New album, “Enter The Misanthropocene”, out on August 16th!
With its members spread out between Chicago and Minneapolis, death/drone metal innovators ABHORRENT EXPANSE arrive with their second album, Enter The Misanthropocene, through Amalgam Music.
ABHORRENT EXPANSE thrives on contradictions and draws strength from the muddled wastes between firm stylistic distinctions. The group conjures harrowing visions of the descent into true hysteria, abstracting the familiar hallmarks of extreme metal into ancient soliloquies intoned in forgotten tongues. Tectonic grinding, relentless needling, and claustrophobic encapsulation give way to violent flashes, pangs of dripping saturation, and wildly unnerving murmurs.
All eleven movements on Enter The Misanthropocene were improvised live by ABHORRENT EXPANSE on April 10th, 2022, at Signaturetone Recording in Minneapolis by Brian Courage (upright and electric basses, prepared electric bass, electric piano), Erik Fratzke (guitars, electric bass, prepared electric piano, synth), Tim Glenn (drums, cymbals, percussion, door, chimes, bowed metals), and Luke Polipnick (vocals, guitars, prepared electric bass, bowed metals). As the amorphous new work began to take shape, the quartet enlisted the talents of several trusted collaborators from Minnesota’s tight-knit improvised music community. The album kicks off immediately with “Enter The Misanthropocene,” a suite of frenzied grindcore vignettes punctuated by Jesse Whitney’s stark electronic interludes. “Ascension Symptom Acceleration” follows the squealing outbursts of bowed metal fragments with an enigmatic clarinet coda by multi-reedist Nathan Hanson. In the grandiose final track, the group’s monstrous drones and erratic drum strikes are enveloped by the shimmering, feverish contributions of celebrated pianist (and Minnesota native) Craig Taborn on Oberheim synthesizer and glass harmonica.
The album was recorded, mixed, and mastered by Adam Tucker, with additional contributions recorded by Jesse Whitney in Minneapolis and Craig Taborn in Brooklyn. The album was completed with artwork and design by Dave King and layout by Bill Harris.
ABHORRENT EXPANSE’s 2022-released Gateways To Resplendence debut was met with infatuated reviews. Following a short tour with their comrades in Sunless, ABHORRENT EXPANSE returned to Signaturetone Recording to document the next installment of their subterranean exploration. With studio wizard Adam Tucker at the helm once again, the group sought to delve deeper into the worlds of profound discomfort and ugliness of which they are uniquely capable. The resulting improvisations utilized a variety of unlikely tools and textures in the studio ranging from a prepared electric piano and orchestral chimes to a fortuitously ominous door hinge.
