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Video Interview: Eric Calvert of Switchblade Jesus on Death Hymns and More

Posted in Bootleg Theater, Features on May 10th, 2021 by JJ Koczan

switchblade jesus

Corpus Christi, Texas, three-piece Switchblade Jesus released their second album, Death Hymns (discussed here), last Fall through Cursed Tongue Records. There’s a cassette release coming up, but really the thing to talk about here is the record itself, and that’s plenty. While it clocks in at a utterly-consumable 27 minutes, Death Hymns does so in the form of a high-order ripper, a broad departure from the Southern grooves proffered on their self-titled debut (review here). That record, which was first self-released in 2013, then picked up by Kozmik Artifactz in 2014 before Ripple Music snagged it for a release in 2015 as well, was nothing if not well received and well composed, but Death Hymns takes the expectation born of that outing and even the band’s 2017 appearance on Ripple‘s The Second Coming of Heavy split series (review here), and sets it alight in a fury of prog-noise riffs and sharp rhythmic turns.

Founding guitarist/vocalist Eric Calvert — joined in the band by drummer Jon Elizondo and bassist/vocalist Chris Black — cites the latter coming into the fold circa 2017 as a source for the uptick in aggression, and part of it might stem from paring down the lineup from a five-piece, a move that brought Calvert to more of a frontman role than he’d been in previously, despite actually sharing more writing duties now. Whatever did it, Death Hymns turned in a monstrous torrent of energy, still riff-based enough to catch on with heavy heads, but moved beyond the more blues/Southern heavy-derived fare that, as Calvert notes, there’s plenty of around these days.

I know you’ve heard Death Hymns and you don’t need me to tell you any of this and you probably interviewed Calvert last week and talked about all the changes the band went through in the seven-year divide between their first album and their second. You guys talk on the regular. I know that. For me, however, the turn of sound was all the more fascinating because it continued to be underscored by a quality of songwriting that made the tracks memorable as well as forceful. You can see it in the interview. Calvert mentions “Red Plains” and I’m like, “Oh yeah dude.” It’s the kind of LP that might garner that response spontaneously with its tracks.

And this is a pretty broad-reaching conversation, from hopes for future work to the best band ever to come out of Texas — I’m not spoiling it — all the way down to gear-nerding and learning home recording in the midst of the pandemic, thereby delaying recording by, say, a year or more. Calvert, who also makes pedals under the banner of Frost Giant Electronics, had plenty to say. Best kind of interview.

As always, I hope you enjoy.

Switchblade Jesus Interview with Eric Calvert, May 5, 2021

Death Hymns is out now on LP and CD and available through Cursed Tongue Records and Switchblade Jesus. Tapes coming soon, streaming below.

Switchblade Jesus, Death Hymns (2020)

Switchblade Jesus on Facebook

Switchblade Jesus on Instagram

Switchblade Jesus on Bandcamp

Switchblade Jesus website

Cursed Tongue Records store

Cursed Tongue Records on Facebook

Cursed Tongue Records on Instagram

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Switchblade Jesus & Sumokem LP Preorders Start This Week

Posted in Whathaveyou on October 27th, 2020 by JJ Koczan

I cannot imagine what it’s like to press a record right now, other than ‘pain in the ass.’ I mean, the vinyl resurgence has been going on long enough now that there are certainly more than the three people in the universe making it that there were like six years ago or whatever, but still, like everything else, it’s gotta be even more complicated in 2020, and there doesn’t seem to be any shortage of stuff coming out despite the fact that touring is barely happening anywhere in any context. I would think even normally-backed-up plants and manufacturers are abnormally backed up.

That doesn’t preclude preorders, though. Cursed Tongue Records has new LPs on the way from Sumokem — whose Prajnaparadha is already streaming in full — and Switchblade Jesus, who recently premiered the single “Red Plains” from their upcoming album, Death Hymns. Both are out Jan. 29 in that increasingly dim future known as 2021, and both are going live with preorders on Friday at 6PM CET, which is noon Eastern US.

