Very few bands can effectively mix intelligence with intensity like Southern California’s INTRONAUT, who essentially walks a fine line between psychedelic brutality, captivating hooks and devastating yet unpredictable time changes. This is the essence of thinking man’s metal and something so refreshing that it should serve as a vicious wake up call to masses forcing the entire genre to take notice.
There is no doubt that INTRONAUT will be taking metal in a new direction with their Century Media debut, Prehistoricisms, which was engineered by Josh Newell (Jane’s Addiction). The group have been critics’ darlings, receiving numerous accolades from such major publications as Decibel, Metal Maniacs, Outburn and Revolver, among a slew of others. Decibel even listed their next effort as “One of the most anticipated releases of 2008.”
Sacha Dunable (vocals/guitars) states: “There is a level of chemistry that we’ve never had before, now with our new guitar player Dave Timnick in the band. I can't even begin to express how excited we are about this record. It's definitely our most densely packed body of work yet. In addition to the standard INTRONAUT angle of attack, we have some surprises including an awesome guest solo from Negativa/Gorguts guitarist Steve Hurdle, as well as some truly jaw-dropping moments of Indian/metal fusion courtesy of Joe Lester (bass) and Timnick. We are beyond stoked with the results.”
INTRONAUT is the brainchild of drummer Danny Walker (Jesu, Phobia, Uphill Battle) and Dunable (Anubis Rising) that came together in 2004 as both were each looking for a new musical project. Together they conceptualized the direction of the band for months prior to actually coming together to jam. The group would quickly be rounded out by Lester and guitarist Leon Del Muerte. They soon recorded and self-released the Null demo. This immediately caught the interest of Canada’s Goodfellow Records, who quickly signed the band and re-released Null as an EP in February 2006. Around this time, the band wrote and recorded their first full-length LP, Void, which was released by Goodfellow in August 2006.
INTRONAUT toured extensively throughout 2006, completing a self-booked North American tour composed of stints with Mouth of The Architect, Fuck The Facts, Black Cobra, Century and Genghis Tron. The year was ultimately capped off with a two month U.S. tour alongside Misery Index and Yakuza. In early 2007, the group was added last minute to the first half of Isis’ headlining tour, which also featured Torche and Oxbow.
This past summer with the Goodfellow contract up, INTRONAUT decided to write and record a one-off EP with Translation Loss Records. This resulted in The Challenger EP, which was released in October 2007. Shortly after recording The Challenger, Leon Del Muerte quit the band and was replaced by long time friend Timnick. This injection of new blood recharged the band creatively, and they recorded one track (“Arnold Layne” by Pink Floyd) for a Syd Barrett tribute disc. A full European tour with Germany’s The Ocean soon followed, which proved to be the band’s most successful tour to date.
INTRONAUT kicked off this year by heading out on a North American run alongside High on Fire and upon completing recording joined The Ocean and Lair of the Minotaur, in one of the more diverse bills of the year, for a short run leading them into a massive trek with Mouth of the Architect and Behold The Arctopus for The Ultimate Brodeo Tour that runs through the summer.
In 2008, INTRONAUT look to surprise the genre with an effort that will keep people on their toes wondering just what is going to hit them next.