Chicago Reader on Anatomy of Habit

Anatomy of Habit

Recommended

Anatomy of Habit, the Paver, Burned or Buried 

When: Fri., Jan. 23, 9 p.m. Price: $10 

 

Superheavy posteverything locals Anatomy of Habit have seen some heavy hitters pass through their ranks over the past few years: ex-members include Plague Bringer guitarist Greg Ratajczak, Disappears and Electric Hawk drummer Noah Leger, and former Cheer-Accident bassist Dylan Posa. But on this fall’s Ciphers + Axioms, their debut for Relapse Records, they prove that their current lineup is their strongest and scariest yet. Menacing and morose Bloodyminded vocalist Mark Solotroff continues to helm this devastating quintet, now with bassist Kenny Rasmussen (No Funeral), guitarist Will Lindsay (Indian, Wolves in the Throne Room), drummer John McEntire (Tortoise), and scrap-metal percussionist Theo Katsaounis (Joan of Arc). The two doomy, glacially paced tracks on Ciphers + Axioms grow across their 20 minutes or so from creeping, deliberate, hushed tones and calmly enunciated vocals into massive, explosive episodes—at the climax of the A side, “Radiate and Recede,” the band lays into a bombastic, sludgy freak-out while Solotroff plants himself firmly out front to let loose a bloodcurdling scream. Nightmarish and powerful, Ciphers + Axioms will be hard for anyone to top in 2015. This is a release party. —Luca Cimarusti

Empty Bottle  1035 N. Western Ave.   773-276-3600  emptybottle.com

http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/anatomy-of-habit-the-paver-burned-or-buried/Event?oid=16192152

Chicago Reader on Varnish Festival and BLOODYMINDED

More nice coverage from the Reader, with thanks to Luca!

http://www.chicagoreader.com/Bleader/archives/2013/11/07/varnish-brings-a-huge-lineup-of-weird-and-obscure-acts-to-logan-square-this-weekend
 
Varnish brings a huge lineup of weird and obscure acts to Logan Square this weekend

Posted by Luca Cimarusti today at 02.00 PM

 

Imagine this image as music.

 

Over the summer, Rotted Tooth Fest hosted twelve weird acts over two nights during Pitchfork. It was an epic feat for Chicago's underground weirdo-rock community, and this weekend it looks like it'll get a run for its money. The festival year closes out this Saturday with Varnish, an event that features almost twice as many acts as Rotted Tooth in half as much time. Varnish kicks off at 3 PM sharp, and features a whopping 19 bands that will perform nonstop late into the night.

The massive lineup includes a handful of bands that appeared at Rotted Tooth (including Oozing Wound and Rectal Hygenics) and a ton of others, both from Chicago and elsewhere. The big draw of the night is a headlining set from Mark Solotroff's power electronics collective Bloodyminded, who are celebrating the release of the truly upsetting and brutal Within the Walls, their first new record in seven years. Also playing is New York noisecore act Raspberry Bulbs, Andy Ortmann's confrontational Panicsville project, local powerviolence band Sea of Shit, synth master Neil Jendon, and industrial noise act Alberich. This, of course, is just a small taste of the many, many acts playing this thing.

 

It costs $20 at the door, $17 in advance (you can buy tickets at Permanent Records or by contacting varnishunderground@gmail.com). Need the exact address? Ask a punk, because I can't publish that info here. Varnish is also all ages, so you can totally bring your kids to see Climax Denial and Lil Tits.

Varnish's full lineup and schedule (which they swear they'll strictly stick to) are after the jump.

 

Murdered Man: 3-3:15 PM
Plagues: 3:25-3:40 PM
Pazuzu: 3:50-4:05 PM
Plague Mother: 4:15-4:30 PM
Apocalypse Of Death: 4:40-4:55 PM
Sea Of Shit: 5:05-5:20 PM
Neil Jendon: 5:30-5:50 PM
Lil Tits: 6-6:20 PM
Reptile Worship: 6:30-6:50 PM
Forced Into Femininity: 7-7:20 PM
Muck: 7:30-8 PM
Rectal Hygienics: 8-8:25 PM
Deterge: 8:35-8:55 PM
Climax Denial: 9:05-9:30 PM
Oozing Wound: 9:40-10:05 PM
Panicsville: 10:15-10:45 PM
Alberich: 10:55-11:25 PM
Raspberry Bulbs: 11:35 PM-12:15 AM
Bloodyminded: 12:25 AM

Reader on Anatomy of Habit

http://www.chicagoreader.com/Bleader/archives/2013/05/09/anatomy-of-habit-debut-their-new-lineup-tomorrow-night

THURSDAY, MAY 9, 2013

THINGS I LOVE / MUSICAnatomy of Habit debut their new lineup tomorrow night

Posted by Luca Cimarusti today at 02.24 PM

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• Anatomy of Habit

At the beginning of the year, Gossip Wolf reported that monstrous local five-piece Anatomy of Habit had retooled their lineup, and now, five months later, we get to see the refurbished band live, opening for French post-rockers Ulan Bator at Cobra Lounge on Friday night. Anatomy of Habit, a band known for intense, terrifying post-metal dirges and heady experimental rock, have bid farewell to guitarist Greg Ratajczak, metal percussionist Blake Edwards, and drummer Noah Leger (who had replaced original drummer Dylan Posa), and have added even more star power to the lineup.

Guitar duties are now being handled by Indian and former Wolves in the Throne Room member Will Lindsay, a local heavy-metal guru. John McEntire, Tortoise member and owner of Soma Electronic Music Studios, will be handling the drum kit. And the newest addition to the lineup is Joan of Arc drummer Theo Katsaounis, who will be taking over on secondary percussion.

That's a lot of personality and volume right there. My prediction is that Anatomy of Habit will somehow be even bigger and scarier than before. No recorded output with the new guys is available yet, but the band, which puts out their own material, has been releasing a constant stream of music since their inception, so we're bound to hear what they've created sometime very soon.

As for the former members of the band? As I reported a couple of months ago, Ratajczak is back to making noise with his old cyber-grind project Plague Bringer, and Leger has taken up the drum throne with Disappears, who you may have heard of before.

Everything the band has recorded—with their original lineup, at least—is available for free streaming on their Bandcamp page. And in case you didn't pick up on it earlier in this post, it's absolutely excellent.

Luca Cimarusti writes about local music on Thursday.

The Reader on AoH (7/16)

The Chicago Reader just published a nice piece on Anatomy of Habit... Thanks, Luca/Reader!


Cages, Anatomy of Habit 

When: Sat., July 16, 7 p.m. Price: $5, free with Pitchfork wristband

It’s kind of mind-blowing that a band whose lineup includes both Greg Ratajczak, guitarist for cyber-grind maniacs Plague Bringer, and Mark Solotroff, vocalist for harsh-noise collective Bloodyminded, would end up as pretty as Anatomy of Habit. Their sprawling progressive-metal jams, which often top ten minutes, are hardly gentle—unsurprisingly these guys don’t shy away from volume—but they’re introspective and icily delicate as often as they’re punishingly huge, and Solotroff sings in an Ian Curtis deadpan as well as a bloodcurdling scream. The loud-soft-loud postrock thing is a little overdone, but Anatomy of Habit stand out from the pack with their stark and honest sound. The band—which also employs former Cheer-Accident bassist Dylan Posa on drums, Blake Edwards of Vertonen on metal percussion, and Kenny Rasmussen from the defunct No Funeral on bass—just put the finishing touches on its debut album with Bob Weston at Chicago Mastering Service, and it’s due before the end of the year. —Luca Cimarusti