Posted 25/06/2014 by Paul Chave on sonicuprising.co.uk

Band Members: Mark Keds vocals/guitar, Jerome Alexandre guitar/vocals, Mark McCarthy/bass and Trevor Sharpe/drums Label/Management status: Independent / Speedowax Latest Release(s): 13 track LP/CD/Download “Dark Is The Night” 30/06/2014 Photography: studio shot by Hannah Daisy.

Summer 2014 is here and so far, its so good in the UK. I will type that sentence again just for the benefit of our American friends who may be scoffing at the notion that us Brits experience a respite from all the flooding. Summer 2014 is here and so far, it’s so good in the UK! Although the heat has sometimes been intense; almost painfully intense at times. Distorting my senses during my time at work and causing great submissive misery to my friends and I who suffer with the dreaded hay fever. Sometimes, we discuss the temptation to roll around on the floor and just murmur incoherent rubbish to the ceiling, periodically blaming any noun or individual entity which appears into our thoughts, such as Luis Suarez, Keith Chegwin or Blanka from Street Fighter. Who’s to say I’m suffering slightly as I type this? My doctor did warn me not to consume tic tacs alongside those antihistamines.

Anyway. The bitter sweet, crippling caress of the heat fits nicely into the sonic dimensions of the subject of this interview. DeadCuts are a band that I was introduced to through a friend while I compiled the Speedowax Constant Rotation: 2 compilation. I had never heard of the band, nor of Mark Keds, the ex front man of Senseless Things; who also helped Doherty and Barat co-pen ‘The Libertines’ most famous hit ‘Can’t Stand Me Now’. The band’s material surprised me. I was honestly expecting another throw down, chugging hardcore song that fit nicely with the rest of the album’s material, but the wave of surprise was as refreshing as the tide of noise which showered over my ears. ‘Pray for jail’ was a pleasurable listen. Part surf-psychedelia, mixed with the sinister snarl of Ked’s vocals, covered in the glitter of broken glass from bottles dropped, thrown and plunged. The experience left me thirsty for more. A few 45”s and a pre order of their new album later and I was hooked. It seems my own compilation had actually persuaded myself to seek out the records; instead of persuading the audience I had actually intended to release it to.

With the sweet nothings out of the way, I am proud to say I can present you with an interview with the band. This conversation took place between myself, the band’s two main creative forces Mark Keds and Jerome Alexandre, although it would be unfair not to mention the splendid sonic contributions from bassist and Mark McCarthy drummer Trevor Sharpe, who unfortunately couldn’t contribute to this feature. In this interview, I talk to the duo about Rock and Roll antics and the romanticism buried within the cracks of their wall of sound.

- It seems a fair assumption to say that the band has called London home. You have played your first shows mostly in the city and have made a positive impact in the musical community. But how much influence do you personally think a city can play on a band’s sound? Would you feel like the band would possibly sound different if you had settled and played in a different environment?

Jerome: The fast hectic pace of London is definitely reflected in the cut-up lyrics and word play we employ, there is a sense of urgency in our music that could only come from living in a big city.

Mark: Deadcuts is the sound of London-a beautiful, chaotic discordant clash of rhythm, melody and styles.

- You are a band which features members who were all part of past projects. Generally speaking, how do you feel DeadCuts is different to these projects? Do the members have different aims, goals and expectations when compared to those you may have had in your previous projects?

Jerome: Its better…ha-ha and in the past I could never listen to my own music for pleasure. There is a sense of completion with Deadcuts whereas in The Skuzzies I was very reactionary and fighting against myself. As far as Goals and Ambition goes I wouldn’t work with anyone that isn’t 100 per cent committed.

Mark: Deadcuts is different in so many ways to how I’ve worked in the past – music is a calling for me not a career – when I started out I just wanted to travel to new places cos I’d never been anywhere, the music was almost incidental and quite derivative. In Deadcuts i get to make write great songs and make great records – something I feel I never achieved with my previous bands who were always better live than in the studio.

- Its fair to say that a new audience base has been established and very welcoming to your music. But in relation to that previous question, how have long time fans of bands like ‘Senseless Things’, ‘The Wonder Stuff’ and ‘Sylvain, Sylvain’ reacted and what feedback have they given you as a band?

Mark: We’re not concerned with what’s gone before too much, as an artist Deadcuts is the perfect vehicle for me to express myself. It’s a unique sound – and from what i gather it’s going down well not just with the new audience we’re building here in London but around the world – it’s been great using apps like Soundcloud to air the demos and people have been able to follow the growth of the band creatively.

