Someone’s gonna need a new band photo now that he’s got a band. Still fresh off the release earlier this month of the second album, Usurper of the Universe (review here), through Forbidden Place Records, San Francisco’s SÖNUS have announced a new lineup. Or maybe I should say a lineup at all, since it was formerly a solo-project wielded at the behest of multi-instrumentalist and vocalist, songwriter, etc. David Wachsman. As of today, right now, here, this sentence, SÖNUS are a four-piece, and not to point out the obvious, but it seems highly unlikely Wachsman would bother forming a band if the intention was not to bring SÖNUS to a stage as a live act sometime in the presumably near future.

It’s cool watching projects take shape. This may have been Wachsman‘s plan all along, and I’ve no doubt SÖNUS as a unit will benefit from playing live as nearly every band does, but it’s important to consider as well that additional members will invariably have an effect on the studio dynamic as well. He wasn’t entirely alone on Usurper of the Universe — you can see the credits for the album below — and through layering, the recording lacked nothing for a full sound, but when you put someone new in a group, that group is inevitably changed as a result. I’ll be interested to find out how SÖNUS‘s next work plays out and what differences will result from the shift in construction. I assume we have some time before we get there.

In the meantime, the clip for “Nuclear God,” which opens Usurper of the Universe, is full of suitably apocalyptic imagery. There’s kids getting under their desks for a nuclear bomb drill — which my mother did and still remembers — clips from They Live, Dr. Strangelove, the public domain (obviously) and other choice sources, and plenty of mushroom clouds to spare as Wachsman, speaking for Planet Earth itself, lets humanity know just how the world feels about them. I won’t spoil it for you.

Physical versions of Usurper of the Universe will be out April 20 — because duh — and you’ll find more from Wachsman after the video below about the new lineup.

Enjoy:

SÖNUS, “Nuclear God” video premiere

The CDs and Cassettes should be available on 4/20, naturally (barring any plant delays or shipping mishaps).

About the new members:

Seated atop the drum throne is Colin Drake Jaramillo, my best friend and fellow archaeologist- we’ve travelled the world together for years working on Archaeological sites, I was his best man in his wedding, and now I’m delighted to welcome him aboard and confident knowing he has my back on the Drums.

Filling out the rhythm section, on the Bass, we welcome groove master and bringer of thunder, Dave Reno.

Sharing (and shredding) Guitar duties with me is the venerable Vishwam Aggarwal. And with that, SÖNUS is a one-man-band no longer! I am beyond-delighted to welcome these talented people to the group, and to hear what they bring to these songs. We are working hard to bring our brand of sensational space rock to you as soon as we can!

SÖNUS are:
David Wachsman: guitar/vocals
Vishwam Aggarwal: guitar
Dave Reno: bass
Colin Drake Jaramillo: drums

SÖNUS on ‘Usurper of the Universe’:
David Wachsman (Composition/Lyrics/Rhythm Guitar/Lead Guitar/Bass/Synths/Vocals/General Mania and Questionable Sanity)
with;
Tyler Hovestadt (Tracks 3 & 6: Additional Synths, Piano, and SFX; Track 5: Drums),
Eduardo Salazar (Drums, except for track 5), and
Jaymi McGinn (backing vocals on track 6)

SÖNUS, Usurper of the Universe (2022)

SÖNUS on Facebook

SÖNUS on Instagram

SÖNUS on Bandcamp

Forbidden Place Records on Facebook

Forbidden Place Records on Instagram

Forbidden Place Records on Bandcamp

Tags: California, Forbidden Place Records, San Francisco, SÖNUS, SÖNUS Usurper of the Universe, Usurper of the Universe

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 24th, 2022 at 1:10 pm and is filed under Bootleg Theater. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.