Yakuza to Release Sutra May 19 on Svart Records; New Song Posted
It’s been over 10 years since Chicago’s Yakuza released Beyul (review here), and though the experimental troupe led by saxophonist/vocalist Bruce Lamont have done fest appearances and so on since then, if they were ever going to do another record, it’s probably time.
So, business: Svart is putting out Sutra on May 19. Preorders are up. There you go.
The news isn’t entirely unexpected if you follow them on social media — they dropped a teaser of the new single “Alice” last week and announced the announcement, as one will — and I haven’t even had the chance to really dive into the song yet this morning — a first run through bears out the twisted metal and ambient consumption one would hope for — but my expectation of Sutra is for scope and for the band to continue to be the challenge to genre confines that they’ve always been, born out of Chicago post-metal but with on-their-own-wavelength as a defining factor. To date, their records have always been a heady experience, and have both demanded and warranted attention more than most acts, which has made them likewise revered critically and undervalued in terms of general listenership. And as per a recent discussion here in comments, some folks just don’t like sax in their rock and roll, for whatever reason. These things can’t be helped sometimes.
Looking forward to hearing more here and doing my damnedest to keep up with Yakuza once again when it comes time for a review. For now, this from the PR wire:
The Chicago based heavy hybridizers YAKUZA announce new album “Sutra”
Pre-order the album HERE: https://www.svartrecords.com/en/product/yakuza-sutra/11163
Svart Records unveils “Sutra”, the new album from grand master avant-garde overlords Yakuza. An genre crushing album of forward thinking metal for the modern age, “Sutra” is a powerhouse of unlimited expression and molten riffs. Formed in 1999, Chicago based heavy hybridizers Yakuza, are in a genre all of their own, which Pitchfork describe as a “a specialized and strange alloy”. So eclectic and hard to pigeon-hole, their music has been described over the years as everything from avant-garde metal, progressive metal, alternative metal to experimental rock, jazz metal, art metal and post-metal. Incorporating psychedelic rock jams that sprawl into heavy, sludging Doom with jazz influences, while also incorporating breakneck grind riffs and grooves, makes Yakuza’s new album “Sutra” a long awaited and insanely enjoyable feast of frequencies.
From their break-out debut album “Amount to Nothing” in 2000, which was met with critical acclaim, Yakuza have been a phenomenon in the world of heavy music, hot on the tongues of those who know. Their second album “Way of the Dead” in 2002 landed Yakuza a deal with Century Media and worldwide notoriety, securing them live slots with like-minded progressive heavyweights like Candira, Opeth, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Lacuna Coil and Mastodon. Several albums of top tier eccentric metal followed with “Samsara” in 2006 which was recorded by Matt Bayles (Isis, Botch, Pearl Jam) and featured Sanford Parker, and Mastodon’s Troy Sanders, the jazzier and spaced-out “Transmutations” in 2007, and “Of Seismic Consequence” in 2010 and “Beyul” in 2012 respectively released on cult underground label Profound Lore.
With a diamond back-catalogue of flawless genre breaking metal, having no stylistic constraints, Yakuza are maestros of highly creative, extreme music, ever ahead of the game. Over 10 years after their last release, Yakuza have returned with “Sutra” losing none of their expansive and wildly artistic approach to pushing the boundaries of heavy music. “Sutra” leans in on redefining the limits of heavy and eclectic metal, with songs like “Echoes From The Sky’s” epic sung vocals and zig zagging slabs of juggernaut riffing, all sewn together with Voivod chords and King Crimson structures, never coming apart but embracing the delightfully chaotic. New songs like “Alice” with its surge like quality, never heard before in Yakuza’s music, and “Psychic Malaise” with an exciting new vocal approach, drive through a feeling of a band not only in their prime but with many new sides of their sound story to express.
Like John Coltrane jamming with Napalm Death, Bruce Lamont (saxophone, vocals) has discussed an appreciation for Pink Floyd, Huun Huur Tu, Peter Brötzmann, Battles, Enslaved, Brighter Death Now, George Orwell, Ethiopian music, and Blut Aus Nord, perfectly picking up on the multifaceted angles that Yukuza exhibits. Standing in a world utterly of their own making, Yakuza’s unique mind-melting post-rock has never felt more ripe and fitting for the current state of the planet. Singer Bruce Lamont opts for letting Yakuza’s music do the magic, explaining that “Experience is subjective, and we hope each listener can come away with their own interpretation. We hope you go into this listening experience with an open mind and heart”. If ever there was a metal album where approaching with an open mind will reap rich rewards, then Yakuza’s “Sutra” is it. A thinking person’s extreme and inventive metal band, check out first single * to have your expectations and understanding of heavy music turned upside down and inside out.
“Sutra” will be out on Svart Records on May 19th 2023.
1. 2Is1
2. Alice
3. Echoes from the Sky
4. Capricorn Rising
5. Embers
6. Burn Before Reading
7. Walking God
8. Into Forever
9. Psychic Malaise
10. Never The Less
Yakuza is:
James Staffel-Drums and percussion
Matt McClelland -guitar/ backing vocals
Jerome Marshall- bass
Bruce Lamont- vocals and saxophone
http://www.yakuzadojo.com
https://www.facebook.com/yakuzadojo666
http://www.instagram.com/yakuzadojo
https://yazkua.bandcamp.com/
www.svartrecords.com
www.facebook.com/svartrecords
www.youtube.com/svartrecords