Info came down the PR wire:

Switchblade Jesus Death Hymns preorder

sumokem prajnaparadha preorder

SUMOKEM – ‘PRAJNAPARADHA’ AND SWITCHBLADE JESUS – ‘DEATH HYMNS’ DOUBLE VINYL PRE-ORDER LAUNCHES THIS FRIDAY OCTOBER 30, 2020

Cursed Tongue Records is stoked to announce the launching one of this autumn’s most anticipated double vinyl pre-orders going down on October 30, 6PM CET (Central European Time) from their Big Cartel Store LINK HERE: http://cursedtonguerecords.bigcartel.com/products

With honor can we disclose the vinyl releases of ‘Prajnaparadha’ from Sumokem and ‘Death Hymns’ from Switchblade Jesus and with confidence state that this is truly two smashing albums that’s being offered up.

Both bands have outdone themselves and have definitively delivered some of their most creative, crushing, diverse and intriguing material to date. We are very proud to be presenting both vinyl releases and thank the bands for their trust in Cursed Tongue Records on bringing the HEAVY goods.

CTR-034: SUMOKEM (LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS) THIRD ALBUM ‘PRAJNAPARADHA’ VINYL RELEASE OUT JANUARY 29, 2021 [VINYL PRE-ORDER OCTOBER 30]

SUMOKEM hailing from the melting doom-hot-spot pot that is Little Rock, AR are back with their best and most focused effort to date. Their new album ‘Prajnaparadha’ (once again a concept album) comes almost three years after their last giant ‘The Guardian of Yosemite’ (released by Cursed Tongue Records on vinyl January 2018) and the time in between releases has been well spent mining their unique sound and style.

SUMOKEM’s third album ‘Prajnaparadha’ was released digitally on Bandcamp and all major streaming outlets on September 4, 2020. On January 29, 2021, the world sees the release of the album on, the optimal of all tangible formats, 180 grams vinyl via Cursed Tongue Records – Come take the journey with us and discover why SUMOKEM right now is one of the bands out there, doing what they do!

CTR-035: SWITCHBLADE JESUS (CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS) SOPHOMORE ALBUM ‘DEATH HYMNS’ VINYL RELEASE OUT JANUARY 29, 2021 [VINYL PRE-ORDER OCTOBER 30]

On ‘Death Hymns’ the Texan trio has turned every knob well passed 11, tuning down, speeding-up, getting noisy as fuck and more heavy than a convoy of lead-loaded lorries. Switchblade Jesus has decided to throw away the whisky-soaked, southern-blues stoner doom swagger that so gloriously served them well on their 2015 debut in favor of a way more aggressive, contemporary sludgy-thrash noise metal approach – and it freaking works. Not even a wee bit farfetched ‘Death Hymns’, sounds like the evil amalgamation of High On Fire, Kylesa and Black Sabbath with a few proggy and industrial elements tossed in the mix to create a deadly brew all of their own.

Switchblade Jesus’ second full-length album ‘Death Hymns’ releases digitally on Bandcamp and all major streaming outlets on November 20, 2020. On January 29, 2021, the world sees the release of the album on, the optimal of all tangible formats, 180 grams vinyl via Cursed Tongue Records – Prepare yourself for the heavy impact!

https://www.facebook.com/SUMOKEM/
https://www.instagram.com/sumokem/
https://sumokem.bandcamp.com/album/the-guardian-of-yosemite

https://www.facebook.com/SwitchbladeJesus
https://www.instagram.com/switchbladejesus/
http://switchbladejesus.bandcamp.com/
https://switchbladejesus.net/

http://cursedtonguerecords.bigcartel.com/
https://www.facebook.com/CursedTongueRecords/
https://www.instagram.com/cursedtongue/

Sumokem, Prajnaparadha (2020)

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Switchblade Jesus Premiere “Red Plains”; Death Hymns out Nov. 20

Posted in Whathaveyou on September 29th, 2020 by JJ Koczan

switchblade jesus

It’s been six years since Switchblade Jesus first issued their widely-lauded self-titled debut (review here). Good record, caught on with a lot of people, wound up released through Kozmik Artifactz and giving the band enough momentum to hook up with Fuzz Evil for a chapter in Ripple Music‘s split series, The Second Coming of Heavy (review here), in 2017. They’ve given hints at their direction in the years since. Certainly one would call the level of volume they displayed at Maryland Doom Fest 2018 (review here) anything but subtle, and a live video premiered here later that year contained new material from what then seemed like the far-off prospect of the trio’s second LP.

