“‘The Alt. Light [Peer Clear]’… highlights the group’s more hectically abrasive side — complete with craggily jazzy chord phrasings, winding pathways of angular riffing, and one hell of a badassedly rock-solid rhythm section… The fifteen-plus-year absence has in no way lessened the severity or emotion of their drive.” – Aversiononline
Skar Cymbals is the first new studio output from long-defunct Detroit-based post-hardcore icons, THOUGHTS OF IONESCO, in nearly two decades. Set for release via Corpse Flower Records on June 23 on limited color vinyl and digitally, the four-track EP was captured and mixed by Jeremy Mendicino with Dave DeCristo at Signal Kitchen in Burlington, Vermont in March 2017 with additional tracking by Gabe Doman at Pharmhouse Studio in Dearborn, Michigan, the whole acerbic package mastered by James Plotkin (OLD, Scorn, Khanate, Khlyst et al).
In advance of its monumental release, today Aversiononline is streaming opening bruiser “The Alt. Light” alongside an in-depth interview with the band.
Issues the esteemed blog, “‘The Alt. Light [Peer Clear]’… highlights the group’s more hectically abrasive side — complete with craggily jazzy chord phrasings, winding pathways of angular riffing, and one hell of a badassedly rock-solid rhythm section. Seriously, if you continue to remain unfamiliar with the band’s past efforts, this really is the perfect time to dive in and investigate the beast that is THOUGHTS OF IONESCO. The fifteen-plus-year absence has in no way lessened the severity or emotion of their drive.”
Hear the punishing sounds of “The Alt. Light” at THIS LOCATION.
For preorders visit the Corpse Flower Records Bandcamp page at THIS LOCATION. Sample second track, “Culture Of The Eternal Snake.”
THOUGHTS OF IONESCO will play a special record release show on June 24th.
THOUGHTS OF IONESCO:
6/24/2017 The Magic Stick – Detroit, MI [tickets]
Recording their first record when two-thirds of the band members were still in high school and breaking up when most were barely twenty-one-years old, it’s a wonder that the infamous Detroit outfit THOUGHTS OF IONESCO even lasted the few years that they did. Confrontational to audiences, uninterested in record labels, exceedingly dark and heavy, the band played music that was once referred to by Alternative Press magazine as, “the ultimate realization of pain through sound.” Forged in 1996, the hardcore, art-damaged soul of THOUGHTS OF IONESCO materialized around vocalist/guitarist Sean Hoen, bassist Nathan Miller, and drummer Brian Repa; the band also included a sax player by the end of its career. Repa left and returned several times during the band’s existence, and Derek Grant (ex-Suicide Machines, Alkaline Trio) served as his replacement for a stretch from 1997-1998.
The trio, whose collective mental stability was often called into question by even those close to them, was most often compared to My War-era Black Flag, mixing hatred and aggression with super-heavy riffs, free jazz exploration, a brutal live show, and hefty doses of nihilism, self-loathing, and pure masochistic rage to produce a sound wholly challenging and frequently misunderstood. THOUGHTS OF IONESCO were in a class of their own; their performances were notoriously destructive – instruments were smashed in minutes, walls were kicked in, blood was shed, bottles were thrown – as the bandmembers showed absolutely no regard for themselves or the “fans” they couldn’t be bothered to care about. For them, only the music mattered. They toured the country and Canada a few times over, most notably with their friends in Wallside, but due to the inaccessibility of their records, they remained obscure (though rather revered) upon their eventual implosion in 1999. THOUGHTS OF IONESCO played their last show that November in Ann Arbor, Michigan
Several years later, the guys reappeared on the Detroit music scene with new bands: Hoen in The Holy Fire and Leaving Rouge, Miller in The Holy Fire, and Repa with Paradise. Seventh Rule eventually collected the band’s recorded output – including releases on Makoto (1996’s The Triptych Session, 1997’s …And Then There Was Motion, and 1998’s A Skin Historic, which Spin Magazine called, “an art-core mindfuck”) and At Arms Mechanic (1999’s For Detroit, From Addiction, released 2001) – into the compilation The Scar Is Our Watermark. Issued in June 2006, the album also included a bonus in-depth documentary DVD that chronicled the band’s brief, volatile career with live footage and interviews.
Words from the long converted:
“…the ultimate realization of pain through sound…” – Alternative Press
“The most criminally under-appreciated band in modern hardcore.” – Superhero Magazine
“There has never been a band that sounded quite like this and there likely never will be again.” – Lambgoat
“It’s about the heaviest thing you’ll hear…. and it’s a wild ride – got your ears on?” – Metro Times (Detroit)
“About as close as you can get to capturing rage in a bottle” – Epitonic Webzine
THOUGHTS OF IONESCO:
Sean Madigan Hoen – guitar, vocals
Nathan Miller – bass
Derek Grant – drums
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