SWARM OF THE LOTUS

Band: SWARM OF THE LOTUS

Genres: Punk / Hardcore / Metalcore / Sludge Metal / Noise / Thrash / Crust
Related artists: Graven.
Country: Baltimore, Maryland USA
Years Active: 1998-2006, 2009-2010
Song: "Call to Abandon"
Album: "The Sirens Of Silence"
Year: 2005
Label(s): At A Loss Recordings / Abacus Recordings / Emetic Records / Reptilian Records
This post's artist is from the June 2014 Mix. This is track #5.
You can download the July Mix#7 right here or get the new August Mix#8 here.
For fans of: Baroness, Ken Mode, Snapcase, Seventeen Again, Zozobra, Old Man Gloom, Johnny Truant, Isis, Examination Of The..., Ed Gein, Back When, Shoto, Curl Up And Die, Neurosis, Buried Inside, Converge, Takaru, Norma Jean, Cold Craving, SunnO))), Oaken, Trainwreck, Llynch, AmenRa, The Swarm, Torche, Coalasce, Kiss It Goodbye, Corn On Macabre, The Expectorated Sequence, Rebarker, (old) Cave In, Engineer, Achilles, Burnt By The Sun, Knut, The Abandoned Hearts Club and Botch.

I must be on a Baltimore kick lately. SWARM OF THE LOTUS played sludgy metalcore - think Ken Mode and Snapcase combined with Isis and AmenRa. It's mathematical but thick and sludgy. It's heavy and grooving with no soft, twinkly parts. It's surgical in its precision...and actually sounds kind of like a maniacal doctor's surgery. It's also really bass-heavy and could easily be likened to the mammoth hardcore/metal of early Baroness. Some parts even sound like Takaru but slowed a bit, as SWARM OF THE LOTUS bring those same angry, acidic and harrowing feelings associated with faster and more technical hardcore and metal to the forefront of their music.

I've included the 'When White Becomes Black' LP 'Torrential' 7" and 'The Sirens of Silence' LP in the download because that's all I've been able to come across. I think the first 2 tracks from the LP are the beacons to use to test the waters of the band. "Hookworm" is but 2 minutes in duration, yet the bellowing/infectious guitar riff hits hard, much like Old Man Gloom's short and punishing "Skullstorm". In the band's crowning achievement "Call to Abandon", SWARM OF THE LOTUS spend a good 6 minutes shifting gears, lulling you in before and bashing you over the head. And then at 5 minutes, oh my, the instrumentals dissipate as the vocals linger and attempt (quite successfully, I might add) to coax the listener to the edge, as we are greeted with silence as the screaming comes to an end, "If you hold your last breath, how much longer do you think you can live?" and then shit goes bananas. I find myself singing (note: screaming) it all day. Some other notable tracks are "Jackie G" (with an amazing spastic breakdown from 2:10-2:20), "The Great Masquerade" (makes it no secret that after the 2:30 the song mixes speed metal with Converge-esque craziness) and "Judas" (is a prodigious nuclear blast that vies for best track on the album). I really enjoy the vocals, which aren't metal screeching or growling per se, but they instead opt for more of a harsh scream...y'know, like Dolcim, Takaru and Ken Mode.

The 'Torrential' 7" is a picture disc that I picked up a long time ago and was my introduction to the band. The song "Ichabod" is what really enticed me to search out and purchase the LP released in the same year. It's short, brooding, crushing and can be heard below because I embedded that shit. The 7" is decent enough but I dig the LP much more. It's more consistent and has 4x the songs!

If you dig your hardcore on the metal side with a screamier vocalist and layers of sludge and some neat tempo changes, SWARM OF THE LOTUS will be right up your alley - especially if you like Ken Mode, Botch and AmenRa!

I've heard the band recently released something new under Graven, which I've linked on bandcamp here.

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DISCOGRAPHY

Click )==>here<==( to download the band's pre-2007 discography in mp3 form.

2004 - When White Becomes Black cdLP

2005 - The Sirens of Silence cd/12"LP
2005 - Torrential 7"EP

2007 - A Tribute To Eyehategod compilation 2xcd (contributed "Blood Money")

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(2005) SWARM OF THE LOTUS - "Hookworm" (from 'The Sounds of Silence')

(2005) SWARM OF THE LOTUS - "Call to Abandon" (from 'The Sounds of Silence')

(2005) SWARM OF THE LOTUS - "Judas" (from 'The Sounds of Silence')

(2005) SWARM OF THE LOTUS - "Ichabod" (from 'Torrential')

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SWARM OF THE LOTUS out of print discography (except for the eyehategod cover) mp3 download / additional links

(download here)

Last FM

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