Bongripper to Release Empty April 19
The microgenre of ultra-thick sludge worship now called ‘bong metal’ has emerged largely in the six years since Chicago instrumental crushers Bongripper issued their most recent LP, 2018’s Terminal (review here), so a return from them with the impending Empty has some contextual differentiation in this not-yet-half-over decade, but beyond that, one kind of expects and looks forward to not much radical change on the part of the band, whose crushing ethic has united their output all along. I’m not saying they can’t grow or shouldn’t, haven’t, etc. (I haven’t even heard the thing), but if they were suddenly going to go ska they probably would mention it at some point and if it’s business as usual as they lower killer riffs with prejudice upon the skulls of the willing, would that really be a thing to complain about? Whatever new ideas they may or may not bring to their new material, it’s not like their core approach was ever broken.
Are Bongripper bong metal? Are Bongzilla? Are you? It would be in celebration of their uncompromising fuckall if they came to be viewed as figureheads, but ultimately it’s academic as relates to the record itself — something dudes like me think about likely much more than the band actually does, and fair enough — which will be out April 18 with a hometown release show booked for May 3 ahead of a lot at Desertfest London.
Preliminaries are below — read the tracklisting as a sentence and you almost get a sense of hope — and were offered with a suitable amount of flourish via socials. Behold:
BONGRIPPER – “Empty” 2LP/CD/Digital – 4/19/24
1. Nothing
2. Remains
3. Forever
4. Empty
Recorded at Comatose Studio. Artwork by Sam Alcarez.
Vinyl pre-sale begins 3/15/24. Tickets are now on sale for the Empty record release show at Metro via the link in our profile: https://metrochicago.com/event/bongripper-record-release/metro-chicago/chicago-illinois/
BONGRIPPER – Empty Record Release Show at Metro Chicago on May 3, 2024 with @Pinebender Immortal Bird Bleached Cross
$20 adv. – $25 day of / 18+ / Doors: 7PM / Show: 8PM
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