Jerome: What’s great is there are people who have seen those past projects we’ve done and like us but there is also a whole generation of kids who never got the chance to see many legendary bands but tell us how happy they are to see a classic band like Deadcuts , like they feel lucky to be part of something that they feel is missing from most bands.

- I’ve read about some your escapades about your antics during your time in previous bands and I have to say that you are the most ‘Rock and Roll’ band that I have ever interviewed. But seriously though, what advice can you give younger musicians to keep riding the exciting and momentous wave of being in a rock and roll without falling into some dark places?

Jerome: The only advice I can give is Say what you mean and Mean What you say, connect and touch people, Work fucking hard. As for the Dark places if you’re an artist that is intent of revealing themselves within music I’d say its pretty hard not to fall into dark places. The artists I enjoy usually did.

Mark: Advice? Don’t listen to musicians!

- Your music to me sounds like ‘Blake Schwarzenbach of Jawbreaker fronting Swervedriver. Now you don’t have to agree with that, but can you inform me about DeadCuts’ influences. Who or what has been most inspirational to this project?

Mark: Blake’s music is heavily inspired by British music – he’s a prolific writer and great lyricist so not a bad comparison there – DeadCuts use guitars to build atmosphere and soundscapes in a way that’s owes more to film, nature and the city and if we do sound like someone else the first thing I do is try to change that. It’s important to me that DeadCuts sound fresh, original and as dissimilar to everyone else out there as possible. Lyrically we have more in common with hip hop bands than rock – the words are always what come first in the song writing process with this band.

Jerome: Yeah Soundtracks and Films are way more inspirational as there aren’t any limitations, Kenneth Angers films have always stirred my imagination as well as Alejandro Jodowrosky, Cocteau’s “Blood of a Poet”and an incredible movie by Richard Stanley entitled “The Secret Glory” about the Archaeologist Otto Rahn. I’ve been reading Carl Jung’s “Man and his Symbols” and that’s been definitely affecting our song writing process of Late.

- There’s also an undercurrent of brooding romanticism in your music too. Is this intentional or is this interview trying to hear between the brick join lines of you wall of sound?

Mark: The best music goes straight to the heart and more than anyone else I’ve played with before DeadCuts are able to articulate my songs in a very physical way – the music hits on so many different levels, it goes beyond anything I could intentionally conjure up – it’s a chemical thing, eternal and yes romantic too.

Jerome: They say that if you have a temperament that’s fiery or if you’re prone to anger-then that anger eventually enters the next stage which is Melancholy, And Perhaps as we’ve grown as artists were peeling back layers and reflecting new stages of emotion.

- So you are close to releasing your debut album through Speedowax records. What does the future hold for you in terms of ambitions and goals? What do you also think bands will expect from DeadCuts throughout the summer of 2014?

Mark: We’re deep into the writing and demoing the follow up LP to Dark Is The Night already – we’ll be playing a couple of the new songs at Hyde Park this summer with the Libertines and want to get the next record recorded and released this year.

Jerome: Its constantly evolving .One thing for certain is that more people will be exposed to Deadcuts , We will be touring in the Autumn and bringing our songs to the world.

Photography: New Alaska

Posted 03/12/2013 by Paul Chave on sonicuprising.co.uk Based in: Stourbridge (West Midlands) Label: Speedowax records

Hello there unsuspecting audience! It’s been ages since the last Decent Exposure. So once again I must apologise for the lateness of this post as my teaching commitments have been smothering every chance I have to contribute to this site. If this is your first time in reading one of my articles, then welcome to the abstract world of Decent Exposure. My mission is to conduct ‘credible’ interviews with talented, yet unexposed emerging acts treating them with the dignity and respect of any other established artist. After all, most of them work as hard (and even harder) than some of your most favourite bands and this is what we constantly aim to convey here at Sonic Uprising. Although I must definitely admit here that I have cheated by choosing to interview acts that are technically the offspring of cult hardcore act ‘History of the hawk’ (a band I have focused on in the past in an interview Adam Beckley).

‘History of the hawk’ was an essential and relentless act, who singed a small, cult shaped hole in the West Midlands music scene. Yet sadly, the band disbanded in 2012 shortly after the release of their classic album ‘Future Ruins’. Since then, members have re emerged in heavier forms such as Opium Lord, Adam Beckley’s post rock project and last but not least New Alaska. The band consists of ex ‘Hawk’ guitarist Pete Stanley on guitar/vocals, Rory Beckett (drums), Tim Hackett (bass) and Dan watts guitar/vocals.

