Rest assured that in any likely incarnation, Foehammer will remain devastating. The Virginian extreme-heavy specialists released their 2022 sophomore outing, Monumentum (discussed here), through Silent Pendulum Records and seem e’er-ready to unleash their raw death sludge on whoever might be in their path. Led by founding guitarist/vocalist Jay Cardinell, the band was a two-piece on that record and as they move inexorably toward their third sometime in the next however long, they’ve reemerged as a trio. Wouldn’t it be fun if for every record they put out, they got to add another player to the band? Like, that’s the game? What would a six-piece Foehammer sound like?

Loud. They would be loud. They’re loud now, so maybe they can save the trouble.

Newly arrived to the lineup are drummer Ben Proudman (Thonian Horde, Black Blizzard, etc.) and bassist Tim Reaper. This manifestation of Foehammer will make their live debut at Grim Reefer Fest in Baltimore in three weeks, playing alongside Yatra, Black Lung, Weedeater, Leather Lung, Telekinetic Yeti, Haze Mage and more. Details on that are here. No doubt more will follow. I have no idea if they’re working on new material or anything yet, but either way, they might want to get a set sorted out first, which no doubt they already have.

Cardinell put the following on the ol’ sociables, and I do believe him in the assessment he offers of the new lineup:

Very excited to finally announce this. We have an all new lineup featuring two old friends of mine – Tim Reaper @timreaper666 taking up the bass duties 💪🏻 and Ben Proudman @tattoosbyprdmn stepping up to the drum throne!! 🥁🤘🏻 Believe me when I tell you, this shit is heavy, y’all.

We will debut this new abomination with a special set at the swiftly upcoming @grimreeferfest , Saturday 4/27 at Ottobar @theottobar . We go on somewhat early in the day so make sure to come out for the whole thing!

Foehammer 2024:
Tim Reaper – Bass
Ben Proudman – Drums
Jay Cardinell – Guitar / Vox

https://www.facebook.com/foehammerva/
https://www.instagram.com/foehammer_band/
https://foehammer.bandcamp.com/

http://www.facebook.com/SilentPendulumRecords
https://www.instagram.com/silent_pendulum_records/
https://silentpendulumrecords.bandcamp.com/

Foehammer, Monumentum (2022)

Couple TBAs here, in Richmond, Columbus, Cincinnati. That should be easy enough to fill, considering it’s Foehammer. [EDIT MARCH 2: And yeah, it was easy enough to fill. The poster and dates have been updated.] The Virginian crushers will head out on April 28 to support late 2022’s Monumentum (review here), which came out through Silent Pendulum Records as the atmospherically punishing follow-up to 2018’s debut, Second Sight (review here). It’s a Midwestern tour, hitting Louisville, St. Louis, Chicago and Indianapolis before circling back through Ohio and Pittsburgh, the latter a third show in Pennsylvania after the two tour openers in Harrisburg and Harrisonburg, which yes I do find harrilarious thank you for asking.

Joining guitarist/vocalist Jay Cardinell for the run on drums will be Zak Suleri, also of Et Mors, Cerulean Room and a bunch of others. I’m not sure what’s up with Ben Price, who played on Monumentum — that is, if he’s still in the band — but the “for this tour” in the announcement below makes me think he is, since Suleri‘s filling in.

In any case, here’s the tour as it stands now, as posted by the band on the ol’ sociables:

FOEHAMMER – Monumentum Spring Tour 2023

Very excited to announce this today as it’s been a long time coming! In just over 8 weeks Foehammer will embark on our first tour in six years! It would be an understatement to say we’re stoked for these shows and the amazing acts we get to play with.

Sick poster art by the GOAT (#128016#) Matt Scott aka @vinumsabbati

On drums for this tour will be Zakir Suleri @cerulean_room singer / guitarist of the amazing @et_mors

Still looking for help on these TBA’s so if you know of anything good going on in Richmond, Columbus, Cincinnati, or the surrounding areas please let us know!

More specific show announcements and flyers to come so keep your (#128065#)️(#128065#)️ peeled!

Foehammer live:
04.28 Harrisburg PA JB Lovedraft’s*
04.29 Harrisonburg VA Crayola House
04.30 Raleigh NC School Kids*
05.01 Louisville KY Highlands Tap Room
05.03 Columbus OH Spacebar
05.04 Chicago IL Reggie’s
05.05 St Louis MO Platypus
05.06 Indianapolis IN State Street Pub
05.07 Akron OH Buzzbin**
05.08 Pittsburgh PA Blackforge Coffee**
* with False Gods
** with Altar and the Bull

https://www.facebook.com/foehammerva/
https://www.instagram.com/foehammer_band/
https://foehammer.bandcamp.com/

http://www.facebook.com/SilentPendulumRecords
https://www.instagram.com/silent_pendulum_records/
https://silentpendulumrecords.bandcamp.com/

Foehammer, Monumentum (2022)

Oh, what a grim and wretched pleasure it is to share some new Foehammer with you this morning. The occasion is you, marking your calendar with an old-style felt-tip pen to note the Nov. 18 arrival date for the Virginia sludge extremist duo’s second full-length, Monumentum, and if you weren’t yet looking forward to that, behold the grueling lumber of “The Disk” below.

