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06-16 New Cormorant Album
03-26 2 new Cormorant songs
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Cormorant are a band that have defied convention from the get-go. The group sprang to life in early 2007, formed when
aquartet of talentedBay Area musicians came together with the simple goal of writing music without boundaries. For
anunabashedly metal band, Cormorant’smembers hail from a number of unusually diverse backgrounds. While Arthur von
Nagelgrew up on folk rock and classical music, guitaristNick Cohon spent time as a member of old-time country band The
Yellow-Bellied Sapsuckers. Percussionist Brennan Kunkel spends his freetime making hip hop beats, and the other three
me ...read more
Cormorant are a band that have defied convention from the get-go. The group sprang to life in early 2007, formed when
aquartet of talentedBay Area musicians came together with the simple goal of writing music without boundaries. For
anunabashedly metal band, Cormorant’smembers hail from a number of unusually diverse backgrounds. While Arthur von
Nagelgrew up on folk rock and classical music, guitaristNick Cohon spent time as a member of old-time country band The
Yellow-Bellied Sapsuckers. Percussionist Brennan Kunkel spends his freetime making hip hop beats, and the other three
membersrecruited guitarist/vocalist Matt Solis at an Enslaved gig. The eclectic nature oftheir musical interests undoubtedly
contributes tothe band’s propensity for experimentation and genre-bending. With influences rangingfrom Agalloch and
Enslaved to SloughFeg, Cynic, Lykathea Aflame, My Dying Bride, Sleep, Dissection, Vintersorg, Fleurety,
DiabolicalMasquerade, and a host ofothers, Cormorant’s sound is as difficult to describe as it is to resist.
After recording a 3-song demo, the band played a string of successful shows around the Bay Area with bands like Wolves
inthe ThroneRoom, Withered and Grayceon, surprising crowds with their proclivity for improvising whole songs on the spot.
Localradio play soonfollowed, as well as the endorsement of master luthier Greg Nelson, who built Arthur’s signature fretless
andfanned-fret basses and Nick’scustom Explorer. Cormorant’s debut EP, “The Last Tree,” was released in December 2007
tooverwhelmingly positive reviews. Recorded atSausalito’s Studio D (of Faith No More and Soundgarden fame), the EP
exploresmany facets of the black, death, thrash, doom, and folkmetal sub-genres while still referencing the formative
influences thatmake Cormorant’s music unique. Nick comments: “I have no problemintroducing a blues-based guitar solo into a
Norwegianblack metal piece if the song calls for it. Why worry about rules?” Arthur agrees.“Other music genres have so much
to offer.Hardly any metal players are utilizing the tonal advantages of fretless bass guitar.” Arthur’s ownvoice and lyrics play
a majorpart in the Cormorant sound. “Some have trouble with the harsh vocals,” he admits, “but I think if people canget into
TomWaits, they can enjoy this. Once you get used to the singing, you realize how essential it is to the presentation of
themusic,and eventually you’re even able to understand the lyrics.” The words to Cormorant’s songs are of a style seldom
seen inmetal, and play anintegral part in the band itself; his involvement in Cormorant originally stemmed from von Nagel’s
desire tobring those words to life. “Thelyrics start off as poems, mostly influenced by French Romantic and Symbolist
literature, then Icombine that with American folk music’sstory-telling and old-school punk’s sense of social unrest.” Brennan
loves that kind ofcontrast. “You need a balance of brutality and beautyto fully appreciate both,” he explains. “If I’m dropping
blast-beats thewhole album, it all ends up sounding the same, and it’s not scary orimpressive anymore.” Matt smiles and
adds, “Sometimesyou have to lull your listeners into a false sense of security.”
Fast-forward two years, and Cormorant’s sound has evolved even further on their upcoming full-length, Metazoa.
Recordedand mixed inJanuary 2009 at Sharkbite Studios by legendary producer Billy Anderson (Neurosis, Sleep, Melvins,
Primordial)and mastered by JustinWeis (Slough Feg, Hammers of Misfortune, Ludicra) at Trakworx Studios, Metazoa sees the
band fullycome into their own as one of the mostcreative, innovative heavy metal bands of the new century. With a sound
rooted indeath metal and steeped in melody, that combines thefolk-tinged atmosphere of Agalloch with the progressive-
minded blackmetal of newer Enslaved and the galloping heavy metal thunder andepic guitar harmonies of Slough Feg and Iron
Maiden,Cormorant are far more than the sum of their parts, and are sure to appeal to all fans oftrue heavy metal in all its
forms.Alongside friends and like-minded souls in Hammers of Misfortune, Ludicra, Giant Squid, and Asunder,Cormorant
haveestablished themselves as one of the brightest rising stars of the once again burgeoning San Francisco metal scene,
andwiththe release of their debut full-length, Metazoa, promise to continue their graceful rise to the top. « hide |
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