New Alaska are a band who dedicates a lot of time and effort into their sound craft. Yet their ethics are firm after releasing three EP’s at a ‘pay what you want’ rating charge’. I highly recommend this band if you are either a ‘HOTH’ fan or a general fan of post hardcore. It sounds brash and purely hyperbolic to say. But I caught up with ‘my new favourite local band’ during a recent email interview with front man Mr Stanley.

- So currently, you have released three EP’s as a band to this present date. For those who don’t know much about your band. What were your intentions for starting New Alaska and how have you met these intentions since the band’s inception?

P: When we started out I was really interested in making a band that was influenced by Wire. I didn’t know if I knew anyone who’d dig that or want to do it but decided to just get something together as soon as I could. Not a complete rip off though, Elastica managed that along with most of Britpop in the mid 90′s but something that was really angular and stripped back with some leftfield leanings. I assume (the Derby band) Cable were big fans too because I’m in debt to them as well. My old bands have all come about quickly and spewed as much music out as we could. This one I wanted to get it right, take a bit longer, refine things. Scrap ideas that don’t work (loads). We had a few people early on urging us that we should gig after a couple of months but for me it was massively important, even if we only did one gig ever, to get it right. What’s the rush? I’d just stepped out of a whirlwind of collective and self pressure chaos with the band before. We took our time and just did things the way WE wanted.

- The sound of your music obviously reminds me of the late eighties/early 90s wave of post hardcore which came from bands such as Drive Like Jehu, Nation of Ulysses and more obviously, Fugazi. The element which creates this bridge of comparison is in your approach to the vocals, which sometimes take on an almost ‘monotone yelp’ approach, reminding me of the bands I listed above. I always thought that these bands adopted this style to encourage the participation of the audience. I also thought that this was done to prompt the audience to prioritise the contents of the lyrics over the melody (aka Guy Picciotto-isms). Would you say you have adopted the same practise when trying voice your own opinions or passions within your music with the hope that your lyrics may resonate easier with the audience such as these bands often did? Or was this just an act ‘in tribute’ to these bands?

P: I wish I had a voice as notable and unique as Picciotto and MacKaye but this is all I have. I’m a huge Fugazi fan, their passion was real for their music, singing about things that were passionate to them. I found in older band’s I was working my style out until I felt more comfortable ‘singing’ firstly, then adapting it into a more shouty style. I’m not so self conscious now ha ha. New Alaska is not a political band, so our message won’t be the same as Fugazi. I write about history, mortality, science & religion’s past influence on the world amongst other silly things. No one’s ever discussed my lyrics with me so I don’t know if anyone really cares what I’m yelping about ha ha. As for the crowd participation part. I always give my words away with the cd’s, as it’s nice to understand what’s going on but UK crowds are quite reserved. That’s not a criticism, it’s just an observation. Abroad they are mental. We need to let go a bit more. I’m the same when I watch a show, I did punch the air shouting the lyrics at Cable’s reformation show in London though. One too many overpriced lagers.

- Thank you for patiently refraining from shooting yourself in the face after reading that question. I would like to say that I am a massive fan of the band and other Stourbridge acts such as ‘History of the Hawk’ that you played in. I interviewed Adam Beckley roughly a year ago who state that the split was very amicable. So I am not searching for ‘extensions of gossip’. But I am curious to find out why you decided to leave the rougher style that the band played previously in favour of your new material with New Alaska. Also, do you think your work in HOTH influences your New Alaska material?

P: Hawk was meant to be a Hardcore punk band I think when we started. With some open to outside influence, not restrictive to the genre. Not this vest and tattoo, chest beating stuff you know that all sounds the same. Just something cool. Like Refused, Drive like Jehu and bands like that. We got likened to them a lot but we never set out directly as them as an influence. Least I didn’t. By the end of me leaving it was swaying towards heavier stuff which I’m not keen on playing. It’s cool but not my bag. I look crap in corpse paint anyway ha ha. As you can see the other guys did Opium Lord which was their natural next step. I just carried on writing the same way as I did before with songs like ‘Arab Spring’ and ‘X is the New Y’ I came in with the main riffs for.