The band announced last month they’d signed with Silent Pendulum Records for their new release, and it’s been a whopping four years since their counterintuitively titled debut album, Second Sight (review here), darkened skies in 2018. All the more fair to call Monumentum “awaited” in light of that, and also the fact that word was first put forth about its release in June 2020, at which point it was noted that it was the band’s first outing with Ben Price on drums alongside Jay Cardinell‘s vocals and guitar.

I don’t know if Monumentum has been finished for two years and sat on waiting to be issued, but “The Disk” lumbers forth with timeless weight at its core and a deathsludge lurch to coincide. At eight minutes, it’s one of I-don’t-know-how-many songs on the forthcoming collection, and its impact is near immediate in the stick-in-your-eye snare and massive, raw sounding crush that ensues, but it’s worth listening for the angularity that emerges in the last couple minutes as well; “The Disk” has plenty of it but is not at all limited to bludgeoning. Somewhere between compression sickness and blister-raised burn, the duo drive their point across in twisted, dense thud and rot-smelling resonance. There’s something dead in the woods. Always.

And by that I mean “enjoy”:

Foehammer, “The Disk” track premiere

Jay Cardinell on “The Disk” and Monumentum:

“Lyrically, “The Disk” is based on a Jorge Luis Borges short story, El Disco, a surrealist piece wherein two men are struggling for control of an ancient artifact, The Disk Of Odin. I am a big fan of Borges and this story in particular struck me and I wanted to try to evoke the feeling through the song. As for the songwriting, “The Disk” is one where Ben and I really came together and the songwriting is about 50% from each of us.”

Monumentum is a term that just came into my brain like a lightning bolt. Upon researching it, I found Monumentum was a Latin word used by the Romans in their carvings, especially when listing the achievements of an Emperor. The word itself can have varied meanings such as “remembrance”, “tomb” or literally “monument.”

Pre-order physical: http://silentpendulumrecords.com

Pre-order digital: https://silentpendulumrecords.bandcamp.com/

Foehammer’s new album Monumentum will be released November 18th on Silent Pendulum Records. Engineered and mixed by Foehammer drummer Ben Price. Mastered by James Plotkin.

Monumentum follows a self-titled demo (2014), a self-titled EP (2015, Australopithecus Records), and a 2XLP titled Second Sight (2018, Australopithecus Records).

Foehammer is:
Jay Cardinell (guitars, vocals)
Ben Price (drums)

https://www.facebook.com/foehammerva/
https://www.instagram.com/foehammer_band/
https://foehammer.bandcamp.com/

http://www.facebook.com/SilentPendulumRecords
https://www.instagram.com/silent_pendulum_records/
https://silentpendulumrecords.bandcamp.com/

Foehammer, Second Sight (2018)

The word is good from Virginian crushers Foehammer, whose very, very, very heavy debut album, Second Sight (review here), turned four in April. The band have signed to Silent Pendulum Records, whose somewhat confusing but nonetheless intriguing logo you can see below. Cool band gets someone to help them with a release? Always welcome news as far as I’m concerned.

While they’ve been playing shows in the interim as much as possible and generally doing the thing, last I heard from Foehammer was in June 2020, at which point the duo of guitarist/vocalist Jay Cardinell and drummer/recording engineer Ben Price were unveiling the cover art of their second full-length, titled Monumentum, which was given a summer 2020 release date.

As far as I can tell, that album hasn’t come out yet. It goes without saying that the two years between then and now have been laced with extenuating circumstances — that’s before you get to monkeypox, rising cost of everything, etc. — so if it’s out there somewhere or if it was out and taken back ahead of a pressing through Silent Pendulum, fair enough. I miss shit all the time and have been telling you for years I’m not very good at this; so it goes.

But if it’s the case that Monumentum — or whatever it’s going to be called by the time it comes out, and whatever artwork it will have — has been held back all this time, the band must be furiously restless by now to get it out. Imagine sitting on a record for two years. Foehammer aren’t a tour-for-three-months-straight kind of act or anything, but just on general principle, two years later, the itch to get the songs out there must be significant.

If they can be patient, I can too. No release date included below, but it’ll be when it’ll be.

This from socials:

Very happy to announce Foehammer will be joining the family of bands at Silent Pendulum Records @silent_pendulum_records !! Mike has been a long time supporter of the band and this just means the world to us.

Keep your eyes peeled for more announcements soon, and follow the link in the comments to check out the rest of their sick roster! https://silentpendulumrecords.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/foehammerva/
https://www.instagram.com/foehammer_band/
https://foehammer.bandcamp.com/

http://www.facebook.com/SilentPendulumRecords
https://www.instagram.com/silent_pendulum_records/
https://silentpendulumrecords.bandcamp.com/

Foehammer, Second Sight (2018)