SARGENT HOUSE

Blood Year Artwork:

Blood Year Tracklist: 01. Hunter Moon 02. Arluck 03. Milano 04. Kohokia 05. Ghost on High 06. Sinaia 07. Quartered

Russian Circles Tour Dates: 09/11 — Madison, WI @ High Noon Saloon * 09/12 — Minneapolis, MN @ Cedar Cultural Center * 09/14 — Bozeman, MT @ Rialto Bozeman * 09/16 — Seattle, WA @ Neumos * 09/17 — Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom * 09/19 — San Francisco, CA @ August Hall * 09/20 — Ventura, CA @ Discovery Ventura * 09/21 — Los Angeles, CA @ The Teragram Ballroom * 09/23 — Mesa, AZ @ The Nile * 09/24 — Santa Fe, NM @ Meow Wolf * 09/25 — Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theater * 09/28 — Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall * 10/18 — Grand Rapids, MI @ The Pyramid Scheme + 10/19 — Detroit, MI @ El Club + 10/20 — Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Palace + 10/21 — Montreal, QC @ Theatre Fairmount + 10/23 — Portsmouth, NH @ 3S ArtSpace + 10/24 — Cambridge, MA @ The Sinclair + 10/26 — Brooklyn, NY @ Warsaw + 10/27 — Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer + 10/29 — Washington, DC @ Union Stage + 10/30 — Richmond, VA @ The Broadberry + 11/01 — Durham, NC @ Motorco Music Hall + 11/02 — Charlotte, NC @ Neighborhood Theatre + 11/03 — Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade + 11/04 — New Orleans, LA @ One Eyed Jack’s + 11/06 — Houston, TX @ The Secret Group + 11/08 — Austin, TX @ Levitation 11/09 — Dallas, TX @ Deep Ellum Art Company 11/11 — St. Louis, MO @ Delmar Hall +

TALK ABOUT THE FIRST TIME YOU HEARD SLIPKNOT'S SELF-TITLED ALBUM, AND HOW YOU DISCOVERED IT. GEORGE CLARKE It was the summer following sixth grade and I had been spending most of it at my friend Jared's house. We were in his bedroom listening to Life Is Peachy and I was singing along to the CD into a pillow, trying to convince him that we should start a band. His older brother came into the room laughing at us. He asked if we wanted to hear "some real shit," then played us "Wait and Bleed."

WHAT DOES SLIPKNOT MEAN TO YOU? Slipknot was an album that was very formative for me that also became a gateway to more extreme, more underground metal. I remember reading Hit Parader or Circus, seeing titles like [Slayer's] Reign in Blood or [Cannibal Corpse's] "Hammer Smashed Face," then going from there.

HOW, IF AT ALL, DID THE BAND'S FIRST ALBUM INFLUENCE YOUR OWN CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT, OR THE WAY YOU THOUGHT ABOUT WRITING MUSIC? What excited me then that has gone on to impress me further as I get older, is how immersive their approach is. Every detail is constructed with so much intent. They're masterful at developing and maintaining their own world.

DID YOU HAVE A FAVORITE MASK OR MEMBER OF THE BAND AT THE TIME? HAS THAT CHANGED OVER THE YEARS? Mick, always.

WAS IT IMPORTANT TO YOU THAT THE BAND WORE MASKS AND JUMPSUITS LIKE THEY DID? For a young fan who had never seen that before, I loved it. I remember reading theories about who the members were and going online to find photos of them backstage at Ozzfest or Tattoo the Earth, but they were always good about covering their faces with their hands. I'm not sure my intrigue would have been the same had the mystery not been there.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SLIPKNOT TRACK, AND WHY? I always loved "Tattered & Torn," maybe the most demented track on the album. "Surfacing" was the anthem, though.

IS SLIPKNOT SOMETHING YOU REGULARLY GO BACK AND LISTEN TO? OR DOES IT REPRESENT A CERTAIN PERIOD OF TIME IN YOUR HISTORY? They're an important band for my early years of music discovery, and while I don't listen to the album as regularly as I once did, seeing those songs live still gives me that spark.

27. KING WOMAN

While a band like Bloody Hammers focuses on the woodsy goth of the East Coast, King Woman is all about the yawning goth of California. Both the north and south of the state are represented in the band’s music — the clammy, overcast experimental side of their hometown San Francisco, but also ample doses of Los Angeles’s sun-razed wasteland. The perfect band for a long drive heading to something sinister.

6. DEAFHEAVEN

Though polarizing to say the least, San Franciscan black metallers Deafheaven have left an undeniable footprint on modern metal. While their 2011 debut Roads To Judah got them noticed, it was 2013’s gigantic Sunbather that earned them their legacy. The group took the raw energy of black metal and combined it with the beautiful crescendos and atmosphere found in post rock and shoegaze, creating a record that could only be properly described as a nightmare disguised as a dream. Love or hate them, you can’t deny the massive impact this band has had on metal as a whole.

5. MUTOID MAN

Brooklyn supergroup Mutoid Man have done something many metal fans might have considered unlikely: they’ve made speed metal important. Rather than fall back on traditional anthems about breaking laws and chasing strange, the trio pen delicious, riveting tunes about addiction, depression, and keeping your head together. 2017’s War Moans proved to us that a band can be traditional and ridiculous while grabbing us by the heartstrings.

It looked and felt so natural. Her hands led the way; everything else just followed suit. Matheson-Margullis’ thundering tom-tom work (a tom-tom drum is a cylindrical drum with no snares) is inspired by Melvins’ drummer Dale Crover. But when you watch her play, it’s obvious that she’s also deeply inspired by her Native American heritage. Matheson-Margullis is Puyallup (a tribe from Washington) and grew up going to powwows and learning native drumming styles.

It’s also no surprise that her favorite record is Melvins’ Gluey Porch Treatments (1987). Black Sabbath’s 1970 self-titled album and Botch’s Faction (1995) also made her Top Three. Her unique style blends perfectly with the guitarwork of vocalist Ben Verellen (brother of Dave Verellen, member of Botch, Roy, and Narrows). With the uber-talented Dana James on bass, they create some drool-worthy sludge-metal, post-hardcore, melodic rock. Whatever you call it, it’s demanding, forceful, and mesmerizing.

The Seattle band has released five studio albums—Night Terror (2008), Weatherhead (2011), Sleepwalking Sailors (2014), Stillicide (2016), and, most recently, Noctiluca (2019). All three members contribute to the writing process, which allows different dynamics to influence their heaviness.

The trio opened the night with some new material—Noctiluca tracks “Interachnid” and “Beat Up.” Then it was time for one of their most notable songs, “Pleasure Center,” off Sleepwalking Sailors. Verellen’s soothing voice quickly shifted into a resounding roar. It’s what the crowd was waiting for.

Helms Alee touched upon most records in their catalog. Playing “Tumescence” (Sleeping Sailors), Matheson-Margullis backed up Verellen’s deep, Maynard-like screams. Next, the slow atmospheric guitar intro of “Pretty as Pie” (Weatherhead) gently teased the crowd before tossing them down a rabbit hole of doom. Helms Alee navigates unprecedented waters — sometimes calm, sometimes chaotic. It’s the reason they close each gig with more fans that they started with.

After playing “Andromenous” (Stillicide), they dipped back into new stuff, like “Play Dead,” “Lay Waste, Child,” and “Spider Jar.” The crowd hung their heads or stared wide-eyed as the night went on. James flipped her curly hair and slid her fingers down the neck of her bass. Verellen’s long curls covered his face as his screamed into his mic. A sweaty Matheson-Margullis smiled at the crowd as she gripped her drumsticks, ready to end the night on a high note. They closed with Galloping Mind Fuk (Stillicide), which showcased Verellen’s relentless riffs, James weird bass lines, and Matheson-Margullis drumming annihaltion.

Setlist: Interachnid I Beat Up I Pleasure Center I Tumescence I Pretty as Pie I Andromenous I Play Dead I Spider Jar I Lay Waste, Child I Untoxicated I Galloping Mind Fuk