With New Alaska I decided that we could write something fast, furious & melodic. So i set about doing that, 6 months in I decided to stop writing at home too. Writing with the band as a whole is way more rewarding, sometimes it would start around a riff I’ll start playing, other times Dan will have something and we’ll lock in on it. Rory and Tim have this 6th sense where they just play together like they have already written tune before we got there and me and Dan just lock in and finish it. As a whole music is a learning experience. People become better at it the more experience they have. You should never write off the past. You learnt something. Most of all about who not to make music with!

- Again, by reverting back to talk about your place of residence (home to Ned’s Atomic Dustbin) and it’s recent emergence of quality acts, would it be fair to say that Stourbridge has a stand alone musical scene that can hold its own within the country? Or do you think that Stourbridge has consistently been making good music even after the days of NAD to today?

P: Stourbridge I guess has always been a creative town. Less so since they closed the art college, but it still seems to throw up great music in all genres. I was thinking about this the other day. Is it more the case that people feel more comfortable to express themselves musically here than other places or is it just people are attracted to it from out of town to be creative? No idea myself. I’ve met some great people playing music over the years. Most are from Stourbridge, just seems to go on year after year. I’m hoping by the time we are at home with our kids, the next batch of musicians are doing something interesting.

As for scene’s, this is purely a journalistic idea think. When Ned’s, PWEI and Wonderstuff were at their height they were playing Birmingham & further afield, doing their own thing. The town was just a common factor, where they lived/practiced/hung out. Least that’s what’ve come to be told. I loved that London New Cross scene the NME invented where they were too lazy to look for good bands and just write about the indie bands in their after-work local boozer. Birmingham doesn’t have much of a scene these days but has a collection of amazing bands who live there. I’d rather that than being pigeonholed into something we didn’t opt into in the first place.

- Do you ever feel an anxiety that the city may one day become too big and leading to such side effects as the invitation of ‘freak show’ pay to play promoters? Or are you happy for rise of the Stourbridge scene and its current exposure to places outside of the city?

P: There’s no chance of that happening, even though we have a MEGA Tesco now. It used to be a Cathedral that gave a place city status! I hate pay to play. It should be banned. Birmingham has (or had, I hope he’s stopped!) a promoter who does those gigs at a pub in the Jewellery Quarter. Hamfistedly shoving all kinds of bands together, hoping more is more, bring your mom and dad it’s £6 entry, then I’m off to count my money, you lose. We all fell foul to it as youngsters. Hopefully people these days are wiser. Luckily no one does it in Stourbridge. In fact hardly anyone puts on gigs (Carnage Club do awesome ones thankfully) this is why there’s always something decent to see because bands take it upon themselves to make their own entertainment. If the Mitre pub pulled its finger out and got a PA, it would be great. I heard they started charging for the room which is lame, seeing they offer nothing else in return.

Towns local to us do great gigs too. We played a Baseline gig with Women and Tomorrow come the Wolves in Dudley not so long ago. Was a brilliant night, great beer, people and music. Then we played Worcester last at the Firefly for Surprise Attacks. The night was so well organised and attended by friendly, amazing people. Amazing promoters! We now count them as our friends. What I’ve found is good people put good gigs on. Birmingham promoters too are on that list, they manage to get ace out of town bands on with the best local ones. They actually promote their shows and get people there. Promoters, If you are doing it because you want to make loads of money, take up another job. Cliche as it is, it’s all about the music.

- You have had a good working relationship with ‘Speedowax records’. How did this start and why have you constantly selected the label to release your material?

P: Speedowax has been around since 1996 and Rich who runs it is pretty much a legend of Birmingham and the West Midlands. He’s worked in record shops his whole life and now runs his own. I was already good friends with him anyway and helped him out with record sleeve design when I could for Speedowax. He was keen to put us out with a French band, Chestnut Road on his label as they are ace. We would like to do an EP at some point but it depends on if Rich wants to/we can afford to split the costs etc. one thing we know is Speedowax will be still there long after we are gone!

- It’s nearly Christmas soon and that means a new year can only be soon to follow. So let’s prematurely talk about 2014. Have you got any plans for the following year?

