You'll find a greater sense of dynamic space, sharper songwriting, and plenty of killer half-speed riffs on crusty blackened death 'n' doom crew Withered's third album Dualitas. It's a powerful, effective upgrade on their usually unrelentingly claustrophobic sound, one you may have suspected during the sludgier second half of the otherwise blistering Metal Swim-associated opener "Extinguished With The Weary." When writing about the Atlanta quartet's 2008's Barney Greenway-assisted Folie Circulaire, I mentioned it "buil[t] upon and further darken[ed] and deepen[ed] the sounds of their 2005 debut Memento Mori, giving off a bigger, more progressive punch." True. It also closed with a cover of classic Swedish crew Necrophobic's "Into Armageddon," so we're not talking too too progressive. You'll find a continuation of that kind of tr00 growth on Dualitas, not just in the wide-open structures and calming atmospherics, but in the continually deeper, richer sounds. (Kudos to producer/Kylesa member Philip Cope.) If you want to see what I'm talking about, listen to Dualitas from that previously mentioned hailstorm to the slow industrial grind of the "Outro."
UPDATE: Stream removed at request of label.
Dualitas is out 10/26 via Prosthetic. Paul Romano again did the artwork. They're on tour, often with Danzig:
10/24 - Tempe, AZ @ The Clubhouse *
10/25 - Albuquerque, NM @ Sunshine Theatre #
10/26 - Oklahoma City, OK @ The Conservatory *
10/27 - Little Rock, AR @ The Village #
10/29 - San Antonio, TX @ San Antonio Live #
10/30 - Houston, TX @ Warehouse #
10/31 - Dallas, TX @ Palladium #
11/02 - Knoxville, TN @ Valarium #
11/03 - Louisville, KY @ Expo Five #
11/04 - Buffalo, NY @ Town Ballroom #
11/05 - Columbus, OH @ Alrosa Villa # *
11/06 - Royal Oak, MI @ Royal Oak Music Theater #
11/07 - Chicago, IL @ Congress Theater #
11/08 - Des Moines, IA @ Vaudeville Mews *
11/09 - Minneapolis, MN @ The Cabooze #
11/10 - Fargo, ND @ The Venue #
11/11 - Rapid City, SD @ Sports Rock *
11/12 - Denver, CO @ Ogden Theater #
11/13 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Vertigo *
11/14 - Spokane, WA @ Knitting Factory Concert House #
11/15 - Seattle, WA @ Showbox SODO #
11/16 - Portland, OR @ Roseland Theater #
11/17 - Chico, CA @ Senator Theater #
11/19 - San Francisco, CA @ Thee Parkside *
11/18 - Sparks, NV @ The New Oasis *
11/20 - Anaheim, CA @ The Grove #
11/22 - Lansing, MI @ Mac's Bar %
11/23 - Windsor, ON @ Chubby Pickle %
11/24 - London, ON @ London Music Hall %
11/25 - Hamilton, ON @ Absinthe %
11/26 - Kingston, ON @ Time To Laugh %
11/27 - Rochester, NY @ Montage Music Hall %
11/28 - New Haven, CT @ Lily's Pad at Toad's Place %
11/29 - Frederick, MD @ Krug's Place %
11/30 - Greensboro, NC @ Legitimate Business %
12/02 - Oklahoma City, OK @ Conservatory %
12/03 - Denton, TX @ Rubbergloves Rehearsal %
12/04 - Austin, TX @ Red 7 %
# w/ Danzig, Marduk, Possessed, Toxic Holocaust
* No Danzig
% w/ Skeletonwitch & Landmine Marathon
