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Reviewer: Brad at CD Baby
The vocals wrench out, a full on scream: "I woke up in an electroid contortion." The guitars hit heavy, hammering down on riffs that are sludgy but not slow. And then, the keyboards kick in. This is not your typical hybrid punk/metal album, and it's not just the unexpected keyboard/organ accompaniment that sets it apart. I've always felt the best music (metal, especially) comes from groups who, upon realization that they are fed up with their surrounding music scene, take it upon themselves to make things right and slay anyone who stands in their way. This appears to represent the mindset of this four piece as they tear through 17 tracks in a little over 30 minutes, barely stopping to take a breath. They describe their sound as "sci-fi death rock" and I suppose that's about right. There's also traces of hardcore in the execution of the songs, and the keys lend themselves to more of an industrial angle, so really, it's hard to nail down. The bottom line here is relentless intensity and an ambitious approach to thematic elements and lyricism. Who can resist the charm of a song called "Baptized In The Blood And Skin Of Donkeys?" - Brad
CASKET ARCHITECTS-Dance On The Death Nerve
Glacial Records
Casket Architects are a three piece hardcore punk outfit from NY who’ve successfully managed to capture the 80’s skate core sound in grand fashion. In fact, songs like Casket Architecture and Organ Donor not only fit nicely in today’s h/c landscape but would’ve sounded at home blasting out of a boom-box, sandwiched between classics like Agent Orange’s Bloodstains and Black Flag’s T.V. Party on some old school mix tape. From the start, Casket Architects separate themselves from the current pack with their metallic sound, grating vocals and bizarre lyrical journey into the land of science fiction / horror. Aside from a couple of short, instrumental filler tracks, Casket Architects have put out a solid release that’s worth checking out.
www.glacialrecords.com - Sam Adams
For the uninitiated, they are:
CASKET ARCHITECTS: One of the most insane live acts you could ever witness, this power trio formerly known as the Night Terrors creates a creative maelstrom that combines hints of bands as diverse as Melvins, Black Flag, Throbbing Gristle and the Locust. Drummer extraordinaire Annie Terror pummels her kit with unrelenting ferocity, while the double fronting threat of Evan and Mike thrash like men possessed. - unknown
BLASE DEBRIS, CASKET ARCHITECTS FEATURED IN NATIONAL PRESS RAVES
Horror punks Blase Debris will be featured in this summer's new issue of 'Loud, Fast Rules' Magazine as a full interview, with their track "Jersey Devil' included on the free CD sampler in the issue. Sci fi death rockers Casket Architects will be interviewed for 'Hails and Horns' magazine as well, and both issues will be on stands nationwide this July. Stay tuned for more news from both bands in the near future! - Justin
The Casket Architects came from the future to fuck up your mind with music. That's the only way I can explain it. Some people call their sound sci-fi death rock, which would explain the dead bodies that pile up when they perform in public. Survivors report feeling like they were in a 'fast-moving' zombie movie: "We thought dying would slow them down, but damn it, the undead can run, and they're coming right for us!"...............Mike Shaw is insane. He's insane like 'mad genius' insane -- also like, "Dude, you're an insane guitar player, and that's an insane amount of effects pedals!" He's also an insanely friendly front-man, but you wouldn't know that from the live shows, as he screams at you in a voice one might hear before getting hit by a train....................Evan Schlomann plays the bass like an anchor and a propeller blade, but he is not a sailor to my knowledge. One day someone will sue him for knocking their teeth out with his headstock. He also has a veritable jet cockpit of effects pedals from which he drops bombs and extends landing gear into your brain...................Annie Terror is putting snare drums in comas. Her cymbals want to run away. She siphons the punk out of hardcore industrial metal and lights it on fire. She's frighteningly consistent and consistently frightening. And it's loud... I'm pretty sure they can hear it in heaven, at least in hell I know they're listening..................Jon Duelks has the opposite of jazz hands. Kind of like a cross between a lobster claw and the last wave for help from a drowning child. His synthesizer sound is a chainsaw of possibilities, from analog Nintendo-core to no-wave robot rock. He is the band's edge and he never needs sharpening. -zac shaw - Zac
