''Bless Them That Curse You'' is a collaborative

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

between Locrian and

Mamiffer Mamiffer is an American band based in Seattle, Washington. It started out as a solo project for former Pyramids and Everlovely Lightningheart member Faith Coloccia that later saw several session musicians and collaborators, most consistently Aar ...

. The first single off the album, "In Fulminic Blaze", was released digitally on January 5, 2012.

Background

In an interview with ''

Invisible Oranges ''Invisible Oranges'' is an American online music magazine dedicated to heavy metal news, band interviews and album reviews. It was founded by Cosmo Lee in September 2006 shortly after emigrating from San Francisco, California, United States t ...

,'' André Foisy stated that

’s

Aaron Turner Aaron Turner (born November 5, 1977) is an American musician, singer, graphic artist, and founder of label Hydra Head Records. He is most widely known for his role as guitarist and vocalist for the post-metal bands SUMAC and Isis, while also ...

invited Locrian to play shows and collaborate after the Utech Records festival in June 2012. The groups found support for the collaborative project from the Canadian

Profound Lore Profound Lore Records is a Canadian independent record label founded in May 2004, which "began as the 'hobby-like venture' of a few friends but, over the past six years, the label has evolved into a one-man enterprise, shaped a distinct 'aesthet ...

record label. In the same interview, Locrian’s Steven Hess stated that “Profound Lore was nice enough to advance us the money and pay for the recording sessions. Then everything went perfectly – the timing for everyone to come here, the festival” and the shows that the groups played together afterwards in the U.S. and Canada. Regarding the recording session and the planning for the album, Mamiffer’s

Faith Coloccia Faith Coloccia is an American artist and musician. She is most known as being the founding member and primary songwriter for the post-rock band Mamiffer. Coloccia has also been a member of Everlovely Lightningheart, Pyramids, House of Low Cultu ...

, in an interview with

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

, stated that “Everything came together, in a kind of synchronicity kind of way. We found connections between seemingly disparate sounds and images, and unified them into harmonious relationships.”

Reception

Upon its release, the album was met with generally favorable reviews. Eduardo Rivadavia of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

described the collaboration as “powerful and seductive” and that “no song is safe from experiencing unexpected mutations or harboring antithetical sounds in both sublimely harmonious and intentionally disharmonic ways.” Alan Ranta of ''

Exclaim ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly Exclaim! print magazine publishes 7 ...

'' described the album as a mix of tracks that “push towards the experimental side," and others that "drive towards post-rock and black metal.” ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

'' awarded the album an 8 out of 10 stars and described the album as having a “deeply meditative pulse” combining the “metallic drones, tender piano compositions, chorale vocals” of Mamiffer with Locrian’s mixture of “black metal, noise, drone, Krautrock, ambient and proto-electronica.” Creaig Dunton of Brainwashed described ''Bless Them That Curse You'' as “a dark, yet captivating set of tracks” which incorporate “bits of drone, black metal, post-rock, and gentle piano passages.”

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from AllMusic. * Alex Barnett – Mellotron, Synthesizer, Tack Piano *

– Artwork, Composer, Design, Photography, Piano, Sampling, Synthesizer Bass, Tack Piano, Tape, Vocals * Brian Cook – Bass *

Randall Dunn Randall Dunn is an American record producer, audio engineer, and musician. As a record producer, he has worked with musical acts such as Sunn O))), Six Organs of Admittance, Marissa Nadler, Wolves in the Throne Room, Boris, Anna Von Haussw ...

– Mixing, Overdub Engineer, Producer * André Foisy – Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric) * Terence Hannum – Composer, Effects, Mellotron, Synthesizer, Vocals * Steven Hess – Drums, Tape Effects, Timpani * Greg Norman – Engineer, Horn * Travis Rommereim – Percussion *

– Composer, Engineer, Guitar (Electric), Vocals * Jason Ward – Mastering

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2012 albums Mamiffer albums Locrian (band) albums Collaborative albums Profound Lore Records albums