lowheaven: Toronto Post-Metal Outfit Joins MNRK Heavy Roster; Ritual Decay Debut To See Release On August 29th!

Toronto post-metal outfit and new MNRK Heavy signees lowheaven will unleash their stunning Ritual Decay debut full-length on August 29th.

Formed in the Spring of 2020, beneath the dark clouds of the COVID-19 pandemic and stay-at-home orders, lowheaven is Dan Thomson (vocals/guitar), Mikey Buchta (vocals/bass), Alex Pley (guitar/keys), and Pat Pajak (guitar). Their sound oscillates somewhere between post-hardcore, screamo, blackened noise, and metal. They’re not quite genreless, rather, a band that blends genres so thoroughly that they are better characterized by their distinctive emotional intensity than by any one label. Thomson, formerly of Canadian post-hardcore band Sparrows, explains candidly, “We’re not a happy listen. lowheaven is something that has got a lot of weight.”

Their debut album, Ritual Decay, pulls heavily from ‘90s influences like Cave In and Deftones, and feels nostalgic in nature. Produced by Brett Romnes and mastered by Mangus Lindberg, the ten-track offering explores the reality of complete social isolation and the acceptance of what it means to lose faith in life and yourself. Following the dissolution of his previous band and the mandated COVID-19 isolation, the very foundations of Thomson’s identity crumbled. Several unfortunate medical diagnoses led to a great deal of change, many of which would alter his life forever.

Similarly, each of the bandmates experienced a great deal of grief at the start of 2020, whether that be the sudden loss of relationships or dramatic changes in circumstance. The culmination of these seismic shocks were five full notebooks of lyrics grappling the line between self-hatred and forgiveness. In an effort to maintain this elevated emotional state, Romnes had the band record both Ritual Decay and lowheaven’s debut EP, Collapse, in a centuries old New Jersey church. Romnes’ intensity allowed the band to retap into their darkest emotions. According to the band, “everything that could be done to bring out performances or emotions was immediately on the table.” This meant watching David Cronenberg and various other horror films at all hours of the day on a television in the church. Specifically, the brutal and psychological nature of films like Cronenberg’s Crimes Of The Future and Julia Docournau’s Titane not only helped to set the tone for the recording process, but also to directly influence the final versions of the songs themselves. Many nights, the band members were only sleeping four or five hours and channeling this exhaustion into the hopelessness of the music.

In advance of the record’s release, today the band unveils the first single and its accompanying video, “Chemical Pattern.”

Elaborates Thomson, “This song has taken on a weight of its own, when you see what's been going on all around us since the beginning of this year, which is kind of wild since the song was written three years ago. This song was definitely a personal response to the fact that everything around me was melting; there wasn't a semblance of comfort or familiarity. While a significant amount of Ritual Decay is intensely personal, ‘Chemical Pattern’ is a look outwards. Let's be honest, everything is fucked. And I don't have the way out. Uncertainty is terrifying.”

Buchta concurs, “‘Chemical Pattern’ embodies the term structured chaos which in itself is what lowheaven communicates. It’s the most punk lowheaven gets. It’s a driving force with the drums behind the wheel.”

Adds Pley, “‘Chemical Pattern’ helps set the album off right; tension builds the entire song and only releases when the song finishes. When piecing together a live show, there wasn't a question that this was going to be in there—even before being chosen as a single.”