Battleground Records expands the label’s diverse roster once again, welcoming Salt Lake City-based exploratory sludge/math metal trio, THE DITCH AND THE DELTA, and is preparing to issue the band’s Hives In Decline debut LP.
Engineered by Andy Patterson of Subrosa, Hives In Decline shows THE DITCH AND THE DELTA exploring further aspects of sound design, and features a swarm of solos by Gentry Densley (Eagle Twin, Iceburn) on the song “Fuck On Asphalt.” Battleground Records will issue the record on LP and digital formats on May 12th, issuing the album’s track listing and cover artwork, handled by Charles Bougus with layout by Derek Ballard.
Hives In Decline Track Listing:
1. Hives In Decline
2. Fuck On Asphalt
3. Sleeping Dogs
4. Dry Land
5. Till Body Quits
6. Mud
7. Dread Spectacle
Preceding the release of Hives In Decline, THE DITCH AND THE DELTA has booked a run of tour dates beginning next week. From March 15th through 20th, the band will play through Denver, Wichita, Austin, Amarillo, and Albuquerque, including a set at Austin Terror Fest.
THE DITCH AND THE DELTA Tour Dates:
3/15/2017 Mutiny Cafe – Denver, CO
3/16/2017 Kirby’s – Wichita, KS
3/18/2017 Lost Well – Austin, TX @ Austin Terror Fest
3/19/2017 Zombies – Amarillo, TX
3/20/2017 Moonlight Lounge – Albuquerque, NM
THE DITCH AND THE DELTA formed out of three friends of nearly fifteen years. While guitarist/vocalist Elliot Secrist and drummer Charles Bogus have played in bands together sporadically over that span of time, it was the addition of bassist/vocalist Kory Quist that solidified the band and their sound. The sound is huge an oppressively heavy, and while often lumped into the doom category, NoEcho.net compares their sound to, “Neurosis as a stripped down, noise rock outfit,” and Hellbound calls it, “a sludgy doom that incorporates many different influences such as noise music and progressive metal. One may hear early Melvins or Eyehategod one minute and the next hear Intronaut or even Pure-era Godflesh sounds coming from their headphones… one might enjoy a post-rock or metal intro similar to any great Neurosis song and later headbang along to another hypnotic riff that leads into a fusion of say the Atlas Moth meets Fugazi.”
Within their first year, THE DITCH AND THE DELTA had released the four-song We Rust EP to glowing reviews at Decibel, Hellbound, and No Echo, among others, and toured the western US. They have shared the stage with, Call Of The Void, Lord Dying, Eagle Twin, Iceburn, The Sword, Kowloon Walled City, Castle, The Atlas Moth, Kayo Dot, and Dust Moth to name a few, and supported Subrosa on a leg of one of their tours.
The devil is in the details with THE DITCH AND THE DELTA. The expanded harmony and tension, as well as the unique rhythms are, in part, due to Secrist’s studies and degree in Jazz Composition. The band calls their brand of sludgy/noise/doom, “Big Riff”. Employing different tunings, and modal centers, every song the band writes manages to avoid many of the usual doom trappings of excessive feedback, static harmony, and pentatonic riffs. The lyrical content deals with everyday life and the constant suppression and alienation that comes with it. Three men from Mormon-dominated Utah are bound to have a lot of resentment and disdain for the mono culture they exist in daily.
Stand by for audio samples, preorders, additional tour dates, and much more to be announced in the weeks ahead.
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