Umbilicus to Release Debut Album in 2022; Teaser Posted
I like how normalized this kind of thing is. Yeah, a bunch of dudes who play death metal, turns out they like the ol’-style heavy rock and roll? Well that’s not so weird, right? In the US and Europe alike, it’s been the case that a fair number of players known for extreme bludgeonry come together around a more rocking sound. Firebird, Mannhei, and half the rock bands in Norway come to mind immediately, though they’re by no means the only examples.
And in the first streaming teaser from Umbilicus, you can hear some of that purposeful releasing of precision of death metal in favor of more languid, classically inspired grooves. It’s not about just playing fast or slow or nodding instead of a windmill headbang. You can hear a different technique taking shape here.
Plus I like it when metal goes rock since that’s kind of the path I followed as well. Ask me about it sometime. I’m happy to run my mouth.
Album out sometime in 2022. From the PR wire:
CANNIBAL CORPSE, INHUMAN CONDITION members team up for 70’s rock band UMBILICUS; teaser available
While the abundance of death metal is a plus in 2021, there is still plenty of room for some rock and roll. Today, UMBILICUS is introduced to the world. Featuring drummer and lyricist of CANNIBAL CORPSE, Paul Mazurkiewicz on drums, Taylor Nordberg (INHUMAN CONDITION, THE ABSENCE, FORE) on guitar, Vernon Blake (ANARCHUS, NAPALM DEATH [live]) on bass, and vocalist Brian Stephenson (FORE, OLD JAMES), the quartet has turned down the violence and gore, and turned up the peace and love.
Mazurkiewicz says: “UMBILICUS was formed in the summer of 2020 and driven by our love of rock and roll from the late 60’s, 70’s and early 80’s. I’ve been listening to well-known bands like Grand Funk, Bad Company and Steppenwolf and not-so-well-known bands like Sir Lord Baltimore and Lucifer’s Friend for the last 20 years or so now. The more I listened to these bands the more I wanted to play music like this. It is just so much fun to sit back and groove out and play by complete feel without beating my body down. To just play some pure hard rock! We composed 10 very cool songs throughout 2020 but the one piece of the puzzle was missing: an awesome voice to tie it all together. Enter Brian Stephenson! An amazing vocalist and lyricist that completed the lineup! I am so proud of what we have written and I can’t wait for the world to hear what we have to offer!”
The band is currently finishing up their debut album, yet-untitled, to be released in 2022. More details regarding track-listing, artwork, and release date will be announced soon. A teaser video is available below which features a short demo mix of a new song.
UMBILICUS is:
Brian Stephenson – vocals
Paul Mazurkiewicz – drums
Vernon Blake – bass
Taylor Nordberg – guitar
Photo by Deidra Kling
www.Facebook.com/umbilicusfl
Instagram.com/umbilicus_official