P: 2013 has been such a good year for us. When we set out I told the guys that I wouldn’t be pushing them to play gigs every week, I wouldn’t ask a lot of money of them to achieve what we wanted and that we would practice once a week so to keep our lives uncluttered. Everything has happened the way we planned. We have only booked one gig off our own back this year as all the others have been offers which is just nuts. Just glad people like what we are doing. It’s a bonus really because we would just make music anyway (aided or hindered by my Robert Pollard complex). 2014, all I can ask from next year is more of the same. There’s no plan to ever get “big” or get a manager or PR. I’d turn down a record contract if someone thought we were marketable enough as we are all happy enough as we are in our jobs & careers. I’m hoping we can maybe make another EP really soon or an album. Both are achievable. But we will see, we just carry on, enjoying playing and meeting up each week. You can’t ask much more than that. As soon as you start taking it really seriously the countdown clock starts that signals the end. Relationships break down and resentment grows. Just go with the flow and everything else falls in line. If it doesn’t, there’s always tomorrow to make sure it does.

New Alaska’s Plug deck

Photography: Katja Ogrin

Posted 14/01/2013 by Paul Chave on Sonic Uprising

Based in: Stourbridge, West Midlands

Past Projects: Solo Material, Opium Lord, History of the Hawk

Label/Management status: New Solo tape ‘Blank Screens of Hope’ released by Norwegian Label Koppklys. New Opium Lord EP being released by Thirty Days of Night

I’ve never really cared for Biology. My band mate holds a degree in Conservation Biology and it fascinates me how he has such a passion for this area of science. Personally, I’m more of a physics man myself. Yet I respect the work of Darwin. Especially that notion of the species that survive are ones that adapt and all that. I think that it’s a notion that can be applied within all areas of life and it’s damn well useful to follow if you want to be a successful and respected musician. Therefore, adaption for me doesn’t mean crying over the split of Stourbridge based math hardcore giants ‘History of the Hawk’, a band capable of rivalling Architects or at a push early Cave In, with their excellent blend of complex hardcore. Instead it means moving on to look at the fruits that have fallen from the withering tree of ‘T’ Hawk’.

From the ashes of the band’s departure surfaces the calming ambient soundscapes of ex Hawk member Adam Beckley’s music. Cynics and hipsters will simplify his music to the tag of post rock (the genre where nothing happens for most of a constructed song), yet I feel that Adam’s music is worth more than this tag. For Adam uses nature itself as his instrument, recording natural sound effects ranging from field noises and including the more urban sounds of busking musicians and bands. From these effects, he creates stunning musical tapestries, almost transporting the listener to an actual location or time of when the piece was actually recorded.

So without further diversion. I present an interview with Adam Beckley a man who humbly talks about his craft, the reception he has received from his previous fan base and his delight at playing a set alongside Esmerine (Godspeed You Black Emperor, Silver Mount Zion) within St Paul’s Church in Birmingham.

- I’ve spoken previous to members of the Danish noise rock band Hand of Dust about the choice to record their material onto tape. It seems to be a medium that is regaining popularity with underground bands in terms of releasing their material. What attracted yourself to releasing your latest offering ‘Blank Screens of Hope’ on tape and does it bother you that the format is currently quite an alienated medium despite its resurgence?

I buy a lot of tapes myself and the attraction of putting it out in this way was that I’ve really been excited by some of the things I’ve bought. It’s also a way to create a physical media which is affordable but can look great and correspond with the music. In regards to the medium seeming alienating, I think it’s also important to offer people downloads where possible, but offer that physical media as well, for anyone who wants it. I prefer to buy physical media so it’s important to me to offer that sort of package.

- So considering your last musical role was with math core giants History of the Hawk, you are now making music within the extremely contrasting genre of ambient music. What attracted you to this genre and what was the catalyst to encourage you to get involved?

I think I started making ambient stuff around the time I joined Hawk, maybe a bit earlier, but couldn’t really give it much focus. In 2012 I decided that I wanted to do more with it so played shows around doing Hawk ones and with any spare time I had worked on the music. Although busy, it was awesome to do, I remember in April going to Groningen in the Netherlands where I did a really cool show for this group called Wishful Music, and then getting back and having to start a Hawk Euro tour within a day, so it was a lot of fun.

What attracts me to ambient stuff is that when I listen to music I get really excited about cool textures of sound, and ambient music for me has a focus on that, there also doesn’t really feel as though there are any time constraints you can spend a lot of time expanding a sound or just creating a mantra out of it.

- Have you received any feedback from old ‘HOTH’ fans in regards to your recent material?

Most of the people I’ve talked to about it who were more familiar with HOTH have been really positive about the stuff. HOTH fans have been really supportive throughout the time the band were together and have been really interested in what we are all up to now so a big cheers to them!

- I have noticed that you played St Paul’s Church in Birmingham and have released the recording of the performance on your band camp page. I was listening to the performance and I found it to be extremely ethereal. How did you manage to earn the chance to play at this location?

