Following teasers from Decibel Magazine and Classic Rock, today NPR hurls forth the asphyxiating heaviness of “Unnamed” from Seattle doom bringers, BROTHERS OF THE SONIC CLOTH. The tune makes it’s chest-caving appearance on the band’s self-titled debut, out TODAY in Europe via Neurot Recordings.
Slow, heavy and wholly unapologetic, Brothers Of The Sonic Cloth is the sound of earthly decomposition and planetary demise. Fronted by legendary guitarist/vocalist Tad Doyle – formerly of TAD and Hog Molly – alongside veteran bassist Peggy Doyle and drummer Dave French (The Anunnaki), the trio’s debut was tracked at at Robert Lang Studios and Doyle’s own Witch Ape Studio in Seattle, Washington, mixed by Billy Anderson (Sleep, High On Fire, Melvins et al) and serves as Doyle’s first recorded release in nearly fifteen years. Already reaping critical hails from both sides of the pond, Invisible Oranges vows, “it will be very difficult for any band to release a better album than this one in 2015,” further gushing, “The glacially paced ‘Empires Of Dust’ evokes Monotheist-era Celtic Frost with some post-punk elements, while ‘Unnamed’ imagines a world where the Melvins play black metal. The album’s crown jewel is the eleven-minute ‘La Mano Poderosa,’ which begins life as pure stoner Sleep worship then slowly, deliberately morphs into a noise rock jam buried under layers of metal distortion and Bonham drums. When the song’s coda comes back to (and augments) the opening riff it feels like Godzilla returning to the ocean. Like the most iconic albums, this one reveals hidden nuances and elements with every listen.”
Comments Doyle of third movement, “Unnamed,” “One of the hardest questions to honestly ask oneself is, ‘Who am I?’ People move through life attaching labels to themselves, and to others. It’s human nature for you to call yourself a motorcycle rider if you ride motorcycles. We tend to attach the things that we do — our jobs, our actions — to our identity of who we think we are as individuals. By doing so, we are selling ourselves way too short by labeling our existence. The song ‘Unnamed’ is about letting go of false perceptions of ourselves and others in order to be truly open and free from the shackles of perception.”
Adds NPR, “Doyle’s ears must have absorbed the past decade of heavy where the quiet-to-ear-splitting-loud dynamic dominated, but like his Pacific Northwest brothers in YOB, there is purpose in its movement. After a minute and a half of moody guitar delay, the distorted downbeat aided by bassist Peggy Doyle is an air cannon to the chest. Do whatever you need to clear the space, but turn the volume as high as it can go – you deserve it. The robotic crunch comes out of Godflesh’s Streetcleaner, diced up like carrots with a Japanese knife by drummer Dave French (The Anunnaki) and briefly spun out of orbit by Doyle’s rubbery Jeff Hanneman-like flourishes. Doyle also flexes some serious vocal prowess, howling like a grizzly bear throughout and chanting through panned guitars in the final minutes. In eight minutes, ‘Unnamed’ is a hulking monster that maybe just wants a hug … at least until Doyle lets out one last 20-second, searing croak.”
Free yourself with “Unnamed,” now playing at NPR at THIS LOCATION.
You can also get crushed by the sounds of “La Mano Poderosa” heavying up the airwaves of Classic Rock at THIS LOCATION and “Lava,” still crushing Decibel HERE.
BROTHERS OF THE SONIC CLOTH will bring their sonic rumble to the stage this April with a special record release show at The Columbia City Theater in Seattle. Additional live performances are in the plotting stages and will be announced in the coming weeks.
BROTHERS OF THE SONIC CLOTH:
4/18/2015 The Columbia City Theater – Seattle, WA [info]
Out TODAY in Europe and tomorrow in North America, order Brothers Of The Sonic Cloth on CD or LP at THIS LOCATION.
“The cover says it all: a molten sun cannonballs into a blackened landscape, spraying lava as it careers into finality… From the first chord, Brothers Of The Sonic Cloth demand that the volume dial go up as far as you can get it. A range of musical forms lurch out of the speakers – at times some of the riffs head toward Sunn O))) territory, or the Melvins at their most molasses-thick, but there’s none of the disinterest in rocking out that some denizens of guitar music’s outer reaches can sometimes exhibit.” – Digital Fix
“The riffs and rhythm section are hypnotic. There is nothing short or sweet about this album. Most of the songs are quite long and sound lovingly like chainsaws dipped in tar. Some of the best stoner metal to come out in some time.” – Glacially Musical
“If you’ve ever wondered what might have happened if The Pixies had turned into flesh-eating zombies right after they released Surfer Rosa, your wait is over. Because they probably would have sounded like BROTHERS OF THE SONIC CLOTH.” — Echoes And Dust
“…so tasty, it’ll have you unashamedly coming back for seconds, and thirds, and fourths, and dessert, and a cheese course, and just one tiny little wafer thin mint…” – Drowned In Sound
“After 15 years of relative silence, it’s good to have Tad Doyle back and in such fine form. God’s balls, This is heavy shit.” – MusicOMH
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