[photo by Invisible Hour]
The Camel, The Lion, The Child is the eight-track, near hour-long sound excursion from Seattle-based desolating progressive doomgaze collective, HE WHOSE OX IS GORED. Tracked at Red Room and Ex Ex Audio in Seattle by Robert Cheek (Serial Hawk, Noise-A-Tron etc.) with additional recording at Avast Studios with Randall Dunn (Sunn O))), Earth, Wolves In The Throne Room etc.), mixed by Matt Bayles (Isis, Mastodon etc.) and mastered by frequent collaborator, Blake Bickel, The Camel, The Lion, The Child is at once sonically and conceptually absorbing. HE WHOSE OX IS GORED – members Brian McClelland (guitar, vocals), Lisa Mungo (synths, keyboards, vocals), Mike Sparks (bass) and John O’Connell (drums) – transcend musical boundaries with a meticulous yet organically-implemented amalgamation of technical guitar compositions and atmospheric synth over a pummeling rhythm section, the end result yielding a uniquely cinematic soundscape that paints a world ready to thrash and burn.
In advance of its official release via Bleeding Light Records on October 9th, today Cvlt Nation unveils the first official helping from the record in the form of “Omega.” “I need tunes to uplift my heavy soul. I need music to transport me to an unknown part of my reality. I need a riff that is as massive as my dark imagination,” issues the popular web portal. “I know what I need: to hear the new HE WHOSE OX IS GORED song ‘Omega’ eleven more times in a row, because it’s that damn good.”
Elaborates Mungo of the hymn, “‘Many heavy things are there for the spirit, the strong load-bearing spirit in which reverence dwelleth: for the heavy and the heaviest longeth its strength.’ ‘Omega’ kicks off the record conceptually, by taking only a few liberties unheard in prior releases. Placed first, her form ties together our past and present works rather effortlessly, and her temperament pays homage to the overall theme.”
Hear “Omega,” currently available for public appreciation via Cvlt Nation at THIS LOCATION.
HE WHOSE OX IS GORED will wage their sonic alchemy upon unsuspecting ears this weekend on a short bout of live dates sharing the stage with rock and roll juggernaut, Mutoid Man. Set to commence on August 22nd, the band will traverse seven cities (five with Mutoid Man) with additional live excursions in their plotting stages.
HE WHOSE OX IS GORED:
8/22/2015 Barboza – Seattle, WA w/ Mutoid Man
8/23/2015 Venue Nightclub – Vancouver, BC w/ Mutoid Man
8/24/2015 Hawthorne Theater Lounge – Portland, OR w/ Mutoid Man
8/25/2015 Starlite Lounge – Sacramento, CA
8/26/2015 Bottom Of The Hill – San Francisco, CA w/ Mutoid Man
8/27/2015 The Echo – Los Angeles, CA w/ Mutoid Man
8/29/2015 The Boreal – Eugene, OR
8/22/2015 Barboza – Seattle, WA w/ Mutoid Man
8/23/2015 Venue Nightclub – Vancouver, BC w/ Mutoid Man
8/24/2015 Hawthorne Theater Lounge – Portland, OR w/ Mutoid Man
8/25/2015 Starlite Lounge – Sacramento, CA
8/26/2015 Bottom Of The Hill – San Francisco, CA w/ Mutoid Man
8/27/2015 The Echo – Los Angeles, CA w/ Mutoid Man
8/29/2015 The Boreal – Eugene, OR
HE WHOSE OX IS GORED has been raising the brows of the underground masses with their eclectic, oft trance-inducing fusion of doom, prog rock, post-hardcore and psychedelic shoegaze since their inception in 2009. The band released their debut EP, Op Amps, later that year on their own Void Assault label. Featuring heavy guitars and atmospheric synth-centric soundscapes, the band managed to bend genres into a formidable crossover composite. In 2010, the obscure unit unleashed their Tad Doyle (TAD, Brothers Of The Sonic Cloth)-produced follow-up, Op Amps II: Into The Ethers. Through multiple tours and personnel shifts, the band continued to refine their sound and entered Seattle’s Red Room Studios with Chris Common. The resulting Nightshade EP was three tracks of crushing doomgaze, built on texture and aggression.
Following the release of their critically-adored, Bleeding Light Records-issued Rumors 7″ last year which Echoes And Dust called, “a sonic journey of crazy, intense energy,” Cvlt Nation likened to a, “frothing, boiling cauldron of doom, spilling forth expansive riffs, pummeling beats and haunting vocals,” and Steel For Brains praised noting, “For all the hazy prog-doom pretenders clogging up those atmospherics, HE WHOSE OX IS GORED offers something uniquely theirs without sacrificing the muscle of the music to arbitrary and tired techniques,” the band will undrape their highly-anticipated full-length debut this Fall.
HE WHOSE OX IS GORED‘s The Camel, The Lion, The Child will be released digitally and on limited edition vinyl (500 double gatefold LP) via Bleeding Light Records on October 9th, 2015 with Breathe Plastic Records (Netherlands) releasing a limited edition tape version of the production. Preorders are currently available at THIS LOCATION.
