Photo by Garrett Price
Portland-based dark ambient/industrial noise project SCARD is pleased to unveil the caustic sounds of “Impenetrable Will.” Now playing at Ghost Cult, the demoralizing track comes off the impending Rusted Lock full-length, set to drop November 6th via Scry Recordings.
SCARD – led by one J. Huston – began in 2001 in Seattle before relocating to Portland a year later. Drawing from dark ambient, power electronics, death industrial, and black noise, SCARD unites their personal origins in the forested regions of Oregon with eventual scum of city life to create a harsh, layered, and multi-faceted sound.
Notes Huston of latest psalm, “‘Impenetrable Will’ was the first song I wrote for the album. It began without any expectation, a broken reverb device, and a critical fix with aluminum foil to create an oppressive feedback loop. One of the more minimal songs in terms of instrumentation, it was augmented by several different layers of cavernous, scathing vocals that shred stagnant flesh to the bone with a methodical precision that resembles audio surgery. It fleshed itself out conceptually using the same approach to discipline that inspired ‘Fire In The Veins.’ I continued applying pressure for a sustained period, and this resulted in feeling absolutely honed for creating the rest of the album. ‘Impenetrable Will’ is a resolute show of force from within, intended to completely destroy obstruction.”
Adds Ghost Cult, “The solo project led by J. Huston (Winter In The Blood, L’Acephale’s Stahlhartes Gehäuse) finds the soundtrack-eque tomes seeping into your brain and implanting feelings of dread into your psyche. Perfectly eerie and haunted, just in time for the spooky season…”
Hear SCARD’s “Impenetrable Will” at THIS LOCATION.
Stream previously released single, “Fire In The Veins,” at THIS LOCATION.
Rusted Lock was mixed by Fester, mastered by James Plotkin, and will see release on cassette and digital formats. For preorders, go to THIS LOCATION where “Graveyard Dirt” can be streamed.
Comments Huston of his upcoming offering, “Rusted Lock contains the most seething, and incisive work since SCARD‘s inception. The project is by nature experimental and includes exploratory sounds and songs but a consistent thread of death/industrial doom and black metal virulence remains consistent throughout. This latest offering was an absolutely crucial album after a very long break from any activity. Near the end of the break, I underwent a total mental reconfiguration as well as a vast expansion of studio gear. The album evolved naturally throughout the process, utilizing a dominating force of will during a period of molting. It draws upon concepts surrounding personal strength, confrontation, obsession, and the many forms of poison, violently gripping, and tearing at its prey until cold, barren detritus is rejected and abandoned.”
Over the last nineteen years, SCARD has shared stages with the likes of Sixes, Bloodyminded, Daniel Menche, Control, To End It All, The Rita, Wolf Eyes, John Wiese, Blue Sabbath Black Cheer, Sleeping With The Earth, Pharmakon, Dave Phillips, Sudden Infant, Consumer Electronics, and many others. SCARD has also appeared at 2007’s Black Noise Festival in Oakland, 2009’s Northeast Noise And Power Electronics Festival in Boston, 2012’s Pure Harsh Noise Worship in Portland, 2014’s Pent Up Fest in Seattle, and many DIY venues throughout the Pacific Northwest.
In addition to his solo endeavor, Huston is the guitarist, vocalist, and producer of the atmospheric black metal band Winter In The Blood and also appears on the avant-garde black metal ensemble L’Acephale’s Stahlhartes Gehäuse and self-titled full-lengths (2009 and 2019 respectively).
“The shuddering rhythms feel grueling and soaked in viscous tension, with a decidedly angular and erratic texture to the oddly more danceable components. It’s as if more pleasant-sounding sonic ideas are getting run through a blender in real time across ‘Fire In The Veins’…” – Captured Howls on “Fire In The Veins”
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