SEVEN)SUNS x Ben Weinman

SEVEN)SUNS: The Dillinger Escape Plan's Ben Weinman chats with classical music disruptors in new interview, now streaming

Classical music disruptors Seven)Suns have released a 29-minute video featuring founder/violinist Earl Maneein in conversation with The Dillinger Escape Plan's Ben Weinman, discussing Seven)Suns' upcoming new album – a note-for-note recreation of TDEP's landmark, One of Us Is the Killer.

The chat goes deep into every aspect of the ambitious project's origins and execution. Also at the table are Joseph Spiller, the album's producer, and Michael Kadnar, owner of Silent Pendulum Records, the Brooklyn-based label set to release it on September 29th.

Stream the video, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hv0kZcv5lLQ

With 2023 marking the tenth anniversary of One of Us Is the Killer, Seven)Suns have reinterpreted the entire masterpiece, start to finish, as eleven new pieces, arranged for violin, viola, and cello. Upon the album's original release in 2013, Metal Hammer called it “the pinnacle of [The Dillinger Escape Plan's] career to date."

Seven)Suns founder Earl Maneein – a world-class violinist whose resumé includes performances with Jay-Z and Rihanna, and whom Metallica’s Robert Trujillo has stated to be “a kick ass player who pushes the creative boundaries” – describes his own group’s sound as “dystopian music rooted in the language of avant-metal and hardcore, played by a string quartet.” Based in New York City, the quartet consists of Maneein on violin, Adda Kridler on violin, Fung Chern Hwei on viola, and Jennifer DeVore on cello.

Seven)Suns has broken boundaries in both the metal and classical music worlds. While their core repertoire is original music written by Maneein, the group incorporates songs from metal and punk bands into its set list as well as Western composers such as Arvo Part and Hildegard Von Bingen.

Seven)Suns’ collaboration with The Dillinger Escape Plan can be traced back to 2015 when Maneein and his gang grabbed Weinman's attention with their cover of the band's odd-time mosh anthem, “43% Burnt.” Impressed, he invited Seven)Suns to perform on two songs on TDEP's final album, Dissociation, and he released their debut album, For The Hearts Still Beating, on his label, Party Smasher Inc.

Seven)Suns' other recent forays in the metal world include collabs with experimental black metal troupe Imperial Triumphant (on a track also featuring the talents of sax god Kenny G) and post-metal visionaries So Hideous. 

The quartet plays live, August 2nd at New York's famed Joe's Pub. Buy tickets, here: https://publictheater.org/productions/joes-pub/2023/s/sevensuns/

More info: https://thechainworld.blogspot.com/2023/06/sevensuns-x-dillinger-escape-plan.html

Photo of Ben Weinman, by Liz Ramanand

Photo of Seven)Suns, by John DeVore

SEVEN)SUNS x The Dillinger Escape Plan

SEVEN)SUNS: classical music disruptors reimagine The Dillinger Escape Plan's entire "One of Us Is the Killer" album

With 2023 marking the tenth anniversary of The Dillinger Escape Plan's monumental fifth album, One of Us Is the Killer, classical music disruptors Seven)Suns have reinterpreted the entire masterpiece, start to finish, as eleven new pieces, arranged for violin, viola, and cello. The album will be released on Silent Pendulum Records on September 29th.

Stream Seven)Suns’ version of the track ”Understanding Decay,” from One of Us Is the Killer, here: https://metalinjection.net/new-music/sevensuns-reimagined-the-dillinger-escape-plans-one-of-us-is-the-killer-and-its-brilliant

Pre-order the album, here (LP): https://silentpendulumrecords.com/products/sevensuns-one-of-us-is-the-killer

Pre-order the album, here (digital): https://silentpendulumrecords.bandcamp.com/album/one-of-us-is-the-killer

Seven)Suns founder Earl Maneein – a world-class violinist whose resumé includes performances with Jay-Z and Rihanna, and whom Metallica’s Robert Trujillo has stated to be “a kick ass player who pushes the creative boundaries” – describes his own group’s sound as “dystopian music rooted in the language of avant-metal and hardcore, played by a string quartet.” Based in New York City, the quartet consists of Maneein on violin, Adda Kridler on violin, Fung Chern Hwei on viola, and Jennifer DeVore on cello. 

Known for inventing a new musical language, Seven)Suns has broken boundaries in both the metal and classical music worlds. While their core repertoire is original music written by Maneein, the group incorporates songs from metal and punk bands into its set list as well as Western composers such as Arvo Pärt and Hildegard Von Bingen.

Seven)Suns’ collaborations with The Dillinger Escape Plan date back to 2015 when Maneein and his gang grabbed the attention of TDEP’s Ben Weinman with their cover of the band's odd-time mosh anthem, “43% Burnt.” Impressed, Weinman invited Seven)Suns to perform on two songs on TDEP's final album, Dissociation, and he released their debut album, For The Hearts Still Beating, on his label, Party Smasher Inc.

