photo by Cindy Tang
“…monumentally heavy, powerfully turbulent, and emotionally fracturing.” – No Clean Singing
This week, Wellington, New Zealand black/avant metal trio TUSCOMA will unveil their third album, Gu-cci, through Landmine Records, the label formed by members of Blindfolded And Led To The Woods. Advancing its official release, today, No Clean Singing is hosting an exclusive advance stream of the record.
Formed in 2018, TUSCOMA quickly crafted a reputation of delivering the most intense live show you could attend. The hotly anticipated debut Arkitecturenominus and follow-up record Discourse were both critically and publicly praised as being intense, angular, and often uncomfortable experiences that represented some of the best New Zealand metal had to offer. This led to two successful tours of Europe and touring around their home country with Deafheaven, Wiegedood, Wolves In The Throne Room, Belphegor, and many other top-tier metal acts.
Now, 2022 sees TUSCOMA in preparations to release their follow-up to Discourse with the ravenous third album, Gu-cci. Marking the band’s first recording with a dedicated bass player, Gu-cci blends atmospheric textures of early shoegaze bands with punishing contemporary songwriting and rhythm sections reminiscent of black metal and hardcore creating a visceral and completely unique experience for hardened veterans of heavy music who might know exactly what to expect from a modern metal album. An ambitious but expertly delivered album, its five expansive tracks encompass more than thirty-eight minutes, the songs ranging from less than four minutes to nearly fourteen in length.
TUSCOMA’s Gu-cci was recorded by Evan Pope at Studio 11b in Mount Maunganui, New Zealand, mixed by Chris Johnson at Electric Bunker in Boston, Massachusetts, mastered by Alan Douches at West West Side Music in Cornwall-On-Hudson, New York, and completed with photography by George L Clarke and design by Kurt and Olga Williams.
Bassist Craig Leahy offers, “TUSCOMA have been firmly entrenched in the black metal world since our inception, with previous albums Arkhitecturenominus and Discourse comfortably sitting alongside the contemporary black metal releases. Gu-cci sees TUSCOMA endeavoring to push the boundaries of what our fans have come to expect from us, and the genre. Weaving shoegaze textures, hostile noise, angular guitar riffs alongside death/black and hardcore rhythm sections, Gu-cci is our fuck you to the expectations of what a blackened band must sound like. Our fans will be right at home with blast beats, harsh noise and familiar tortured vocals while being caught off guard by pummeling grooves, long form song structures and layers of textures. We couldn’t be prouder of Gu-cci and how it represents the mindset of us in 2022.”
No Clean Singing writes within their detailed review of the album, “TUSCOMA‘s music on the new album is also itself unorthodox, bringing together elements from a range of genres, including black metal, post-metal, death metal, shoegaze, and hardcore. The results are monumentally heavy, powerfully turbulent, and emotionally fracturing. The songs become daunting, desolate, and deranged, coupled with rhythms that hit with concrete-splitting force. In other words, it’s not what you might expect from the album title or the lyrics.”
Stream TUSCOMA’s Gu-cci in its hazardous entirety first at No Clean Singing RIGHT HERE.
Landmine Records will release Gu-cci digitally and on vinyl this Thursday, June 30th. Find preorders at THIS LOCATION.
In support of Gu-cci, TUSCOMA has booked tour dates across New Zealand, with several weekends of shows confirmed throughout the Summer. See the current dates below and watch for international tour actions to be announced in the weeks ahead.
TUSCOMA Gu-cci Tour Dates:
7/15/2022 The Jam Factory – Tauranga, NZ
7/16/2022 Ding Dong Lounge – Auckland, NZ
7/29/2022 The Crown – Dunedin, NZ
7/30/2022 12 Bar – Christchurch, NZ
8/26/2022 Smash Palace – Gisborne, NZ
8/27/2022 Last Place – Hamilton, NZ
9/09/2022 The Stomach – Palmerston North, NZ
https://www.facebook.com/Tuscomaofficial
https://tuscoma.bandcamp.com
https://www.landminerecords.nz
https://www.facebook.com/landminerecords
https://landminerecords.bandcamp.com