The sludgy stoner metal duo The Body may not be strangers to experimentation, but their forthcoming album, I Shall Die Here, proves to be their most adventurous material to date. Out on April 1 via RVNG Intl., I Shall Die Here is a collaboration with The Haxan Cloak’s Bobby Krlic. Krlic is a London-based musician and producer known for brooding rhythmic noise that has been compared to metal bands like Sunn O))) and Earth; making the partnership between The Body and Bobby Krlic more natural than it initially sounds.
Any brand of metal historically sticks to its prescribed formula, maybe because departure from accepted metal framework is considered “untrue”. Decades after metal's dawn, the scene is rife with bands trying to sound like the staples. But why listen to a band that sounds like Sleep when one could just listen to Sleep? I Shall Die Here is utterly refreshing, as it is neither metal or noise but manages to balance the best parts of both while sacrificing redundancy, posturing and machismo. There are still moments of the classic sulking bass, grisly samples and slow driving drums, but many of the tracks are “cut up” and reinvented. The vocals are not always tough, sometimes they sound like unbridled shrieks of raw agony.
The first single off I Shall Die Here, “Hail To Thee, Everlasting Pain”, begins with a steady drum machine’s thud and builds slowly to crushing static and buried screams from guest vocalist Ben Erbele. The music gives away entirely and you are left with just the vocalist's cries before breaking into an almost danceable moment that doesn’t last long before sliding into pure doom. This varied album is somehow seamless while shifting wildly, even within the structure of single tracks.
I Shall Die Here is out April 1 on RVNG Intl.
The Body is heading out on a US tour before the release of their new album.
March
01 Sacramento, CA – The Colony
02 Oakland, CA – Life Changing Ministries
03 Santa Monica, CA – Almost Hidden Collective
05 Pomona, CA – Aladdin Jr.
06 Phoenix, AZ – Rhythm Room
07 Albuquerque, NM – Launchpad
08 Denver, CO – Hi-Dive Denver
09 Kansas City, MO – FOKL Center
10 Little Rock, AR – Vino's Live Music
14 Atlanta, GA – 529
15 Augusta, SC – Vice Versa
16 Charlotte, NC – The Milestone
17 Richmond, VA – Strange Matter
18 Baltimore, MD – Gold Bar
19 Philadelphia, PA – Kung Fu Necktie
20 Allentown, PA – Good Weekend
21 Brooklyn, NY – Saint Vitus
22 Providence, RI – Machines With Magnets
