Bjorn Dannov has been on one hell of a musical journey — adventurous, consistently captivating, and never, ever predictable.
The Los Angeles-based guitarist/visionary — perhaps best known to Decibel readers as an integral driver of top-shelf melodic death metal outfit Vehemence as well as the early work of USBM stalwarts Abigail Williams — branched into majestic layered heavy shoegaze soundscapes a few years back with the seriously under-appreciated, gone-too-soon True Cross. And now, he pushes further with a fantastic, enlivening new post rock band christened Here in Spirit.
When it comes to settling on an apt description of the band’s debut Past Tense Portrait Of A Paralyzed Purpose, this is a case in which it’s actually tough to beat the accompany press materials: “With roots firmly planted in metal soil, Dannov retains some of the more somber and melodic elements that made Vehemence stand out, while experimenting with modern post rock and even shoegaze tones and color, drowning in 90’s rock nostalgia.”
“This is a project that I’ve been working on since 2017,” Dannov tells Decibel. “I knew [drummer] Daniel [McBride] from a tour I’ve done with him back when I was in Abigail Williams and when I relocated to Los Angeles in 2016 I reconnected with him. This album is basically the first batch of songs we created in 2017. Once we recorded the music, we sent the tracks over to Chris [Parsons] in Phoenix where he wrote the vocal melodies and lyrics. Once he was done, he came out to LA and tracked his vocals. Currently we are working on solidifying a line up, with an open spot for a bassist and 2nd guitarist so we can bring this live. We have another album’s worth of material ready, and hope to begin pre-production on that soon”
For now, however, enjoy this exclusive stream of the opening salvo from the record, “I Don’t Want to Sleep”:
