Soon after the recent release of “Another Arc”, the first single from the Wyoming-based outfit’s upcoming new album, A Darker Discharge, out April 29th; the band joins us today to celebrate the upcoming release of their first album for German label Lifeforce Records with first-hand track by track commentary below!
Incorporating elements of industrial-metal, sludge, noise, post-punk, and more, Lament Cityscape blazes forward like an electronics-heavy mix of Code Orange’s merciless rhythms, Uniform’s unhinged angst, and Jesu’s melancholic grandeur.
Recently relocated from Oakland CA to rural Wyoming, Lament Cityscape mastermind Mike McClatchey says the conservatism of Wyoming inspired some of his most aggressive material to date
Pre-order Lament Cityscape’s new album, A Darker Discharge (out April 29th), HERE.
01: OCEAN OF FUSES
Outside of two riffs this album was written in order. I did all the music for each song in order, then went back and wrote lyrics inorder. I knew I was taking a big side-step from what Lament has been in the past. I wanted this album to have faster songs, shorter songs, parts that I consciously stayed away from. I wanted to do something much colder and more musically confrontational. The first major experiment was completely disregarding any live instruments. No drums, no guitars, no bass. Just programming and vocals. I usually go in with an idea of what the album will be thematically with the lyrics, but for ‘A Darker Discharge’ I had a couple ideas of what I wanted to do but it changed throughout the process. Ocean of Fuses was setting a cold tone for all of the songs, and started with some Tetsuo/metal-fetishist imagery while trying to create an emotionally gross setting.
02: ALL THESE WIRES
The chorus riff was one of the parts I had written on guitar several months prior to starting this album. It kind of helped me rethink parts since this entire album was going to be written in midi. It kind of flipped the switch to convert my brain to a midi map, instead of a fretboard, I guess. It’s so natural for me to write six-minute songs and have things build and repeat forever and going into this one with an intention of being quick and to-the-point with nothing extra was initially really uncomfortable. It was exciting to try new things with this project. I felt the need to keep on the path but when it was first written I was second-guessing myself all the time. I guess I still am, and will continue to, I’m sure. Peter Layman (Flood Peak) added really heavy vocals over the end and Jim Willig (Venetian Veil) added a rad rhythmic synth part.
03: ANOTHER ARC
This one is an early-90s industrial metal worship track. Simple and stupid and fun and lacking any subtleties. I haven’t really played with “fun” much. Felt weird. Didn’t expect this to be our first single but I guess it’s a “come-out-swinging” kind of thing, so it did.
04: INNOCENCE OF SHARED EXPERIENCES
“You’ll never know me and you’ll never know anyone.” I suppose this song was a partially unintentional exercise in further alienating myself from those closest to me. I had my wife and my best friends all sing with me, creating a choir of people pushing each other away. When writing and recording it felt like a very intimate and beautiful song about completely opening up, but once it was done it had so much weight and sadness that I felt really shitty for what I had done. It’s currently my favorite song that I’ve ever recorded though. I don’t know what to think. Jim added a synth line over the end that changed the whole song for me. I love it so much. The main melody line was written on an acoustic right after my son was born and I played it for him for almost two years before converting it to synth and using it for this song.
05: THE UNDER DARK
I’ve always been pretty vocal about my distaste for blast beats. I feel like I lose focus or attention. Maybe I’m just too slow. I wanted to try something that I knew was so out of my element since that had been a theme within the album already. Lyrically, this song is kind of the big picture of the whole album. The most on-the-nose and direct.
06: WHERE THE WALLS USED TO BE
This one is just a plodding bassline that never changes. The Aztec death whistles turned a simple rock song into whatever filth it is now. It’s an eerily peaceful rhythm to me.
07: PART OF THE MOTHER
I had been wanting to do a snare-on-the-one rockin’ thing for a long time but it never really fit with any other album. The intention was to have this album fit on a 45rpm so this was obviously going to be the final song so I knew this was the time. The energy seemed right and it was short and sweet until I felt the need for a self-indulgent outro. Possessor is a great movie. Jennifer Jason Leigh’s voice is perfect.
