More good news out of Boston today. Residents of the city I’m soon to call home because it’ll take too long to explain that I’ll actually live about 45 minutes south of Boston proper, The Proselyte have announced that they’ll enter the studio this snowy weekend to lay down material for a new EP. Their 2011 full-length, Sunshine, presented a proggy take on newer school heavy, and in case you missed it when a track was streamed here, I’ve included the full album below, courtesy of The Proselyte Bandcamp page.

Keep your eye out too for more updates from the band as they get ready to announce the run of gigs alluded to below. They’ll wrap with a show April 13 at Great Scott with the recently-announced Kowloon Walled City/Zozobra tour, but there’s bound to be info forthcoming. Till then, this:

Ignoring all the blizzard forecasts, Boston’s The Proselyte will enter New Alliance Audio in Cambridge, MA this weekend to record a new EP. The effort will be engineered and mixed by Drummer/Vocalist Alec Rodriguez and mastered by Rob Gonnella and Nick Zampiello(Torche, Caspian, Isis) at New Alliance East. The follow up to their well received “Sunshine” LP (Teenage Disco Bloodbath Records) will be supported by a 9 day run April 5-13 ending with a Boston show at Great Scott with Zozobra and Kowloon Walled City.

Exactly one month ago today, Boston melo-sludge upstarts The Proselyte premiered their song “Grey Lady” through this very site. Pleased now to post the day-old news that the foursome have announced a tour they’ll be embarking on tomorrow. Waste no time, gentlemen. Best of luck on the road.

In addition to kicking some ass in their own right, they’re also playing with some killer bands, so I’d advise you also pay attention to what comes after the “w/” as you skim through. Here’s the info from the PR wire:

Hard-hitting, hard-rocking Massholes The Proselyte are pleased to announce that their brand-new record, Sunshine, is out yesterday on TDB Records. The band leaves Oct. 7 for an extensive fall tour, covering the east coast, south and midwest and sharing stages with the likes of Thrones, Danava, Thou, and many more!

Tour Dates:
10/07 Philadelphia, PA O’Reilly’s Pub w/ Ape!, Rouge House, Nine Fingered Thug
10/08 Brooklyn, NY Don Pedro w/ Tidal Arms, Yorba Linda, Lunglust
10/09 Silver Spring, MD MATINEE Quarry House w/ Midnight Eye, Akris
10/10 Raleigh, NC King’s Barcade w/ Thou, Make
10/11 Greenville, NC Help
10/12 Atlanta, GA Archive Gallery w/ The Creamers
10/13 Orlando, FL Hoops Tavern w/ Abuse, Knife Hits, Flying Snakes
10/14 Miami, FL The Cave
10/15 St Pete, FL Fubar w/ Flying Snakes, God Harvest, Sumo Szyslak
10/16 Beach Day Off!!!!
10/17 Tallahassee, FL AF Haus
10/18 New Orleans, LA Siberia Nola w/ Mortals, TBA
10/19 San Antonio, TX Night Rockers w/ Lions of Tsavo, Rust, Old and Ill, Deguello
10/20 Austin, TX Red Seven w/ Bridge Farmers, The Vessel
10/21 Dallas/Emory, TX No Thanks Fest w/ Stymie, Wiccans
10/22 Columbia, MO Cafe Berlin w/ In Defense, Creaturezoid, The Phaggs
10/23 Appleton, WI House Show w/ Perversion, The Parish
10/24 Madison, WI The Wisco w/ Eagle Claw
10/25 Chicago, IL Debonair
10/26 Ft Wayne, IN Tiger Room w/ Castles, Antlers as Roots
10/27 Columbus, OH Ace of Cups w/ Artillary Breath, Savage Pinkos
10/28 Upstate, NY/Central, PA – Help
10/29 Boston MA TBA with Thrones, Danava

Summer may have officially ended with the passing of Labor Day yesterday, but The Proselyte clearly haven’t gotten the message. The Cambridge heavy rocking four-piece will issue their debut full-length, Sunshine, through Teenage Disco Bloodbath in October, and it’s an album that lives up to its name.

Maybe the most striking thing about The Proselyte is the band’s immediate skill at vocal arrangement. They move into and out of harmony smoothly, offsetting the accessible nature of their approach with heavier growls immaculately captured on Sunshine by drummer/vocalist Alec Rodriguez, who recorded the album at New Alliance Audio in the band’s hometown.

I said the other day that I wanted to introduce some new bands with track premieres. The Proselyte definitely fall into that category, and their mix of heaviness and melody make them an immediate standout. I was fortunate enough to be granted permission to take my pick of songs to host from Sunshine, and I selected “Grey Lady,” which I think sums up the album nicely.

Hope you agree. Press play below to hear the track, and feel free to peruse some info on the band below that, courtesy of the label’s website.

[mp3player width=460 height=120 config=fmp_jw_widget_config.xml playlist=the-proselyte.xml]

Playing around the Boston area for five years, The Proselyte have recently managed an enormous sonic overhaul for an upcoming TDB Records release. The band’s sound has truly come into their own, offering riffy swagger, bomb-string heaviness and massive multi-layered vocal harmonies on the new LP. It’s almost like Alice in Chains discovering the first two Baroness EPs, or maybe the Melvins covering the Beach Boys.

Titled Sunshine, The Proselyte’s full-length will be out on vinyl and digital formats in October. Sunshine was recorded at New Alliance in Cambridge, MA, by drummer/vocalist Alec Rodriguez and the band features guitarist/vocalist Nicholas Wolf from Phantom Glue. The lineup is rounded out by Bradford J. Macomber on bass and Mitchell C. Belch on guitar/vocals.

There are no credits included with Phantom Glue’s self-titled Teenage Disco Bloodbath Records debut. Just lyrics and artwork. Usually when a band does this kind of thing – the most prevalent example I can think of when it comes to willfully withholding information is Black Cobra, but lots of acts do it – you’re not missing much. Recorded by their friend in a basement, blah blah, thanks to the bands we play with, blah blah. In the case of Phantom Glue’s Phantom Glue, however, the Boston, Massachusetts, outfit recorded with Converge’s Kurt Ballou at Godcity Recording Studio in Salem, had the record mastered by Nick Zampiello, and guitarist/vocalist Matt Oates handled the disturbing album art himself. One would think they’d want this information out there. Why attach names of the caliber of Ballou and Zampiello to a project and then not tell anyone about it?

Craziness!

The chief audio comparison point for Phantom Glue is going to be High on Fire all the way. Oates and bassist N. Wolf (who also contributes vocals) are rougher in their delivery than latter-day Matt Pike, and the music sometimes launches into Sunlight Studios-style death metal guitar theatrics (as on “Brainbow”) with Oates and fellow guitarist M. Gowell duking out harmonics in the grand Entombed tradition. They also mark Electric Wizard as a comparison point, I think for the slower moments on the record, like the first half of closer “Scabman,” the title track, or perhaps most appropriately, “Blacktar,” which is legitimately centered around a riff that’s pure stoner doom despite the bombastic chaos happening around it.

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