![]() It can be as bad as you think or even just a bit of having to do without something vital to a happy life. In the lyrics, I tried hard to bring into view the idea of being forced to leave everything behind, to stop living the life dreamed and built from hard work. This is the Doomed & Stoned world premiere. Cassius King unleashes these 11 tracks on Friday, October 21st ( digital pre-order here) and the record gets a CD release from MDD Records in Europe and Nomad Eel Records has it on both compact disc and cassette. “I was extremely poor for 10 years and my grandmother’s wealthy husband used to always say to me: Cash is King.”Īll told, Dread The Dawn is an exhilarating listen. “I moved out of my house when I was 21,” Dan Lorenzo told me this morning when I finally broke down and asked. Turns out, the answer was right in front of me the whole time: Cash is King. “Cassius” means “hollow,” so does their name actually mean “Hollow King”? In my mind, I conjured images of an ancient Roman usurper to Caesar’s throne. Some of you may be wondering, what’s with the name “Cassius King”? Most bands in the scene have a story behind their name, and sometimes incorporate themes from history, philosophy, religion, and science, so of course I gave this some thought. “As I Begin to Turn” also stands out with its twisted atonality that crawls like thorns over the relentless central riff. I adore this grungy, doomy, bluesy “anti-breakdown” from Flotsam and Jetsam guitarist Michael Gilbert, who guests here. For instance, instead of a flashy guitar solo to up the ante on “Abandon Paradise,” we’re given the tuned-down and swampy treatment. ![]() There are creative choices I appreciate in the songcraft, as well. Then there’s the melting vocal harmonies that end “Bad Man Down.” Cassius King’s approach to doom is thoughtful, convincingly bluesy, and down-to-earth. The title track is about as dreary as you can ask for, but in a very cool way (think Trouble and Solitude Aeternus). ![]() Songs will often greet you with a lot of groove (“Pariah to Messiah”) and sometimes go for sheer metal god glory (“Back From The Dead”). You can tell these guys approached their second LP with the kind of confidence that comes from decades of artistic achievement and collaboration. At the core, ‘Dread The Dawn’ (2022) is filled with exuberance and inventiveness. It’s honestly a joy to listen to new material from Cassius King, and not just because they’re so nicely recorded. The powerful heartbeat is supplied by Jimmy Schulman (bass) and Ron Lipnicki (drums) who, besides spending time together with Dan Lorenzo in Hades, are also tagged to grissly Jersey doom outfit Vessel of Light. ![]() What began as a solo project of ex-Hades/Non Fiction riffian Dan Lorenzo (guitar), soon attracted a formidable frontman in Jason McMaster (vox), formerly of Watchtower/Dangerous Toys. Listening to CASSIUS KING, you get why metal remains such a powerful and moving medium of expression. ![]()
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