The alliance continued to grow: Seven)Suns performed live at TDEP's farewell shows in NYC in December 2017 and the group worked with TDEP drummer Billy Rymer on a track on his band Thoughtcrimes’ debut album.

Maneein says the concept for Seven)Suns' reimagining of One of Us Is the Killer grew out of a conversation with Weinman during the peak of the pandemic. “I figured transcribing some of the craziest music from one of the craziest bands ever was a good way to pass the time,” he states.

With Maneein and Fung creating string arrangements for all eleven of the dizzying songs, recording commenced at Backroom Studios in Rockaway, NJ, with TDEP guitarist Kevin Antreassian at the helm. The album was mixed and mastered by Joseph Spiller.

Metal Injection’s review of the original album in 2013 stated: "One of Us Is the Killer proves that Dillinger Escape Plan are still, and always will be, some of the best jazz musicians out there, making some of the most standout metal that no band on Earth can emulate with such composure." Metal Hammer called it “the pinnacle of their career to date." As evidenced by the first single, "Understanding Decay," Seven)Suns' approach to TDEP's material is electrifying. Using the language of classical music, Maneein, Kridler, Fung, and DeVore bring new fire and ferocity to the music. TDEP shattered boundaries ten years ago and now Seven)Suns have delivered a brand new shattering.

The group's other recent forays in the metal world include collabs with experimental black metal troupe Imperial Triumphant (on a track also featuring the talents of sax god Kenny G) and post-metal visionaries So Hideous.

Tracklist:

1) Prancer

2) When I Lost My Bet

3) One of Us Is the Killer

4) Hero of the Soviet Union

5) Nothing's Funny

6) Understanding Decay

7) Paranoia Shields

8) CH 375 268 277 ARS

9) Magic That I Held You Prisoner

10) Crossburner

11) The Threat Posed by Nuclear Weapons

Photo by John DeVore

SO HIDEOUS - "Bright Black Beach"

SO HIDEOUS: post-metal visionaries release new single "Bright Black Beach" with music video and drum playthrough; summer shows include Japan tour

With some momentous shows on the calendar for the summer – including a tour of Japan (with Silent Pendulum Records labelmates Seek) and a slot on The Postman Syndrome's first show in two decades – post-metal visionaries So Hideous have released a brand new single, "Bright Black Beach."

Stream "Bright Black Beach" in two versions, here – an AI-generated music video and a playthrough video showing drummer Michael Kadnar performing the song: https://www.invisibleoranges.com/so-hideous-bright-black-beach/

A standalone single, "Bright Black Beach" is So Hideous' first new music since the highly acclaimed None But A Pure Heart Can Sing, which MetalSucks called, "the best experimental black metal album of 2021." Invisible Oranges' review of that album stated: "Combining symphonic elements with an antagonistic angst-aggregation of post-black/shoegaze/hardcore, So Hideous strikes at the heart with a sweeping combination of majestic grandeur and knife-in-the-gut agony."

New single "Bright Black Beach" begins as a haunted Western lament, then rips open into a full-blast deluge of blackened fury. Guitarist Brandon Cruz states: "This song was written during the 'None But A Pure Heart Can Sing' sessions but did not fit the tone of the album and was recorded shortly thereafter. 'None But A Pure Heart Can Sing' was all about forward momentum and very optimistic in its way –– an album that was restless and excited about possibility. This song, on the other hand, had that sepia toned introspection thing that reminded me of something like Lana Del Rey's 'Ultraviolence.'"

Cruz continues: "For me, the beach at night always feels like a calm and reflective place... a nice respite from all the traffic and noise. But you still have to respect the element of danger in the ocean. I envisioned someone walking a moonlit beach for the entirety of their life, looking at their past, present, and future memories, and eventually drowning in them."

Invisible Oranges states: "Evoking the sounds of shoegaze and black metal in unison... A beautiful and uncompromising listen."

Drummer Michael Kadnar discusses his use of brushes and blastbeats within the dynamic song: "It's been very interesting and challenging to create the textures I want in So Hideous. I studied jazz in college, so bringing that influence to the band has opened a lot of doors and definitely created a cool dichotomy between blast beats and more emotional brush work."

The song was engineered, mixed and mastered by The Dillinger Escape Plan guitarist Kevin Antreassian at Backroom Studios.

June 17 - Garwood, NJ @ Crossroads w/ The Postman Syndrome
July 6 - Osaka, Japan @ Hokage w/ Seek
July 7 - Nagoya, Japan @ Huck Finn w/ Seek
July 8 - Tachikawa, Tokyo, Japan @ Cosmic Hall w/ Seek
July 9 - Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan @ Antiknock w/ Seek

July 31 - Brooklyn, NY @ Saint Vitus w/ Rosetta, SOM

Photo by Sean Ageman