Indianapolis post-black supergroup Chrome Waves and NYC experimental output Gridfailure have joined together for a foreboding split, out March 27.
Far removed from the band’s 2012 self-titled EP, which featured The Atlas Moth’s Stavros Giannopoulos on vocals, Chrome Waves has pushed itself further into the ethereal realm of blackgaze with multi-instrumentalist Jeff Wilson (ex-Wolvhammer, ex-Nachtmystium) handling all bass, guitar, synth, and programming duties, while James Benson (Amiensus, Nòtt) delivers ear-piercing shrieks and guest Roman Pinter (Nòtt) adds his touch of elegance on the saxophone.
Gridfailure–the brainchild of Dave Brenner–delivers the same slow-burn effect on his side of the split, with five songs of ominous and tortured decadence that shed light on the fractured existence of humanity.
Both bands recorded covers for the split with Chrome Waves casting a bleak rendition of Joy Division’s classic “The Eternal” and Gridfailure contorting Today is the Day’s “Temple of the Morning Star” into unseemly brilliance.
“My tracks for this split with my allies in Chrome Waves depict the sounds of suffering,” says Dave Brenner of Gridfailure. “Wide awake, with no warning in the middle of the day; pain slams into the back of my head like a searing icepick being jammed behind the ear, resulting in an audible scream.
“Rain brings the pressure; pressure brings the stab; the human is left in stunned, shocked pain, sometimes only for a few miserable seconds, and some for grueling hours. This is the tormented and unpredictable, living daymare of living with Lyme Disease, and this song is the auditory rendering of that feeling. ‘Night is not what I despise, for it’s here in the light where true fear lies.'”
“Opposed to our full-length endeavors, which are comprised of straight-up, dialed-in song structures and vocal hooks, these splits/EPs we’ve been doing are more ambient/experimental to see exactly how far we can take things,” says Jeff Wilson of Chrome Waves. “This split with our dear friend in Grodfailure is no different.
“This is our homage to genre bending innovators; Pink Floyd, Bohren And Der Club Of Gore, Joy Division, and the like. We’ve added saxophone, slide guitar, more acoustic, more piano, exaggerated song lengths, and vocal effects just to name a few elements this time around. This is a 15-minute slow burn; please stay with us until the end. We’re overjoyed with the result, and we hope you are too. New record in June; see you on the road.”
CHROME WAVES
A Fair Wind
Spring Moon
The Eternal (Joy Division)
GRIDFAILURE
Day Terrors
Napalm At Zero Gravity
Empty Ships Sail Past
Deinde Quod Semper Timui
Cascading Failures
Temple Of The Morning Star (Today Is The Day)
