London, UK mathcore band PUPIL SLICER has today premiered a bass playthrough for Momentary Actuality via Gear Gods, with bassist Luke Fabian sharing some words on the songs creative process ahead of the band's upcoming festival appearances at Boomtown and ArcTanGent in the UK - full touring dates below. Momentary Actuality is taken from PUPIL SLICER's acclaimed and US Billboard charting second album, Blossom.
WATCH MOMENTARY ACTUALITY'S BASS PLAYTHROUGH VIA GEAR GODS HERE.
Listen to Blossom here.
Speaking on the premiere, PUPIL SLICER's Luke Fabian comments: "Although Momentary Actuality is a relatively short track, it has a lot of different parts and I feel it was carefully and considerately placed into the album. Likewise, I tried to reflect this in the bass parts for the tracks. Using octaves on the main riffs for thickness, some slap in the mathcore type ‘verse’, a melodic and arpeggiated progression in the chorus and some dissonant chords in the middle section to thicken the guitar panic chords.
"This is a fun song to play live, and to do backing vocals on. This was the third single released from Blossom and a firm staple in the set list for the foreseeable. The playthrough was shot at Patronaat, Haarlem in the Netherlands on our Tour with Boris earlier this year in May. For the record, and live I used this 5 string Ernie Ball MusicMan Stingray, tuned AEADG."
On Blossom PUPIL SLICER's primary lyricist, Kate Davies has crafted a story that conveys personal experiences via an other-worldly narrative. In the wake of a profane signal of alien origin, the album opens with the protagonist losing touch with reality beneath a starry night sky. What follows is a kaleidoscopic voyage through another plane of existence where all is not as it first seems; trapped in a loop of destruction that must be imparted upon others. The tale ultimately comes to a point with serenity achieved in the closing minutes, planting the seeds of hope for an opportunity to start anew.
Whilst 2020's Mirrors was lyrically a very raw, biographical album, on Blossom Davies has deftly blended between their lived experiences and the tales that unfold throughout the ten tracks on the follow up. These stories are supported by the intensely intricate and skillful rhythmic backbone provided by Josh Andrews on drums, Luke Fabian on bass and bursts of shredding leads from former live guitarist Frank Muir. Told through the prism of a fantastical fiction, the visceral delivery and cathartic energy is palpable as ever; intergalactic embellishments can’t destroy the umbilical link between what churns within and what is later spewed out.
An intense month in the studio with producer Lewis Johns has led to a cohesive and confident sounding album that embraces ethereal singing, electronic breakdowns, and bold experimentation - without ever losing sight of their core tenets. Through darkness and despair, there is always - at the very least - a glimmer of light in all that they do. Drawing from influences as diverse as Nine Inch Nails, Deafheaven, Radiohead, and Botch, PUPIL SLICER have moulded an album that is effervescent with passion but doesn’t shy away from a good hook and a catchy chorus.