New Catastrophism by LOCRIAN

“New Catastrophism”, the first LOCRIAN release in seven years sees the iconic experimental music trio return back to their roots through four immersive tracks that signal towards the band’s signature expressions through dark ambient, experimental music, drone and post rock. Massive dystopian soundscapes through the intricate, layered, and spacious sound palette LOCRIAN unveil.

LOCRIAN is a prophetic voice of decline. From the band’s inception, it has comfortably straddled both the experimental and metal underground, weaving themes of apocalypse, urban decay, environmental destruction and birth/death/rebirth throughout its multifaceted and genre-defying releases. The trio formed in 2005 in Chicago and features Terence Hannum (synthesizers, vocals, tape loops), André Foisy (guitars, electronics), and Steven Hess (drums, electronics). Over their sixteen-year history, Locrian have released six studio albums, three collaborative albums, and numerous limited-edition releases.

"Locrian break their seven-year silence with a new full-length, New Catastrophism (Profound Lore), a beautiful, heady record that strips their aesthetic back to straightforward postmetal-flavored ambience and electronics...New Catastrophism proves once again that whether Locrian are operating with a minimalist or maximalist palette, they’re hard to top when it comes to conjuring dark, moving sounds."
--Luca Cimarusti, Chicago Reader - https://chicagoreader.com/music/locrian-exploratory-new-catastrophism/

"From start to finish New Catastrophism is perfectly nuanced. There is nothing present that does not enhance the overall sound...["Ghost Frontiers"] showcase LOCRIAN’s dark/drone ambient side and do so extremely well. Whilst the tracks on New Catastrophism convey a society and planet on its knees, those on Ghost Frontiers transport you to a land where nothing remains...I can’t praise LOCRIAN’s work on New Catastrophism and Ghost Frontiers highly enough. The band continue to be inventive and evocative and have lost none of what made them so special in the seven years since they released new music."
-Dan Dolby, Veil of Sound - https://veilofsound.com/2022/08/08/Locrian-New_Catastrophism.html

"On the trio's first album in seven years (the largest period of dormancy ever for them), Locrian simultaneously return to their origins while evolving and refining their sound forward. Stripped back to the barest essence of their sound but with some 17 years of evolution, New Catastrophism feels both like a reset but also a culmination of everything they have accomplished thus far."
-Creaig Dunton, Brainwashed - http://brainwashed.com/index.php/reviews-easyblog/locrian-new-catastrophism

"Eschewing muscular riffs for an evolving ambient type sound hinting at the experimentalism of their earlier releases, New Catastrophism
proves Locrian are adventurous and innovative. Comprising of a trio of multi-talented musicians dealing with subtlety and nuance they could go anywhere from here."
-Toni Dickie, Compulsion - https://www.compulsiononline.com/locrian-new-catastrophism.htm

"It’s been seven years since Chicago metal droners Locrian released an album. Lucky for me, I spent most of that time ignorant of them, only discovering the group in the last few months when I tracked down a vinyl copy of Return to Annihilation within ten minutes of hearing it for the first time. But even though I haven’t been a witness to their absence, the triumph of their return is palpable on New Catastrophism, a record so plodding that you might think they’ve spent the last eight years trying to lift it."
-Nathaniel Fitzgerald, Tuned Up - https://www.iamtunedup.com/locrian-new-catastrophism/

"Locrian dials back the metal, amps up the ambience, and sound as terrifically terrifying as ever, creating dystopian dirges with dysphoric drones. I would say, “Welcome to Postapocalyptica,” had we not all already been here for a while, languishing under the scorching sun. It has been 7 years since Infinite Dissolution. If there is one thing we know for certain, it is that everything inevitably changes, and so has Locrian. Where their previous album (as well as its predecessor, Return To Annihilation) was a refreshing blend of post-rock, black metal, and drone, New Catastrophism contains only the barest hints of metal adorning its Spartan, sprawling soundscapes."
-Netzach, Metal Storm - https://metalstorm.net/pub/review.php?review_id=17841

Locrian was formed in late 2005 by André Foisy and Terence Hannum. Allmusic has described the band as an ”eclectic mixture of black metal, electronics, drone and noise rock”. The band have identified krautrock and '90s death metal as influences as well.

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