Survival (featuring Hunter Hunt-Hendrix of Liturgy) will be playing upstairs at the Smiling Moose on August 18. The group is currently touring in support of their self-titled debut which was released earlier this year via Thrill Jockey. Survival channels the dark, progressive sound favored by groups like Black Sabbath, Magma and Aphrodite’s Child. After playing together for more than a decade, Hunter Hunt-Hendrix, Greg Smith and Jeff Bobula recruited producer Colin Marston at the Thousand Caves studio in New York to cut a record that captured the full grandeur of their complex compositions. Filled with syncopated riffs, intricate rhythms and atypical time signatures, the album serves as a thunderous showcase of the trio’s unique musical sensibilities.
Their LP Survival is an album of dark and meditative heavy rock. Hunter Hunt-Hendrix, Greg Smith, and Jeff Bobula have
been playing together for over a decade and recorded this album as Survival with Colin Marston (Krallice, Dysrhythmia) at The Thousand Caves. Syncopated riffs, intricate rhythms and atypical time signatures create dramatic and complex melodic lines that provide a bed for chant-like lyrics. The group opperates as a collective, writing lyrics, riffs and singing with one voice. The album is a unique document that harkens back to post-hardcore, Black Sabbath, Magma,Aphrodite’s Child, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Aaron Copeland, The Smashing Pumpkins, and the first wave of math rock. The galloping “Tragedy of the Mind” opens the album, triumphantly proclaiming, “Ending begins.” On “Since Sun” and “Tragedy (Reprise)” the group also employs acoustic guitars to
create a hushed atmosphere of contemplation and reflection. The final song, “Triumph of the Good,” provides the Survival’s most cathartic moment; as the distorted, almost baroque guitars slowly ascend and get louder the group collectively sings “Forgive us” before all of the instruments line up to create a massive rhythmic assault.
Survival was born out of the ashes of band Birthday Boyz, whose 2007 tour of China was documented by Vice TV for an installment of the Music World show called “Rock Under the Red Flag.”. The songs on Survival emerged after years of retooling and rearranging, with the riffs, melodies, and song structures evolving gradually over time.
[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/64575675 w=500&h=281] <p><a href=”http://vimeo.com/64575675″>Survival – Tragedy of the Mind</a> from <a href=”http://vimeo.com/thrilljockey”>Thrill Jockey Records</a> on <a href=”https://vimeo.com”>Vimeo</a>.</p>