Well, here we are, and here comes Death Hymns. The album in question runs an unfuckwithably tight 27 minutes and boasts a head-crunching blend of sludge and noise riffs that feels culled from Remission-and-nothing-else-except-maybe-also-Lifesblood Mastodon and maybe some pre-nü-metal Helmet thrown in, and still keeps some level of atmosphere through its centerpiece/side B leadoff title-track and momentary breathers like those in “Behind the Monolith” or at the end of “Forgotten,” the latter of which is topped with a blistered J. Robert Oppenheimer quoting the Bhagavad Gita. That popular sample is backed by “Behemoth,” which runs a heavy-thrashy two-point-five minutes and, indeed, kind of sounds like it’s in the process of becoming death, the destroyer of worlds.

I’ll hope to have more on it before it’s out, but to put it bluntly, Death Hymns is a fucking beast. Its noisy aspects might catch you off guard if all you know of Switchblade Jesus is the self-titled, but give it a chance and you will not regret letting it thoroughly pummel you.

Cursed Tongue Records has the release, and it’s out Nov. 20. Info follows from the PR wire:

switchblade jesus death hymns

SLUDGY NOISE METAL TRIO SWITCHBLADE JESUS SIGN TO CURSED TONGUE RECORDS FOR A GLOBAL VINYL RELEASE OF NEW ALBUM ‘DEATH HYMNS’ NOVEMBER 20, 2020.

Cursed Tongue Records is very happy to announce the signing of Corpus Christ, TX based heavy, sludge noise metal trio Switchblade Jesus and look forward to release their new album entitled ‘Death Hymns’ on premium vinyl. We have been following this band for quite some years, and like many of you, have been pondering when the world would see (hear) new from the terrifyingly terrific Texans.

Still vividly remembering the tight riffage and infectious grooves of ‘Bastard Son’ that so generously kicked the listener in the groin on Switchblade Jesus’s 2015 self-titled monster album. It was with much anticipation and sweating anxiety that we received the band’s newest album submission a few months back. We were blown away and after a handful of listens left hearing-obliterated, soul-depraved, head kicked-in, bone-pulverized and face-melted – but boy, oh boy was it a blissful listen and a welcoming return.

On ‘Death Hymns’ the Texan trio has turned every knob well passed 11, tuning down, speeding-up, getting noisy as fuck and more heavy than a convoy of lead-loaded lorries. Switchblade Jesus has decided to throw away the whisky-soaked, southern-blues stoner doom swagger that so gloriously served them well on their 2015 debut in favor of a way more aggressive, contemporary sludgy-thrash noise metal approach – and it freaking works. Not even a wee bit farfetched ‘Death Hymns’, sounds like the evil amalgamation of High On Fire, Kylesa and Black Sabbath with a few proggy and industrial elements tossed in the mix to create a deadly brew all of their own.

We are convinced that ‘Death Hymns’ will light up the heavy underground with an energy-packed set of high-potent metal tracks. An album meaty enough to saturate the most beef-craving metal head; dystopic and evil enough to appeal to the darkened soul of most Satan-worshipping heavy-heads; psychedelic and varied enough to keep longtime fans reminiscing about how great guitarist Eric Calvert is at churning out one infectious riff after the other. We super excited for all of you to hear it when the Texans open the floodgates upon us in November for the full ‘Death Hymns’ ordeal.

Luckily, you will not have to wait that long as the first single Red Plains will air via one of the heavy underground’s preferred musical outlets soon.

Switchblade Jesus’ second full-length album ‘Death Hymns’ releases digitally on Bandcamp and all major streaming outlets on November 20, 2020. Same day sees the release of the album on, the optimal of all tangible formats, 180 grams vinyl via Cursed Tongue Records – Prepare yourself for the heavy impact!

Side A:
Scorched
Red Plains
Behind the Monolith

Side B:
Death Hymns
Forgotten
Behemoth
The Blackened Sun

Switchblade Jesus is:
Eric Calvert – Vocals/Guitars
Chris Black – Bass
Jonathon Elizondo – Drums/Percussion/Synth

https://www.facebook.com/SwitchbladeJesus
https://www.instagram.com/switchbladejesus/
http://switchbladejesus.bandcamp.com/
https://switchbladejesus.net/
http://cursedtonguerecords.bigcartel.com/
https://www.facebook.com/CursedTongueRecords/
https://www.instagram.com/cursedtongue/

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