While still relatively new to the fold, Los Angeles-based dirt metal outfit Aboleth was founded in 2016 by guitarist Collyn McCoy (Trash Titan, The Ultra Electric Mega Galactic) and 21-year-old, whisky-throated vocalist Brigitte Roka.
The release of their debut EP that summer saw them arrive not only as a band to watch but quite simply a bande à part. As potential game changers, with an impressive, shapeshifting approach to heavy rock; sludge and swamp blues, their wide range of influences and technical diligence marked them out early on as the missing link between Acid Bath and Lightnin’ Hopkins.
“We’re metalheads who love the blues, and this band got stuck in a limbo between both,” explains Roka, who originally began working with McCoy in his previous outfit The Ultra Electric Mega Galactic. “This made writing really fun because we ended up creating a new cohesive sound that comes from many different influences. It’s heavy, it’s grungy, it’s folky, it’s even got Satan and witchcraft, and that whole ‘selling your soul at a desert crossroads’ vibe…”
As McCoy expands, “It’s on our new record where I think we really found our voice. It happened organically, too. As we were writing new songs, that was the material we connected with the most. That said it’s still very heavy, but in a way that compliments Brigitte’s natural grit and soul and reflects our love for the blues and desert rock.”
Signed and produced by the multi-platinum/Grammy-nominated producer, Ulrich Wild (Dethklok, Pantera, Deftones, Static-X) to his WURMgroup record label, two years on and Aboleth now find themselves patiently waiting in the wings with their first full-length album. Due for release this May, Benthos is a record as ambitious as it is imposing and one that makes absolutely no concessions to the casual listener. With enough power to move mountains, Roka’s striking vocals transform her into a siren in sound, and one whose hellacious wails are able to summon the sleeping spirts of Janis Joplin and Chris Cornell. While the driving hard rock tones and Tectonic-grinding riffs from McCoy and his famed “Baguitar” – a bass/guitar hybrid which offers the lows of the former and the highs of the latter – are quite simply not of this world.
“Essentially, I wanted to be Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill at the same time,” he points out. “And not just in terms of facial hair. I wanted the thick, primal sound of a swampy bass and a gritty guitar moving in lockstep.”
Without ever truly securing the services of a regular drummer, a chance meeting one night after a show in a Long Beach dive bar found them procuring the percussive talents of none other than German multi-instrumentalist Marco Minnemann (Steven Wilson, Joe Satriani, Necrophagist) whose contribution to Benthos extends from first to last beat. Going into 2018 however, with a new record and an extensive tour (kicking off this May), Aboleth have at last welcomed into the fold an enigmatic new fixture, Boll3t, a monster drummer hailing from Brazil.
With the US tour scheduled throughout May/June in support of the new album, fans can pre-order a copy of Benthos by Aboleth ahead of its official release on 25th May 2018 via WURMgroup Records.
TOUR DATES:
5/11 – Cincinnati, OH – The Venue Center
5/13 – Braidwood, IL – Top Fuel Saloon
5/14 – Des Moines, IA – Vaudeville Mews
5/15 – Minneapolis, MN – Lee’s Liquor Lounge
5/16 – Sioux Falls, SD – Bigs Bar
5/18 – Lewiston, ID – 3rd Wheel
5/19 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Loading Dock
5/20 – Denver, CO – The Roxy Theater
5/21 – Kansas City, MO – The Riot Room
5/22 – Oklahoma City, OK – Kendells
5/23 – St. Louis, MO – Fubar
5/24 – Clarksville, TN – The Warehouse
5/25 – Atlanta, GA – The Masquerade
5/26 – Orlando, FL – The Haven
5/27 – Margate, FL – O’Malleys
5/28 – Greenville, SC – The Radio Room
5/29 – Fayetteville, NC – Drunk Horse Pub
5/30 – Brooklyn, NY – The Kingsland
5/31 – Pittsburgh, PA – The Smiling Moose
6/1 – Toledo, OH – New Longhorn Saloon
6/3 – Westland, MI – Token Lounge
ABOLETH:
Brigitte Roka – Vocals
Collyn McCoy – Baguitarist, Slide Guitar
Boll3t – Drums
