A going concern since 2008, Portland, ME prog-tech death metal trio Shabti are blessing us with album number three, Haze, Cacophony, and White Light, their first effort since 2019’s Trembling and Shorn. The lack of regular output is understandable for this threesome—Brendan Hayter (bass), Rob Cook (vocals/guitar), Ray Capizzo (drums)—as, in addition to their Sabti duty, they have connections to Obsidian Tongue, Falls of Rauros, Fires in The Distance, Panopticon and more. That said, they evidently put in some serious time crafting the six black metal-influenced tracks on their latest, as each piece offers an abundance of sounds and textures woven into intense and complicated arrangements, all topped with Cook’s growls and shrieks. Cacophony, indeed.
Haze, Cacophony, and White Light was tracked by the band with additional tracking of vocals and guitars at Acadia Recording Company in Portland. Mixing was done at The Cathedral of Psychic Death by Aaron Charles (Falls Of Rauros), while mastering was completed by Dan Lowndes at Resonance Sound Studio. It’s set for release on cassette and digitally via Contemn Light on August 21. Place your preorder here and get your digital presaves here.
Vocalist/guitarist Rob Cook talked about the band’s third full-length effort:
“Though most of the songs have more than one meaning, some of them are more directly drawn from my personal experience and personal experiences of the people around me than songs I have written in the past. After toiling in the underground for years and years, it was very important to me to get this album right, and I am proud of what we have accomplished.”
