The Denver duo of Oryx makes their return this week with a brand new album entitled Stolen Absolution. The band's second full-length record fluidly combines gritty sludge and trudging doom; a style heavily featured in all of their musical output. Yet, Stolen Absolution sees a culmination of years of tirelessly working on their craft. Arguably their best work to date, Oryx weaves sociopolitical and ecological concerns into eight new tracks.
For example, "Blackened Earth"—whose video is exclusively streaming below—rolls out a vitriolic kick of spitting, mid-tempo sludge. Tommy Davis' harsh voice undoubtedly gives the track a gritty tone. Yet, it's in pounding low-end created by Davis and Abbey Apple's drums where the track's energy lies. There's a certain ferocity that comes with a driving bass and drum set-up. For Oryx, this builds a foundation for a towering sound that many bands with double the personnel only wish to achieve. Tommy Davis spoke about the music video for "Blackened Earth." The music video itself certainly echoes the dark and fierce tone of, not just the song, but Stolen Absolution in its entirety.
Artwork by Ethan Lee McCarthy
"We worked with Rolando Alvarez on this video. He usually has a knack for doing more hip-hop videos but we like his style. Artistically the viewpoint surrounding the concept was to represent the lyrics visually, simply by supplying the contrast between natural earth and man-made factories," He stated. "The needs and wants of man are only met by ripping resources out of the ground, so intrinsically our quest for happiness, fulfillment, a sense of normalcy or regularity is only achieved by destroying the earth."
Check out the brand new, wonderfully shot music video for "Blackened Earth" immediately below. Pre-orders are also available from Graven Earth Records (cassette) and Midnite Collective (CD) now. Additionally, Stolen Absolution is available on Bandcamp to stream.
