photos by Chris Wozniak
This Friday the 13th, Qumran Records will release An Hour Of Lies, the debut from Chicago, Illinois-based doom metal outfit ÇÖKÜŞ, and popular doom/riff rock portal Outlaws Of The Sun today offers an exclusive advance listen of the entire record.
ÇÖKÜŞ’ An Hour Of Lies was captured in three states – Illinois, Washington, and Texas – the drums and vocals recorded by John E. Bohmher, Jr. at Berwyn Recording, the bass recorded by Patrick Green, and the guitars recorded by Jason Muxlow, the finished recordings were mixed by Chris Wozniak and mastered by Chris Hanzsek (Melvins, Soundgarden, Helms Alee). The visual elements including the logo, cover art for the album and its singles, and video content was handled by Tom Denney (Soilent Green, Weedeater, Rwake).
With the album now just days from its release, vocalist Mark Weiner delves into the storyline, revealing, “An Hour Of Lies tells the story of love, loss, and failure. With the Love loss, the Dark One sets a plague over the Earth as it ‘dies on the vine.’ He moves and shakes all living things ‘As It Falls.’ Families are destroyed and begin the fight of ‘Hit The Mattresses.’ People rush to ‘Leave It Behind’ as the World is turned upside down. The Bright One appears to the Dark One and creates the ‘Midnight Sun’ to blind him of his darkness. This angers the Dark One and unleashes his troops and his Main Henchman ‘Wolf-Moon.’ These creatures cascade the world’s woods and cause evil to take over. As the plague runs wild, it takes down humanity from everyday people to famous wealthy ones as well. ‘Never Gone’ they say. Man creates the ending weapon ‘Hammer To Fall,’ which ends the planet and stops the evil plague. The Dark One is back down deep reflecting on what has “Died On The Vine.”
Drummer Chris Wozniak states, “I could write a short story about the adventure we embarked upon over the last eleven years, from the last Earthen Grave show to the day this album is finally released to the world, but I think you’ll be much better served by allowing the album to speak for itself. I’m personally very proud of this work, but I’m also stoked that we can move on with working on and releasing new material. We should be able to shorten our creative process by nine or ten years this time around…”
Listen to ÇÖKÜŞ’ conceptual An Hour Of Lies first via Outlaws Of The Sun RIGHT HERE.
An Hour Of Lies will be released on CD and digitally this Friday, September 13th. Find preorders at the Qumran Records webshop HERE and Bandcamp HERE. Watch the visualizers for “Wolf Moon,” “Midnight Sun,” and “Hit The Mattresses” at YouTube HERE.
Arising from the heart of the Chicago underground metal scene, ÇÖKÜŞ is the product of ten years of mostly virtual collaboration between former Earthen Grave bandmates, vocalist Mark Weiner (Earthen Grave), drummer Chris Wozniak (Vanishment, Earthen Grave, ex-Lair Of The Minotaur), and guitarist Jason Muxlow (Witchcryer, Earthen Grave, The Living Fields). Even though Muxlow and Wozniak had moved thousands of miles away after the abrupt conclusion of Earthen Grave in 2013, the three stayed in touch, trading riffs, beats, and lyrics from their respective corners of the United States. The material that emerged saw influences from the usual suspects — Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Trouble, Dio — as well as old favorites like Soundgarden, Alice In Chains, and Kyuss.
Shortly before the pandemic, the group started meeting periodically in Chicago to write and record. Embracing a shorter, more polished format than their previous engagement, they privately released a demo under the moniker WMW in 2020, which generated a lot of buzz and positive feedback among those who had access to the recording. In 2021, the group re-branded as ÇÖKÜŞ (pronounced cho-koosh; Turkish for “decline” or “collapse”) and recruited bassist and longtime friend Patrick Green to complete the lineup and the material which will become the band’s debut album. Soon after, they were joined by another old friend, Steve Ligeza (Torg, Makahiya), on second guitar, and ÇÖKÜŞ began playing live.
“…ÇÖKÜŞ bask in rock/metal glory-days in a way that nonetheless manages to be more about looking forward than back, and most of all about serving their songs.” – The Obelisk
“…they really know their way around a doom tune… guitarists Jason Muxlow and Steve Ligeza trade meaty, catchy riffs that would fit right into the Trouble or Pentagram libraries, while vocalist Mark Weiner pierces through the fray with his melodic, Wino-esque howl…” – Nine Circles
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