That show was particularly awesome. The Birmingham promoters Capsule, asked me to play. It was in support of the band Esmerine (Godspeed You Black Emperor, Silver Mount Zion), who are an ace band. It was a really special show, and the kind of thing where I’d feel really lucky if I get the opportunity to play a show like that again. I was really pleased with how that recording came out to as you can hear the natural reverb from the room, it was great.

- To help someone understand who has not seen you perform. How would you go about crafting a live performance? Would you use extra performers to help in creating the textures or do you strictly believe in just keeping it solo as an ‘Adam Beckley show’?

I’m open to the idea of playing with others, but at the moment it’s just me. Playing on your own has the advantage that you can be quite loose, and take the sounds where you want to, obviously though it’s also nice to play off people. Usually live I take the raw samples that I use and build on them. So I like to use those samples as a kind of base so I can improve with the different textures. I use delays and distortions live to, so I imagine in a live setting it can sometimes have a bit more of an intense sound.

- How do you create your pieces? Are they all based on arrangements you have constructed or is sampling involved to a certain degree?

Usually the main bulk of my stuff is made using field recordings. Including the more melodic bits. For example, with ‘Groningen City Band’ (on Blank Screens of Hope) I recorded a band who were playing in the city centre for some cultural event, I was standing about 500 metre’s away and used about 5 seconds of it to create a looped synthetic sound. So basically I just deconstruct sounds that I find when I’m out somewhere, so I take my recorder wherever I go just in case I hear something cool.

- So what will 2013 hold for you? Will you be performing any more shows and do you have any more additional material ready to release?

I’m hoping that I can do another release this year, which I just started to put together in the Christmas holiday. Once that is done I’ll be hopefully doing more shows. Also due to now playing in the band Opium Lord (with Nath and Luke from History of the Hawk) we will be putting out an EP on Thirty Days of Night and will be doing some shows around that so hopefully it will be as busy as 2012!

Adam’s Plug Deck

http://www.adambeckley.tumblr.com

http://www.adambeckley.bandcamp.com

I

http://www.koppklys.blogspot.com

http://www.facebook.com/adambeckleymusic

http://www.facebook.com/opiumlord

Stripy, the cat who thinks he lives at our house, is finally getting his dues on the new No Marks / Deadcuts Split E.P.

The amount of response the new record has gotten in the few hours it's been up is astounding. Keep telling folks about it. Keep jamming it. Thank you.

WHR027  Opium Lord  The Calendrical Cycle - Prologue: The Healer

Side A - Heroin Swirls 5:47  Side B - Street Labs 3:43

Nathan James Coyle - Vocals  Neil Bailey - Bass  Adam Beckley - Guitar  Luke Fewtrell Bowers - Guitar  Bruce Goodenough - Drums

Opium Lord make desolate doom-sludge with a coal black heart. Filthy grooves meet abrasive noise to convey a menacing  atmosphere akin to Birmingham’s dodgiest drinking establishments.

Born out of the ashes of History of the Hawk (In At The Deep End Records) and Stinky Wizzleteat (Bad Egg Records) along with  post metal band Mothertrucker. Opium Lord have only been a proper band since early December 2012, in that time they got  signed to seminal British label Thirty Days Of Night Records, recorded their debut EP, caught the eye of experimental pioneers  Capsule offering the band a slot with Boris and radio play on the BBC Radio 1 Daniel P Carter Rock Show.

Influenced by acts such as Burning Witch, Scott Walker, Sleep, Swans and Floor, the band set out to carve their own style and  stamp their personal sound. Mixing brutal heaviness, grinding vocals with abrasive reverbed guitars to deliver a unique take on  doom metal.

“The Calendrical Cycle - Prologue: The Healer” is the band’s debut CDEP which orignally came out 11th March and sold out before it was  even released, it received extremely positive feedback from the press and propelled them to one of the hottest properties in the  genre. The EP is the first instalment of a three part series that will span a further two full length records.

Co-released with Speedowax Records, this 7" is a limited pressing of 100 copies on black vinyl, that comes in a handcut 300gsm recycled card sleeve, with design and layout created by Nathan James Coyle, and photography by Richard P J Lambert

Recorded at The Temple of Boom  Engineered by Chris Traverse  Assisted by Luke Fewtrell Bowers  Mastered by Dave Mitson, Mitsonian Institute  All in December 2012

www.facebook.com/opiumlord  [email protected]

www.witchhunterrecords.com  [email protected]