San Francisco Bay Area darkness-obsessed DIY indie label Sentient Ruin Laboratories is extremely proud and honoured to announce the release of Abstracter’s brand new second full-length album, in collaboration with Germany’s Vendetta Records and 7Degrees Records, Italy’s Shove Records, the UK’s COF Records and the US’s Fragile Branch Recordings and An Out Recordings.
Crafted in near-seclusion over the past two years, Wound Empire is a forty-five minute hallucinating voyage into a frightening wasteland of complete darkness-ridden heaviness. Spread across four, ten minute-long, massive slabs of obliterating crusted blackened doom, this new album by the Oakland band showcases a massive expansion upon their previous sound as seen on their critically praised debut album, Tomb of Feathers (which was released in 2012 on The Path Less traveled Records), and presents us with a greatly evolved and enhanced vision of Abstracter’s abyssal and crushing sound and of their grimness-injected sonic aesthetic.
Centered once again around the construction of lengthy, winding and abyssal build up and collapse progressions, Wound Empire this time also brings entirely new elements to the sonic palette of the band and of their staple massive and enveloping riffing, appearing to be driven by an almost insatiable darkness and by a sinister and primordial hunger for complete sonic annihilation.
Track list:
- Lightless (10:56)
- Open Veins (09:45)
- Cruciform (10:21)
- Glowing Wounds (11:10)
Drawing musical influence from legendary underground heavyweights like Godflesh, Swans, Amebix, Neurosis, His Hero is Gone, Blut Aus Nord, Dystopia, Beherit, Corrupted, Grief, and Darkthrone, Wound Empire is a concept work that once again sees the band dwell in its obsession for massive and crushing riffing, dismal and unsettling soundscapes, and with their fascination with concepts of human decline, cultural and industrial ruin, and complete social collapse.
Wound Empire was recorded and mixed between May 23 and June 13th 2014 at Earhammer Studios in Oakland, California by Greg “The Wizard of Doom” Wilkinson (Brainoil, Iron Lung, Pallbearer Lycus, Laudanum, High On Fire, Noothgrush, OM, Atriarch, Sleep, Worm Ouroboros, Vohl) and was mastered at Audiosiege Mastering studios in Portland, Oregon by Brad Boatright (Wolves in the Throne room, Culted, Oathbreaker, Dead in the Dirt, Nails, Sleep, Sunn O))) and countless others), and features beautiful artwork and packaging design by Kevin Gan Yuen of Bay Area cult blackened noise sorcerers Sutekh Hexen. With out a shadow of a doubt this is a release to look out for in the underground and in the realm of all things heavy and dark, and is also an absolute must for any fan of bands like Altar of Plagues, Inter Arma, Thou, Samothrace, Amenra, Drudkh, Tragedy, Coffinworm, Indian, Unkind, Wolvhammer, Unearthly Trance and the such.
Wound Empire will be released in the US and Europe on February 10th 2015 in the following formats:
DIGITAL:
- via BandCamp, pre-order available now (WORLDWIDE)
CASSETTE TAPE:
- Sentient Ruin Laboratories (US)
- An Out Recordings (US)
12’ VINYL LP:
- Fragile Branch Recordings (US),
- Vendetta Records (EU/DE)
- 7Degrees Records (EU/DE)
- Shove Records (EU/IT)
CD:
- COF Records (Church Ov Fuck) (UK)
DIGITAL:
- Sentient Ruin Laboratories (US)
All formats will bear beautiful artwork crafted for the band by Kevin Gan Yuen.
official | facebook | bandcamp | soundcloud