Denver’s Of Feather and Bone are among the hardest working acts from the Southwest around right now and last year saw the release of their inaugural full-length, Embrace the Wretched Flesh on Good Fight Music. A 10 song onslaught of bombastic crusty grindcore, the LP was handily among 2015’s heaviest and most inspired releases. This year, this Colorado trio have armored their already monstrous sound with heaving death metal and balance that added weight by upping the grind to bone rattling speeds. The title track is feral, filled with calculated breaks and pummeling surges stabbed with guttering and piercing roars. “Resounding from the Depths” builds upon all that by underscoring the sinister guitar tone with bleak melody in its final moments. This is a new Of Feather and Bone and today CVLT Nation is proud to premiere Pious Abnormality, along with an interview with bassist/vocalist Alvino Salcedo and guitarist/vocalist Dave Grant on the new EP. Sit back and try not break your moshing fist on the nearest surface.
Art by Preston Weippert (drums) and Dave Grant.
Of Feather and Bone will be releasing Pious Abnormality shortly, please shed some light on this release.
Alvino: We recorded two songs this past May with Steve Goldberg of Cephalic Carnage. We wanted these songs to be an introduction to the progression we are making as a band and the style we are writing nowadays.
That direction is a considerable move away from the crust punk and hardcore of your previous material, with the new material being in the deathgrind vein. What inspired this departure and exploration?
Alvino: The directional change has been present for quite some time actually. We released Embrace the Wretched Flesh a year ago via Good Fight Music, but before that album was released, we had those songs written nearly a year before it came into fruition. This exploration has been a long time coming and these two songs are the first time that change will be shown to the world.
How does this new sound build upon Embrace the Wretched Flesh in terms of style and theme?
Dave: It definitely still has the same elements we’ve always had. Bleak, heavy, tons of blasts, etc. With the news songs I’ve definitely tried to push myself more as a guitar player. I really love trying to create an atmosphere when I write, and with the new stuff we’re adding even more.
Alvino: As the lyrics go, I wanted to take my already vague subject matter and take it to a new level more based on my cultural aspect. These two songs take form based on Aztec and indigenous mythology but also the downfall of these civilizations from European conquest rooted in the Abrahamic religions. I can still stay vague, like I said, but also leave this open to many other cultures who’ve experienced this through history and anyone who wants to interpret it the way they want to.
What other artists and art in general have influenced the new material?
Dave: Portal, Grave Upheaval, Cruciamentum for me personally. I also love seeing Primitive Man, Blood Incantation and Spectral Voice. There is nothing cooler than seeing your friends doing awesome things to make you want to push harder.
What mood/tone do you push for while creating these atmospheres or do you leave the reaction to the listener’s interpretation?
Dave: I always try to push our sound to be as sad and and bleak as possible. But however the listener interprets is fine with me. That’s what art is all about!
What new equipment was used in crafting Pious Abnormality? How did the shift in style change how you approached the songwriting?
Alvino: Other than some tone changes, we recorded with the same gear we play live with. As for the writing process, Dave has an amazing ear for hearing the song as a whole and where accents and transitions should be. He also heard where certain vocal things should be and we took more time making sure the lyrics and vocals matched the flow of the song. Also, by cutting a lot of vocals out that I do, Dave has been singing more and has left me to really focus on my bass playing.
What formats will we see this released on?
Alvino: These two songs will be self-released to limited cassettes out of 50 copies and digital release as well. As these will be released to the world, we will be continuing writing new material for our next full length.
Are there any releases in the near future following the tape’s release?
Alvino: Full-length 2017 released via Good Fight Music. We want to focus all of our efforts on these songs for that full-length and really put what we have into them.
Of Feather and Bone played Within These Walls fest in AZ at the end of October. In addition to that, are there any tours planned around Pious Abnormality’s release?
Alvino: We will be playing three shows on the east coast with Ion Dissonance in November as well, which we are excited to play. Other tour plans are currently in the works but not at a point to announce quite yet.
We’ll be on the lookout for those dates. For CVLT Nation’s readers, is there anything further either of you would like to add for them?
Alvino: Thanks to Bruce, as always, for being one of the best people to work with and be on the lookout for the tape release and more new songs in the future.
Dave: Thanks Bruce!
Pious Abnormality will be available this Friday, 11/18 and can be ordered from the band here.
