With most issues we end up with content that gets moved about and doesn’t make it into print. It’s sad, we know – but it’d be even sadder if we didn’t share these pieces with you here. Enjoy!
JOHN MINCEMOYER ENTERS THE EXTREME METAL REALM OF DENVER, COLORADO TO EXCHANGE WORDS WITH BASSIST/VOCALIST AS FROM ONE OF ITS LATEST PRODUCTS, OF FEATHER AND BONE.
As a moniker, Of Feather And Bone strikes an evocative and intriguing balance between the poetic beauty and naked savagery one might find and/or see in nature. When asked to elaborate on this idea bassist/vocalist AS replies: “The band name kind of came from a stem of wanting something unique and something we didn’t have to worry about anyone stealing eventually. We’ve always had the implications that our band doesn’t sonically sound the way our name implies, which I have personally always enjoyed. It means you can’t judge our band based on name alone. You have to truly dig to hear us either live or recorded. But overall, the name came from just bouncing ideas off of one another one evening. I think we all have our own personal meanings behind it, but overall, I like to keep it vague.”
Of Feather And Bone formed in 2012 and call Denver, Colorado, home. Prior to Of Feather And Bone, AS “had been playing in punk bands for a few years”. Things changed when he ultimately crossed paths with guitarist DG and drummer PW. “DG and PW were both playing in bands together. When I met them both, they had played a show in their power violence’esque band and without a bass player. I had been seeking a band to play bass in that was heavier and faster; similar to what they were doing. I went to them after the show and asked if they wanted a bass player and if I could try out. And thus formed the beginning phases of Of Feather and Bone.”
Over the last five years or so, Denver has, unwittingly, become a veritable extreme metal hotbed led by the likes of Blood Incantation and Spectral Voice. You can now add Of Feature And Bone to this steadily growing list of young, inspiring acts. “The nice thing about Denver is, not all of the bands sound the same,” replies AS. “We have so many bands here that range in all sorts of styles of metal. And the best thing is, that all of us get along for the most part. We’ll play the same bills and see one another at any given show…It’s been surreal to see so many of the bands from here being noticed not only nationally, but globally. No one really looks at Denver and assumes that we have a thriving metal scene, but it feels awesome to be a contributing factor to that, especially after pushing as hard as we have been for the past six years.”
This labour produced their baleful, positively riveting second full-length, Bestial Hymns Of Perversion. A merciless full-scale assault of malicious, uncompromising extremity, Bestial… impresses and oppresses in equal measure. Likened to Immolation and Incantation, on Bestial… Of Feather And Bone proves – quite emphatically for the record – that such ‘general’ comparisons are indeed wanting. “We have recently gotten a lot of comparison to Incantation and Immolation,” admits AS. “We love those bands, but we have never actively – especially during writing – sought to write the way they do. We all come from different musical backgrounds including punk, d-beat, thrash, hardcore, black metal, death metal, etc. People have always had a hard time labelling us as far as sound goes. The blending of styles that DG has always written is not something we overthink. It’s natural to him. He writes the way he knows how to and it connects with PW incredibly organically.”
The band’s approach and the devastating end result struck a (dissonant) chord with Profound Lore’s Chris Bruni, who, after hearing the final mixes, immediately signed them. “We started emailing each other back and forth,” replies AS. “Once he heard the final mixes, there was no hesitation that he wanted to release the record, and working with him thus far has been nothing short of amazing and painless. Some of the best support we’ve ever had as a band.”
Bestial Hymns Of Perversion is out now on Profound Lore | profoundlorerecords.com
