Genres: Punk / Post-Rock / Hardcore / Post-Hardcore / Post-Metal / Screamo / Skramz
Related artists: Kilgore Trout, Loud?, War Crimes and A MARC Train Home.
Country: Fairfax, Virginia U.S.A.
Years Active: 2017-present
Song: "Bury You By the Sea"
Album: "This House is a Ghost"
Year: 2018
For fans of: Nionde Plågan, Nous Étions, Teleportoise, Leveless, Druse, Iscariote, Suis La Lune, La Dispute, Deftones, O'Brother, Majority Rule, Cult of Luna, Pianos Become the Teeth, mewithoutyou, Frail, At the Gates, Defeater, Crash of Rhinos, Have Heart, Go Deep, Birds in Row and Lhasa aka PROPER SCREAMO.
Related artists: Kilgore Trout, Loud?, War Crimes and A MARC Train Home.
Country: Fairfax, Virginia U.S.A.
Years Active: 2017-present
Song: "Bury You By the Sea"
Album: "This House is a Ghost"
Year: 2018
For fans of: Nionde Plågan, Nous Étions, Teleportoise, Leveless, Druse, Iscariote, Suis La Lune, La Dispute, Deftones, O'Brother, Majority Rule, Cult of Luna, Pianos Become the Teeth, mewithoutyou, Frail, At the Gates, Defeater, Crash of Rhinos, Have Heart, Go Deep, Birds in Row and Lhasa aka PROPER SCREAMO.
Label(s): Self Released
Tommy Sheffield used to do vocals in Kilgore Trout. Yep. And then for 10 years, nothing in the musical department (although he did have a book published in that time!). Earlier this year he sent me his first foray back into heavy music via AMBIEN, a post-hardcore/screamo band from Fairfax, Virginia. Not similar in many ways to his previous band, AMBIEN is a three-piece that extends to darker places, but always with a beam of shining light leading us through the black. It is interesting to note that the lyrics for this release were written the day before recording or improvised on the spot.
Their debut EP 'This House is a Ghost' opens with "New Storm" and it wastes no time getting massive, heavy and epic just a few seconds in. Right off the bat my first band comparison is Nionde Plågan due to those vocals, but AMBIEN definitely harness the aggression and shed the light melodies for the most part. I enjoy the brief slowdown and noodles after the one minute-mark that lead to a swelling breakdown at 1:14. "APA" is next, which is drowned in down-tuned guitars, gutteral, sinister vocals and some ridiculous closing drums. "Sleep Paralysis" is the dreamy, ambient interlude but dishes out more than the typical one, as this includes a build with various vocals chiming in from beautiful guest singing to distant screams and an electronic outro. There is more melodic crooning at the onset of "The House I Grew Up In" that is utilized in both verses and builds the bridge to those crushing choruses. After a few minutes the song has expanded and contracted to the point where it becomes unstable and by 3:33 it collapses in on itself in one triumphant and destructive breakdown. This is definitely the song with the most variation and it stands out as the band's most mature, complete and rewarding listen. Closer "Bury You By the Sea" is probably my favourite of the five, as the driving undertones never let up, creating a sense of urgency amidst the crushing waterfall that is the band's sound. Oh, and that guitar outro solo is the bomb.
Apparently the band is writing for another release come 2019. Hell yeah.
This post's artist is from the October 2018 Mix. This is track #8.
Tommy Sheffield used to do vocals in Kilgore Trout. Yep. And then for 10 years, nothing in the musical department (although he did have a book published in that time!). Earlier this year he sent me his first foray back into heavy music via AMBIEN, a post-hardcore/screamo band from Fairfax, Virginia. Not similar in many ways to his previous band, AMBIEN is a three-piece that extends to darker places, but always with a beam of shining light leading us through the black. It is interesting to note that the lyrics for this release were written the day before recording or improvised on the spot.
Their debut EP 'This House is a Ghost' opens with "New Storm" and it wastes no time getting massive, heavy and epic just a few seconds in. Right off the bat my first band comparison is Nionde Plågan due to those vocals, but AMBIEN definitely harness the aggression and shed the light melodies for the most part. I enjoy the brief slowdown and noodles after the one minute-mark that lead to a swelling breakdown at 1:14. "APA" is next, which is drowned in down-tuned guitars, gutteral, sinister vocals and some ridiculous closing drums. "Sleep Paralysis" is the dreamy, ambient interlude but dishes out more than the typical one, as this includes a build with various vocals chiming in from beautiful guest singing to distant screams and an electronic outro. There is more melodic crooning at the onset of "The House I Grew Up In" that is utilized in both verses and builds the bridge to those crushing choruses. After a few minutes the song has expanded and contracted to the point where it becomes unstable and by 3:33 it collapses in on itself in one triumphant and destructive breakdown. This is definitely the song with the most variation and it stands out as the band's most mature, complete and rewarding listen. Closer "Bury You By the Sea" is probably my favourite of the five, as the driving undertones never let up, creating a sense of urgency amidst the crushing waterfall that is the band's sound. Oh, and that guitar outro solo is the bomb.
Apparently the band is writing for another release come 2019. Hell yeah.
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DISCOGRAPHY
2018 - This House is a Ghost EP (stream/buy here)
(2018) AMBIEN - "The House I Grew Up In" (from 'This House is a Ghost')
(2018) AMBIEN - "Bury You By the Sea" (from 'This House is a Ghost')
(2018) AMBIEN - "APA" (from 'This House is a Ghost')
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(2018) AMBIEN - "The House I Grew Up In" (from 'This House is a Ghost')
(2018) AMBIEN - "Bury You By the Sea" (from 'This House is a Ghost')
(2018) AMBIEN - "APA" (from 'This House is a Ghost')
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AMBIEN additional links
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