Cleric is an American

avant-garde metal Avant-garde metal (also known as avant-metal, experimental metal, and experimental) is a subgenre of heavy metal music loosely defined by use of experimentation and innovative, avant-garde elements, including non-standard and unconventional soun ...

band based out of

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Formed in 2003, their initial lineup consisted of guitarist Matt Hollenberg, drummer Larry Kwartowitz, vocalist Nick Shellenberger and bassist Chris Weindel. After their first EP Chris Weindel was replaced by James Lynch, who was succeeded by bassist Daniel Ephraim Kennedy in 2012. Informed by metal pioneers such as Meshuggah, Converge,

Fantômas Fantômas () is a fictional character created by French writers Marcel Allain (1885–1969) and Pierre Souvestre (1874–1914). One of the most popular characters in the history of French crime fiction, Fantômas was created in 1911 and appeared ...

, and Neurosis, the band is known for their experimental approach to

grindcore Grindcore is an extreme fusion genre of heavy metal and hardcore punk that originated in the mid-1980s, drawing inspiration from abrasive-sounding musical styles, such as thrashcore, crust punk, hardcore punk, extreme metal, and industrial. G ...

doom Doom is another name for damnation. Doom may also refer to: People * Doom (professional wrestling), the tag team of Ron Simmons and Butch Reed * Daniel Doom (born 1934), Belgian cyclist * Debbie Doom (born 1963), American softball pitcher * L ...

and

. Cleric has released three studio albums: '' Regressions'' (2010), '' Retrocausal'' (2017) and '' Chokhma'' (2018)

History

Formation and early success (2003–2010)

Cleric was formed in 2003 and quickly debuted with an

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

titled '' The Underling'', which was recorded for $200. The band began composing music for film, working with a slasher film series called Punk Rock Holocaust and the alternative porn outlet Burning Angel. In 2008, the band received a nomination for Best Music at the

AVN Awards The AVN Awards are film awards sponsored and presented by the American adult video industry trade magazine '' AVN'' (''Adult Video News'') to recognize achievement in various aspects of the creation and marketing of American pornographic fi ...

for their contribution to a

pornographic film Pornographic films (pornos), erotic films, sex films, and 18+ films are films that present sexually explicit subject matter in order to arouse and satisfy the viewer. Pornographic films present sexual fantasies and usually include eroticall ...

parody of '' Party Monster'', titled ''Porny Monster''. Their demo ''Allotriophagy'' and 7" single ''Cumberbund'' also garnered some favorable reviews and critical notice. Afterward, the band was signed to

Web of Mimicry Web of Mimicry is an independent record label currently based in San Francisco, California founded by Trey Spruance of Mr. Bungle and Secret Chiefs 3. Roster *ASVA *Brazzaville *Matt Chamberlain *Cleric *Danubius *Dengue Fever *Estradasphere *F ...

run by

Trey Spruance Preston Lea "Trey" Spruance III (born August 14, 1969) is an American composer, producer, and musician who co-founded the experimental rock band Mr. Bungle. He is also leader of the multi-genre outfit Secret Chiefs 3. Originally a guitarist and ...

, best recognized for his work in

Secret Chiefs 3 Secret Chiefs 3 (or SC3) is an American avant-garde group led by guitarist/composer Trey Spruance (of Mr. Bungle and formerly, Faith No More). Their studio recordings and tours have featured different lineups, as the group performs a wide range ...

and

Mr. Bungle Mr. Bungle is an American experimental rock band formed in Eureka, California in 1985. Having gone through many incarnations throughout their career, the band is best known for music created during their most experimental era. During this time, ...

''Regressions'' and tour (2010–present)

The band released their full-length debut album, titled '' Regressions'', on April 27, 2010. It was produced by

Colin Marston Colin Marston (born September 13, 1982) is an American multi-instrumentalist musician and record producer residing in New York City. He graduated from New York University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in music technology in 2004, and runs Meneg ...

, who credited the album with being the most time-consuming and challenging job in his career due to the density and complexity of the compositions. The album received positive markups from critics, who praised the band for their aggressive demeanor and willingness to experiment. In describing the band's sound, Philip Montoro of the ''

Chicago Reader The ''Chicago Reader'', or ''Reader'' (stylized as ЯEADER), is an American alternative weekly newspaper in Chicago, Illinois, noted for its literary style of journalism and coverage of the arts, particularly film and theater. It was founded by a ...

