10 OUT OF 10 REVIEW FROM 50ARTISTS50STATES.COM
Vancouver-based psychedelic doom grunge project Post Death Soundtrack crafts a dense electric symphony of heathen guitars, brazen bass, and a bubbling cauldron of vicious sounds. The score to the untamed plains of the subconscious. This lays the groundwork over which the inimitable Steve Moore showcases his crushing vocal performances. In each piece, he takes from his hall of faces to embody the essence of a theme, be it scathing fury or enlightened ambivalence. Balancing ferocity and serenity, surrealist absurdity and earworm familiarity.
Conceived in grubby back rooms and underground clubs of inhospitable Calgary, Canada, Post Death Soundtrack initially took inspiration from the same forces that drive young obstinate bands in cities like DC, Austin, and Detroit. The cognitive dissonance between the forces that run their town and the forces that run their lives. The original duo of KENNETH BUCK and STEVE MOORE took aim squarely at the hypocrisies of government, religion, and mainstream ideology with blinding rage but also tongue firmly in cheek sarcasm. The debut album, 2008’s Music as Weaponry, pulls together the wild, brash industrial of Skinny Puppy and Ministry with the hypnotic trip-hop textures of Portishead and Massive Attack to deliver an engrossing indictment of Western culture and an offer to rise above its trappings.
On the heels of the release of Music as Weaponry, JON IRESON was recruited to the lineup, adding his own brand of mesmerizing psychedelia to the mix. Ireson’s affinity for 60s and 70s psychedelic rock, as well as the nebulous electronica that came out of Britain from the likes of Underworld and a techno-age David Bowie, allowed Buck and Moore to take their vocals further down the rabbit hole to fever dream mantras and mad hatter ravings. COLIN EVERALL was brought on board to fill in on drums for a handful of rare live dates but would also end up contributing his haunting piano piece ‘Through the Gates’ over which Moore takes the listener on a perilous journey to the “other side”. Their second LP, 2016’s The Unlearning Curve, turned the lyrical focus inward while showcasing the band’s new “psychedelic industrial” sound.
In 2019, It Will Come Out of Nowhere expanded upon The Unlearning Curve’s signature sound with sludge metal elements adding even more gravitas. The group, now streamlined back to a duo, has Ireson at the reins of the sprawling production while Moore takes us on a trip through his tempestuous psyche. The 11 unforgiving tracks explore when calamity comes knocking unexpectedly on your door inspired by betrayal, divorce, personal loss and other blind-sided knocks to the ego. Doom, hip-hop and Indian raga all leech into the groundwater giving the album an unparalleled sonic breadth.
Post Death Soundtrack in 2024 takes on a completely different form, abandoning all electronics in favor of a raw, guitar-driven Doom Grunge sound as evidenced in lead singles ‘Icy Underground’ and ‘Lowdown Animal’. The latest music features the band as a power trio with Moore’s unmistakable guitar style backed by Ireson’s raucous bass lines and the powerhouse live drums of CASEY LEWIS. Their fourth full-length record entitled Veil Lifter offers unparalleled moments of fury, enormity, and transcendence. Featured tracks ‘The Die is Cast’, ‘Killer of the Doubt’, ‘Immovable’, and ‘Hammer Come Down’ showcase the band larger in scale and consequence than ever before. Veil Lifter releases on April 16th, 2024.
