Six years is a helluva long time between albums. The Ongoing Concept didn’t exactly give Tool a run for their money, but the metal crossover band is finally ready to issue a new LP six years in the waiting.
On March 31, Solid State Records will put out the Ongoing Concept’s first album of new material since 2017 with the release of Again. It’s the fourth studio record by the Idaho band and finds the original lineup reassembling.
The Ongoing Concept self-produced Again and let Josh Schroeder (King 810, Lorna Shore) handle mixing. The band recently released new song/video “Unwanted Again” after slipping out another Again album track, “Prisoner Again” (Every song title on the new record ends with the word “Again.”)
Dawson Sholz recently spoke exclusively with New Noise about his band’s surprising return—admitting it surprised him too.
“For a while there, I really wasn’t sure if TOC would ever come back,” he reveals. “I knew in one way the Concept would continue, but I had no idea when and how. I think we all needed a break from the industry and to find a passion outside of music.”
Dawson Sholz formed the Ongoing Concept with his brothers Kyle and Parker in 2009. Technically, they never broke up amid a six-year hiatus that started after their third album, Places, dropped in October 2017. So don’t lump in their “comeback” with the unending stream of other bands that are actually truly “reuniting” after previously calling it quits.
Still, the Ongoing Concept’s latest configuration will probably be new to most. Dawson Sholz never left the band and remains its leader. Kyle Sholtz (percussion/keyboards/vocals) and Parker Sholtz (drums, vocals) are back onboard after jumping ship in 2016.
Bassist TJ Nichols is also returning after departing the fold that same year. Rounding out the Ongoing Concept’s current incarnation is vocalist and guitarist Andy Crateau, who joined them in 2016.
In his comments to New Noise, Dawson Sholz says the band is reaping benefits after deciding to take off time.
“Coming back after several years felt incredibly refreshing. We had the same excitement as we did a decade ago when we were recording our first album, Saloon, and with that excitement, we wanted to bring the joy, the memories and the vibes we all felt from our previous albums,” he says. “I think that’s really where the idea of Again came from.”
