Full Album Stream: Black Sheep Wall: It Begins Again – new EP

Well, it turns out I am human after all; BLACK SHEEP WALL have a new EP out since May 21st, 2013 and it can be enjoyed in full here (BSW Facebook) and via YouTube player provided above, courtesy the label, Season Of Mist. ‘It Begins Again’ was recorded at Love Juice Labs in Riverside, California, and its artwork created by Jeff Rogers who also provided art for the band's Season Of Mist debut, 2012's ‘No Matter Where It Ends’, available here (Season Of Mist e-shop):

“[Vocalist Trae Malone explained:] For this EP, I thought we could do something special. We decided to record our new material with BLACK SHEEP WALL's original vocalist, Jeff Ventimiglia. Everyone has been so welcoming of my presence in the group, since the beginning, so I thought it would be a nice gesture, to all the individuals that have supported us, through the years.”

“If there’s a medium between myself (the observer) and the dead (the observed), I’d argue that BLACK SHEEP WALL have laid it to tape,” [wrote Heavy Planet reviewer] … “Screening and analyzing ‘Evangelic Exorcism’ [the last track of three] would be like giving thumbs-up to a funeral. Jesus Christ, these somber keys and empty air lose comfort and succeed admirably in their bid to discover an unsettling tone. But when the clicks greet the wind and offer an inhaled, encompassing warmth, the band's confidence shines and listeners are thrown back. It’s wild, considering most bands have to shake and stomp to earn your attention. When the piano relents, thank the white noise for its haunt and comfort. And when your stomach sits warm with smooth reflection, thank the old neighbor lady who spent hours in your living room minimizing the distraction of teenage sex. It’s not sludge. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. And it’s fucking gorgeous from brim to barrel.” [Do read the rest of the review here!]

 

Founded in 2006 in California, USA, BLACK SHEEP WALL recorded their debut album ‘I Am God Songs’ to, in their own words, their own liking “not expecting anyone to ever hear or care about it, as the band began to crumble before the album was ever completed”. Nevertheless, parts of the recording found their way onto the internet, as recordings these days often do, where they created enough buzz for the album to be released in Europe through Shelsmusic in 2008:

 

“Since then we have had our first singer come back and leave again to be replaced by the singer who replaced him the first time. We’ve had an unreasonable amount of member losses and side projects. We’ve written countless songs we’ve forgotten, and been the worst band in the world to keep up with. We wish we could have toured more, and released more, and to have the support we do at this stage is remarkable. At this point we’re grateful to still be a band at all, and we’re truly excited to finally be releasing our new album ‘No Matter Where It Ends’.”

And so, from sunny California (said to evoke mental images of beaches, blue skies, easy living, sun and surfing), BLACK SHEEP WALL managed to redefine the meaning of heaviness:

“Pitch black guitar clouds are seething and billowing on dark horizons. The leaden droning of sludge creates a miasma of melancholy and foreboding of doom. Massive vocals erupt out of Trae Malone's gravel-filled throat with veins standing out thick as cables from a swollen neck. While bursting from the same energy that drives classic NOLA bands like EYEHATEGOD, BLACK SHEEP WALL incorporate the structured patterns of late NEUROSIS with a little dash of the groove found in early MASTODON and in tranquil moments even a subtle hint of the melodic scope that marks DEFTONES:”

 

BLACK SHEEP WALL features: Trae Malone – vocals, Brandon Gillichbauer – bass, Scott Turner – guitar, Garrett Randall – guitar and Jackson Thompson – drums