to the sexual abuse that inspired the title-track, to moving to Los Angeles from Portland — which I think happened last week — to what kind of protein powder Faris puts in her morning shake alongside the peanut butter and banana. Spoiler alert: it is made from the crushed bones of her enemies.

Please enjoy the interview:

Blackwater Holylight, Silence/Motion Interview with Sunny Faris, Sept. 1, 2021

Blackwater Holylight release Silence/Motion Oct. 22 on RidingEasy Records. As of this post, their Fall tour of Europe with Monolord is still a go. Dates follow. Their early-2022 tour dates with All Them Witches are here. Check the links below for updates.

Monolord w/ Blackwater Holylight
Europe 2021:
18/11 DE Oberhausen Kuttempel
19/11 NL Utrecht DB’s
20/11 NL Nijmegen Doornroosje
21/11 BE Antwerp Zappa
22/11 UK Bristol Exchange
23/11 UK Glasgow Stereo
24/11 UK London Underworld
25/11 UK Manchester Soup
26/11 FR Dunkerque 4 Ecluses
27/11 FR Paris Petit Bain
28/11 FR Toulouse Rex
30/11 SP Madrid Caracol
01/12 SP Barcelona Boveda
02/12 FR Annecy Brise Glace
03/12 CH Aarau Kiff
04/12 AT Vienna Arena
05/12 DE Dresden Chemiefabrik
06/12 DE Berlin Zukunft am Ostkreuz
07/12 DE Hamburg Bahnhof St. Pauli
08/12 DK Copenhagen Stengade
09/12 SE Gothenburg Pustervik
10/12 SE Stockholm Debaser Strand
11/12 SE Malmo Babel
12/12 NO Oslo Youngs

Blackwater Holylight, Silence/Motion (2021)

Blackwater Holylight on Facebook

Blackwater Holylight on Instagram

Blackwater Holylight on Bandcamp

RidingEasy Records website

RidingEasy Records on Facebook

Tags: BlackWater HolyLight, Blackwater Holylight Silence/Motion, Oregon, Portland, RidingEasy Records, Silence/Motion

This entry was posted on Monday, September 13th, 2021 at 12:54 pm and is filed under Bootleg Theater, Features. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.