photo by Josh Fitzjarald
Akron, Ohio-based doom/sludge metal merchants RADIAN – formed by former members of Fistula, Rue, Sofa King Killer, and more – have completed their crushing second album, Discordian. Confirming the album for release in June, the band has issued its cover art, track listing, preorders, and the opening track, “The Discordian.”
RADIAN’s sound is both more vicious and vibrant on Discordian, the album delivering six new songs with an elevated sense of living in a perilous world wrought with political discontent and societal unrest. Discordian was recorded and engineered at Akron Recording Company Akron September of 2020 by Sanford Parker, who provides synth elements to the album. Parker mixed the album at his Hypercube Studio in Chicago, after which it was mastered by Colin Jordan at Boiler Room Mastering in Chicago.
Vocalist Jeff Fahl writes of “The Discordian,” the album’s crushing opener, “Finally, a worthy adversary. Man’s self as his own worst enemy. Desert dreaming, face down in sand of his own dried-up shit. What a time to be alive.”
Stream RADIAN’s “The Discordian” now at THIS LOCATION.
RADIAN will release Discordian through Mike Burns’ own Elburno Records on June 24th, digitally and on two vinyl variants – Transparent Beer and Green/Black Splatter in runs of 125 each. Find preorders at Bandcamp HERE.
Watch for multiple videos and more to be issued over the weeks ahead.
Discordian Track Listing:
1. The Discordian
2. To Light And Know
3. Painless: Void
4. The Sun Spoils
5. At The End Again
6. They Look Like Good Strong Hands
RADIAN is booking new shows surrounding the release of Discordian. First up is a run with Drifter which hits Buffalo, Akron, and Youngstown May 6th-8th, and sees them joining Fistula and more. Additional excursions are already in the planning phase. Stand by for updates to post shortly.
RADIAN Live:
5/06/2022 Macky’s Shamrock Room – Buffalo, NY w/ Drifter, Nine Layers Deep, The Painkillers
5/07/2022 Annabell’s Bar And Lounge – Akron, OH w/ Drifter, Fistula, Green Tree Novelty Tea
5/08/2022 Westside Bowl – Youngstown, OH w/ Drifter, Ommnus, Avowal
RADIAN was formed in the Winter of 2017 by bassist Chris Chiera (ex-Sofa King Killer) and guitarist Mike Burns (ex-Rue), who quickly brought drummer Jeff Sullivan (ex-Fistula) and vocalist Jeff Fahl (ex-Rue) on board to finalize the lineup. Coalescing elements of groove and grime from their prior acts into a cohesive, slamming sludge attack, they independently released their debut LP, Chapters, in 2019 to an enthusiastic response from the sludge and metal media and fans alike.
Following the album’s release, RADIAN supported the record live until the pandemic brought everything to a crawl. Like many other bands, the members found ways to write and create remotely and continued honing their sound until it was safe to gather and record again.
December 2021 saw RADIAN release a split cassette with Celophys as part of Robustfellow Productions’ Robust Split Series, while the final touches were being implemented on their second album, Discordian.
RADIAN’s debut LP, Chapters, was dubbed by BrooklynVegan as, “…roaring sludge metal that fans of High On Fire and early Mastodon should probably feast their ears on.” The Obelisk wrote how the album, “…smashes and crashes with just that extra bit of aggression one finds underlying the most satisfying of sludge metals,” continuing, “…the crux of Chapters is roaring and pissed off and the formative dynamic in the tracks serves as much to highlight that as it does to contrast it.” The Sludgelord asserted, “The heaviness of Chapters cannot be understated. Low tuned riffing rattles the earth to its very core, with punishing density and a molten anger that burns clean through the soul. Melodic lines sing like weeping angels, creating a stark contrast to the destruction RADIAN unleashes.”
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