Jam Man’s take: Seattle-area blackened sludge trio STRICKEN aren’t easing listeners into their next album. “Dust From the Grave” stretches to roughly 12 minutes, and its visualizer takes the track’s nuclear-waste nightmare into images of real-world contamination. It’s a pointed new chapter beyond the band’s previously released “Darkness Impenetrable.”
The band’s second album, From Dark Dimensions An Unspeakable Presence Awakens, arrives November 6 on Horror Pain Gore Death Productions. Drummer Chris Wozniak connects the new song to the horror of radioactive pollution, while the visualizer uses imagery from Washington’s Hanford nuclear site.
Official Press Release
Decibel Magazine is premiering a visualizer for “Dust From The Grave,” the latest track from blackened sludge metal henchmen STRICKEN. The song marks the latest preview of the band’s second album, From Dark Dimensions An Unspeakable Presence Awakens, nearing release on Horror Pain Gore Death Productions.
Based in the Seattle, Washington area, born from a nightmare and forged in suffering, every STRICKEN song will challenge you as a listener, and doom you to be forever separated from your notions of genre. This unholy trio began as a duo, with bassist/vocalist Rob Ropkins (ex-Deadly Light, Pipefitter, North American Bison, Pinned Red) and guitarist Nick Charlton collaborating on raw, sludge-laden riffage. Chris Wozniak (Lair Of The Minotaur, Earthen Grave, I Klatus) brought his drum kit into the fold in 2017, after moving to Seattle and responding to a Craigslist ad that cited influences including Celtic Frost, Coffins, and Autopsy. Within a year, STRICKEN recorded a demo in Woz’s garage and began playing regional shows, and in 2022 they created the seven-song album From A Well Of Emptiness, A Stygian Serpent Born, recorded by friend and local engineer Tom Thew and released on Horror Pain Gore Death.
But now, STRICKEN presents five new, epic, true-to-form songs that take their attack to the next level of depravity on From Dark Dimensions An Unspeakable Presence Awakens. Delivering another monstrous dose of darkness and despair with ferocity and an experimental alchemy of styles, the album explores concepts of the dark subconscious, self-destruction, unspeakable horror, existential dread, and nihilism. Continuing to push boundaries faster than before, dynamically shifting to intensely crushing and oppressive, and showing up with deep groove and experimental arrangements, From Dark Dimensions An Unspeakable Presence Awakens is a simply decimating audio document. A bullseye choice for devotees to the works of Neurosis, Inter Arma, Yob, Conan, Celtic Frost, Triptykon, Craft, and High On Fire.
From Dark Dimensions An Unspeakable Presence Awakens was recorded by the band, engineered by Nick Charlton and mixed by Chris Wozniak. Mastering was handled by James Plotkin at Plotkinworks (Khanate, Earth, Amarok) and the artwork was created by visual artist Tom Denney (Black Cobra, Soilent Green, Weedeater).
With the new song, and its corresponding visualizer, Wozniak writes, “‘Dust From The Grave’ is a play on cosmic horror meeting the real, actual horror of dealing with radioactive pollution from our careless behaviors. Just bury our nuclear waste, and someday we’ll find we’ve created a monster.”
He continues, "This visualizer for ‘Dust From The Grave’ was created by our good friend Tom Denney, who has also created the artwork for both of our albums. Included in the montage are many images from the Hanford nuclear site in Eastern Washington, one of many pertinent examples of humanity’s flippant attitude toward nuclear waste, and dangerously powerful stuff in general."
Decibel describes the track as, “…a 12-minute slab that takes listeners through STRICKEN’s sludge-doom-post-blackened sound,” adding, “The accompanying video jumps around quite a bit, showing various conspiratorial imagery involving religion, politics, nuclear war and ancient philosophy and alchemy. If you’re looking for something bold in its approach to a familiar genre, then STRICKEN’s ‘Dust From The Grave’ is a good place to start.”
Watch and stream STRICKEN’s “Dust From The Grave” first at Decibel Magazine RIGHT HERE.
From Dark Dimensions An Unspeakable Presence Awakens will be released on CD and digital platforms on November 6th. Find physical copies and merch at Horror Pain Gore Death Productions HERE, digital preorders HERE, and digital presaves HERE. Also watch the thundering “Darkness Impenetrable” video HERE.
STRICKEN is plotting regional tour dates for the months ahead in support of the record and is already working on new music.
Review copies of From Dark Dimensions An Unspeakable Presence Awakens are currently being issued. For interviews and all coverage of STRICKEN, please contact dave@earsplitcompound.com.
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