Del Judas' debut album Deity is out today on Primal Architecture.
Listen and buy, here:
https://deljudasprml.bandcamp.com/
"Metal drummer goes solo, shocks everyone with a flawless, fully-realized, cowboy-goth alter-ego" is the headline here. Del Judas is the new solo incarnation of Brooklyn musician Charlie Schmid, known for his work as drummer of bands like Tombs and Vaura. Stepping out from behind the kit for the first time, Schmid brings a lifetime's worth of passion to these stellar songs – a dark, romantic, sinister sound that resides at the moonlit crossroads of country and post-punk, tipping the hat to Johnny Cash, Chris Isaak, Peter Murphy, and the films of David Lynch. Deity is a wondrous example of a metal musician successfully branching out to other genres and, context aside, the album stands on its own as an intensely atmospheric and memorable debut.
"This record is about the eternal interplay between the sex drive and the death drive, " says Schmid. "It’s about killing yourself, figuratively and literally. It’s about parts of yourself dying off as you go through different romantic relationships in your life and the rebirth that happens through both sensual pleasure and psychic growth."
The vocals and instruments on Deity were recorded entirely by Schmid in his apartment in Brooklyn. The album was mixed by Evan McCulloch and mastered by Colin Marston (Jarboe, Sannhet, Kayo Dot).
"The soundtrack to a lonely drive out west, as the sun is pulled down by the fingertips of ghosts hitchhiking their way across the sprawling interstate... Lovingly giving nod to crooning melodies of Johnny Cash, Chris Isaak, Peter Murphy, with aural and aesthetic traces of the The Fields of the Nephilim."
"Schmid’s voice is rendered in a Chris Isaak-like croon, and the production has a hushed quality you might expect from someone making a record in a Brooklyn apartment surrounded by neighbors. By pulling you in close to his voice, Schmid also pulls you close to the darkness that lurks behind his words... A slow, nocturnal drive down the dark side of memory lane. While electric guitars swoon and fade like passing lights on the side of the highway, Schmid sings about seeking pleasure in the present to escape the pain of his past."
–Invisible Oranges
"A spectral yet contemporary take on broodingly dark country... A sultry and vulnerable sensuality."
–Joy of Violent Movement
Photo by Jaka Vinsek
Saw them last night, put on a great show! I look forward to getting my hands/ears on an album. Hurry up Spotify!
ReplyDeleteIt’s music for the desert wander in all of us.
Take a late night joyride with the outlaw troubadour of Americana's darkly seductive id.
ReplyDeleteLuring you in was easy. Nostalgic arrangements provide familiar comfort.
Deeper listening slowly peels back the sheepskin to reveal the lyrical wolf inside.
Sonic deja vu...
Music from a movie that scared you as a child? Maybe. No-who is this? I KNOW this. But you don't.
Maybe you dreamed it.
The outlaw's lair is at the crossroads of deeply personal & culturally universal, so you'll never be sure if the desires evoked are coming from him, or from YOU.
One thing’s for sure- this album will haunt you.
Forever.