'' said "the music this Philadelphia four-piece plays is a kind of metal the way '' Lost Highway'' is a kind of movie. It's an elastic tissue of creepy electronic noise and barely human screaming, impregnated with patches of riff-salad grind and hypercube mathcore." In September 2010, the band was robbed of a substantial amount of equipment and gear after a show in Brooklyn, effectively halting their recording and touring momentum. They managed to recoup some of their losses by tracking down a portion stolen goods in pawn shops and asking fans to donate to the band's Kickstarter. In 2013, the band announced the delayed tour in support of their debut album and released the ''Resumption'' digital single. Cleric also returned to the studio with producer Colin Marston and entered pre-production on a new album. Also planned is a compilation of music they have composed for films over a past three period. In early November, Cleric began their first country-wide tour, which lasted until December. The band's second album was titled '' Retrocausal'' and released on December 8, 2017, by

. In August of the following year the

John Zorn John Zorn (born September 2, 1953) is an American composer, conductor, saxophonist, arranger and producer who "deliberately resists category". Zorn's avant-garde and experimental approaches to composition and improvisation are inclusive of jaz ...

box set A box set or (its original name) boxed set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists and bands ...

'' The Book Beri'ah'', containing Cleric's third album '' Chokhma'', was released by

Tzadik Records Tzadik Records is a record label in New York City that specializes in avant-garde and experimental music. The label was established by composer and saxophonist John Zorn in 1995. He is the executive producer of all Tzadik releases. Tzadik is a n ...

Band members

; Current members * Matt Hollenberg –

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gui ...

(2003–present) * Daniel Ephraim Kennedy – electric bass (2012–present) * Larry Kwartowitz –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

(2003–present) * Nick Shellenberger –

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

(2003–present),

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

(2006–present) ; Past members * James Lynch – electric bass (2006–2012) * Chris Weindel – electric bass (2003-2006) ;Timeline

ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:30 PlotArea = left:100 bottom:60 top:0 right:50 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy Period = from:01/01/2003 till:12/31/2021 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Colors = id:Vocals value:red legend:Vocals id:Guitars value:green legend:Guitar id:Keys value:purple legend:Keyboards id:Bass value:blue legend:Bass id:Drums value:orange legend:Drums Legend = orientation:horizontal position:bottom ScaleMajor = increment:3 start:2003 ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1 start:2003 LineData = at:03/27/2010 color:black layer:back at:12/08/2017 color:black layer:back at:08/17/2018 color:black layer:back BarData = bar:Nick text:"Nick Shellenberger" bar:Matt text:"Matt Hollenberg" bar:Chris text:"Chris Weindel" bar:James text:"James Lynch" bar:Daniel text:"Daniel Kennedy" bar:Larry text:"Larry Kwartowitz" PlotData= width:10 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:Nick from:01/01/2003 till:end color:Vocals bar:Nick from:06/01/2006 till:end color:Keys width:3 bar:Matt from:01/01/2003 till:end color:Guitars bar:Chris from:01/01/2003 till:06/01/2006 color:Bass bar:James from:06/01/2006 till:06/01/2012 color:Bass bar:Daniel from:06/01/2012 till:end color:Bass bar:Larry from:01/01/2003 till:end color:Drums

Discography

;Studio albums *'' Regressions'' (2010) *'' Retrocausal'' (2017) *'' Chokhma'' (''The Book Beri'ah'') (2018) ;Extended plays * '' The Underling'' (2003) ;Singles * ''Cumberbund'' (2008) * ''Resumption'' (2014)

References

External links

*
Cleric
at

Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online audio distribution platform founded in 2007 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with headquarters in Oakland, California, US. On March 2, 2022, Bandcamp ...

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cleric Musical groups established in 2003 2003 establishments in Pennsylvania Musical groups from Philadelphia Hardcore punk groups from Pennsylvania Heavy metal musical groups from Pennsylvania American avant-garde metal musical groups American experimental rock groups American experimental musical groups American noise rock music groups American post-hardcore musical groups American mathcore musical groups Drone metal musical groups Noisecore musical groups Musical quartets Web of Mimicry artists