Set up, plug in, hit record and play. Sounds like the simplest and least complicated way of capturing music on tape/digital file, but it’s actually the most difficult. So much so that it hardly ever happens anymore, having been largely abandoned since the onset of multi-track recording. Overdubs, multiple takes, punch ins, piece-by-piece recording, remote recording and everything else has become commonplace. Well, someone forgot to inform Toronto powerviolence/grind outfit Depleted Uranium, or if someone did, the band decided to ignore convention with extreme prejudice in the creation of their latest offering, Origins. It’s an album of material dating back to the early days of the band, which originally formed in 2012, and sees decade-older dudes interpreting material from their past, but doing it in one take, live off the floor.
“Origins is our band’s history of who we are and where we come from,” they collectively report about the album. “It is meant to be listened to in reference to our self-titled, debut release to give a perspective that will also further be referenced in our future releases. Both lyrics and music hold a high tension and are expressed without hesitation. Both are relevant to our time and space of creation and are embodied with existential yet direct meaning. The album as a whole was a statement of youth being dissatisfied with the existing conditions of reality and channeling our experience into what it is today. ‘If one cannot withstand the hot glow of anger upon the discovery of a wrong, then time is wasted thinking deeply.’ Our band name, our lyrics, and our music are a product of the system with the right individuals as the recipe. Our message in the album is to strive for personal freedom and to focus on what you want rather than what you don’t. This album was a path out for all of us.”
In celebration, and promotion, of this release, the band has issued a two-part animated video in the form of “Alpha Particles” and “Beta Particles,” the latter of which we’re premiering today, though both are located below. It’s raw, dystopian, apocalyptic and there’s no way I’m the only catching vibes of Tool’s “Prison Sex” and Voivod’s “Ravenous Medicine” from the video and Orchid, old Converge, Dystopia and Combatwoundedveteran from the tune itself. About the clips, the band had this to say:
“‘Beta Particles’ is the second single of toxicity released by Depleted Uranium off Origins. As the music was recorded one-take, live off the floor, the unique animated music video for ‘Beta Particles’ (courtesy of Ryan van Steenburgh) is just as chaotic and closes the second half of a two-part story that began with ‘Alpha Particles.’ Blending the full-throttle music and the original animation style, the two videos deliver a unique experience of expression, combined with the short story concept that ‘Beta Particles’ completes.”
And for the sake of reverse continuity, here’s “Alpha Particles” (part one):
Check ‘em out at all the usual spots:
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