Description
Minsk is a doom metal/post-metal band from Peoria, Illinois founded in 2002. They are signed to Relapse Records on which they released their second full-length and most recent relase, the 2007 album The Ritual Fires of Abandonment. Self described as "psychedelic metal", their songs tend to start out as slow and simple, and become heavy and complex towards the end. Their sound draws equally from sludge metal, doom metal, hardcore punk, ambient and noise music, with a highly psychedelic attitude achieved through tribal drum patterns, thick layers of synthesizers and keyboards, and echoing vocals. They are named after the capitol of Belarus, and the idea of survival through suffering is a recurring theme in the lyrics and musical style. In fact, regarding the origin of their name, their official biography states: "Drawing its nominal inspiration from a remote Belarussian city nestled deep amidst the in-betweens of the East and the West, a city that has been burned to the ground on several occasions only to be rebuilt like a Phoenix rising from its ashes".
The sounds and atmospheres they evoke in their songs are complex and psychedelic and have led many critics, and mostly the band members themselves, to describe their music as "deeply spiritual and emotional.
Origin and Status
United States of America (Peoria/Chicago, Illinois) - Active
Current Members
Chris Bennett - Guitar
Tim Mead - Vocals, Conga Drums, Keyboard
Sanford Parker - Bass (Buried at Sea, Behold! The Living Corpse, Nachtmystium)
Tony Wyioming - Drums
Past members
Drew McDowell - Bass
Brian Barth - Drums
Dustin Addis - Guitar
Discography
Studio albums
- Burning demo (Lisa Falzone Recordings)
- Out of a Center Which Is Neither Dead nor Alive (2005, At a Loss Recordings)
- The Ritual Fires of Abandonment (2007, Relapse Records)
- With Echoes In The Movement Of Stone (2009, Relapse Records)
Splits
- Split with Unearthly Trance 7" (2007, Parasitic Records)
Compilation appearances
- If It Plays… (2004, Thinker Thought Records) (contributed "White Wings of Death Scatter Our Days")
- For the Sick tribute compilation (2007, Emetic Records) (contributed "Ruptured
Heart Theory")
Contacts and Links
http://www.myspace.com/minsk
http://thesoundofminsk.com/
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