Decibel Magazine is currently streaming Oblivion Jones: A Tale Of False Consciousness, the latest EP from prolific Colorado metallers NECROPANTHER, featuring saxophonist Rico Jones. The premiere comes on the eve of the EPâs official unveiling, Friday, May 3rd.
The four-song Oblivion Jones: A Tale Of False Consciousness was written and produced by NECROPANTHER guitarist, Joe Johnson. The EP completes a cycle of âsoloâ EPs, written and produced by each band member that are released between full-length albums. The EPâs story follows the eponymous Oblivion Jones, a fictional mid-century painter and loose associate of the Beats. The artist is from Baltimore, working in Denver. After his death at the end of the second movement, he is astonished to find himself âresurrectedâ as a cybernetic replicant attending a retrospective exhibition of his work in a near-future dystopia.
Writes Decibel Magazine of the offering, “The latest in a series of experimental EPs written by individual members of the band, Oblivion Jones⦠was headed up by guitarist Joe Johnson. EP opener âThe Denver Schoolâ establishes the albumâs concept, the life of fictional Oblivion Jones, a Baltimore painter who finds himself working in Denver when he dies and is resurrected as a replicant. The track also quickly establishes Jonesâ presence on the release, which gives each song a jazzy feel at times. Itâs immediately followed by the 11-minute âThe Transported Man,â which sees NECROPANTHER throw some doom into their cauldron. Third track âFirst Fridayâ signals the part of the EP where Oblivion Jones is resurrected, starting with At the Gates-esque riffs and locking into a saxophone-assisted death metal groove. Oblivion Jones wraps up with the appropriately titled âThrash Till Death,â which lives up to its name.”
Stream Oblivion Jones: A Tale Of False Consciousness, now playing exclusively at Decibel Magazine HERE.
Oblivion Jones: A Tale Of False Consciousness was recorded, mixed, and mastered by longtime collaborator, Felipe Patino of Denverâs Green Door Recordings, and completed with cover art by Max Sherman
NECROPANTHER will release Oblivion Jones: A Tale Of False Consciousness independently on CD, LP, and digital formats on May 1st. Preorders can be placed HERE.
NECROPANTHERÂ hails from the metal music cauldron of Denver. Masters of genre manipulation, the band blends elements of death, thrash, black metal, and more to create riff-heavy albums for a dystopian future. All four band members are composers and collaboratively create their full-length albums. Since 2014 they have amassed a catalog of startling diversity and consistent quality.
Musically, the EP continues NECROPANTHERâs experimentation in their EPs, with a large-scale bass solo, spoken textures, mood shifts within songs, and influences from beyond metal, presented as a four-movement program reminiscent of a four-movement symphony but reimagined for an expansive vision of heavy metal, infusing thrash, doom, melodic death, and NWOBHM styles. Additionally, the EP sees the band joined by accomplished jazz musician/band leader Rico Jones performing tenor saxophone as a guest soloist across all four songs. Jones has performed as a leader with notable artists such as Dave Kikoski, Jeff âTainâ Watts, Matt Clohesy, Yasushi Nakimura, Ari Hoenig, Lage Lund, Kush Abaday, Joe Martin, Colin Stranahan, Rick Rosato, Rich Perry, Steven Feifke and many others. The release will include alternate versions of all four songs âsans saxâ as bonus tracks.
Oblivion Jones: A Tale Of False Consciousness Track Listing:
1. The Denver School (Thrash-Allegro)
2. The Transported Man (Doom-Largo)
3. First Friday / Palest Piano (Melodeath-Scherzo Nowherzo)
4. Thrash Till Death (NWOBHM-Rondo)
[5-8. Alternate versions sans sax]
NECROPANTHER Live:Â
5/05/2024 Ernie November – Cheyenne, CO w/ Ulthar
6/14/2024 HQ – Denver, CO w/ Artillery
“NECROPANTHER are quickly becoming a gem of Denver for me. So much good heavy music has emerged in the last several years from here, so much of it different from their peers, and then thereâs bands like this who can wear many hats and masks to great effect, not to act as a facsimile or banal imitation, but to pay homage and challenge themselves creatively.” — Everything Is Noise
NECROPANTHER:
Paul Anop â guitar, vocals
Marcus Corich â bass, vocals
Joe Johnson â guitars
Haakon Sjogren â drums
https://www.necropanther.com
https://www.facebook.com/Necropanther
https://www.instagram.com/necropanther
https://necropanther.bandcamp.com
The post NECROPANTHER: Decibel Magazine Premieres Oblivion Jones: A Tale Of False Consciousness, Featuring Saxophonist Rico Jones; EP To Drop This Friday! first appeared on Earsplit Compound.
