With more than twenty releases under its belt – a treasure trove of albums, EPs, splits, and seven-inches, released since 2010 – CLOUD RAT is a singular force in the extreme music scene, creating a legacy of crucial work by way of pure catharsis.
Cloud Rat‘s every move is executed with intensity; every note is delivered with conviction. Cloud Rat is the sound of three humans pushed to the edge – the threshold – and giving one hundred percent of themselves to the present moment.
Cloud Rat has been labelled a “grindcore” band, but the prolific Michigan trio is so much more. Cloud Rat’s only rule is realness.
Within its punishing songs, the band glides freely through a range of musical forms; underneath its full-throttle grind swirls a Lake Superior of emotion. Vocalist Madison Marshall’s gut-purging screams and drummer Brandon Hill’s hyperactive hammering meld with guitarist Rorik Brooks’ kaleidoscope of epic riffs and occasional synths, into songs that are equally wild-eyed, bone-crushing, and heartbreaking.
A review from Kerrang! Magazine of 2019’s Pollinator album reads: “Their music is inexhaustible, spasming through elaborate rackets of heaving riffs, spit-flecked vocals, and berserk percussion without ever slowing down. At the same time, there’s an atmospheric creep to their music that gives it a hard menace.”
Guitarist Rorik Brooks believes new album Threshold to be the pinnacle of his band’s career thus far, unifying its liberated approach into one cohesive thrust: “To me, Threshold feels like a response to all of our earlier material. I think we finally have a successful distillation of all our seemingly disparate influences, into what I feel is our best work so far. It builds upon earlier Cloud Rat material with expanded songwriting, technical prowess, and overall intensity, while more organically incorporating the melodic and electronic leanings that we’ve been exploring over the years.”
Threshold was engineered and mixed by Brooks at his home studio and mastered by Harris Newman.
Discussing the significance of the album title, Brooks states:”I like the idea that Threshold can mean both a boundary that can’t be crossed or a maximum point, or a gateway that can be entered.”
Vocalist Madison Marshall concurs: “Threshold is the brink. Like, in open water, you can’t come up for air, and after trying to get to the surface you feel weightless because it feels so much better to stop trying to get air. It feels better to sink.”
“Threshold represents the full culmination of years of struggle, frustration and anguish,” states drummer Brandon Hill. “The brink.”
Cloud Rat is: Madison Marshall – vocals, Rorik Brooks – guitar, keyboards, samples, Brandon Hill – drums