Discography
"A cocktail of ravage delight" released on FDH records as the Night Terrors
"Dance on the Death Nerve" released on Glacial Records
"Electrical Skeletal" 7" EP released on Caterwaul Records
"Skull Persuation" released on Altercation Records
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Bio
Blazing their way through the stagnation of a co-opted and compromised music scene, the Casket Architects aurally assault audiences, forcing new blood to course through the veins of the indifferent. The Casket Architects are an explosive trio from Warwick, NY who have branded themselves sci-fi deth rock. Crossing the genres of punk, metal, and late 70's industrial noise, the group tirelessly pursues a unique sound of their own. Sonically, they force you to join in their spastic rapture; lyrically, they dare you to enter the danger of their world, one in which scientists and surgeons dabble in black magic and every inner struggle is a paranoid fight to the death. Bassist Evan Schlomann's driving, rollicking bass lines and drummer Annie Terror's thunderous beats back the madman metal melodies of guitarist Mike Shaw. Topped by Shaw's urgently grating vocals, the trio unleashes a torrent of musical emotion when they play, pushing the audience into that territory of ecstatic anguish which most of us dare not experience. The Casket Architects live for performing, literally: the day jobs for which they get up at 6 in the morning invariably take a backseat to the band. They work all day and come home only to further exhaust themselves at practice or, even more exhausting, driving for hours to play these gruelingly energetic shows.
This inexhaustible energy can be traced back to the beginning of the band's history, when an uncommon devotion to music brought Evan and Mike together in the noise/chaos group called Mandala. Out of the chaos was born a persistent synergy that led the duo through multiple musical projects, most notably the punk/metal band called Niri Taten backed by longtime friend Annie Terror on guitar. Though Niri Taten would not last long, the trio found an unprecedented confidence and energy in playing as a threesome. The power of this particular trio of artistic synchronicities emerged all the more clearly as one fateful night, dazed by caffeine and driven by Misfits fanaticism, Mike and Evan lucidly envisioned a band built on dedication and drive, on unnerving inspiration fueled by other-worldly energy and impassioned punk rock roots. The Night Terrors were born with Annie Terror on drums, Evan on bass and Mike on guitar/vocals. The triumvirate was complete; the band pushed their way into the world, bombarding the upstate NY scene with the release of the "Cocktail of Ravage Delight" ( released on fdh records) and a supporting tour of over 50 shows during that first 6 months alone.
Though looming legal issues forced the band to change their name (other Night Terrors lurk at the edges of the underground scene the world over) to The Casket Architects, who refused to be deterred from the warpath and threw themselves headfirst into a new album, "Dance On The Death Nerve", out now on Glacial Records. The Casket Architects continue to let loose their unique brand of aural insanity on unsuspecting audiences up and down the east coast. Live, they become an irresistible spastic frenzy, crashing into crowds, forcing the audience to become part of the performance. Herein lies the captivation behind The Casket Architects' live show: they don't play at you, or for you. They play with you. They flail and fly across stage, moved by their untamable music, crashing into you and forcing you to feel their frenetic and overwhelming energy. Always on tour, this musical maelstrom will soon be churning its way to a venue near you. In early 2006 the "electrical/skeletal" 7 inch was released on caterwaul records. adding keyboards to these new songs pushed the casket architects sound into heavier and more twisted musical regions. this was followed by the altercation tour, which included some sxsw dates, and the premiere of a new keyboard player and old friend jon duelks, who will be filling in till a permenent member is found. writing for the next full length is in progress, which is due out before summer, and promises to be an eclectic sonic death ray. Witness it for yourself. Go see them play. Stop reading. Stop the stagnation. Thrash or be thrashed.
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