Grails is an American

instrumental An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to instru ...

experimental rock Experimental rock, also called avant-rock, is a subgenre of rock music that pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique or which experiments with the basic elements of the genre. Artists aim to liberate and innovate, with ...

band formed in 1999. Based in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

, the group have released seven studio albums, on labels including Southern and

Temporary Residence A temporary resident is a foreign national granted the right to stay in a country for a certain length of time (e.g. with a visa or ), without full citizenship. This may be for study, business, or other reasons. Various countries have their own ru ...

, and have toured across North America and Europe.

History

Grails was formed under the name "Laurel Canyon" in 1999 by guitarist Alex Hall, drummer Emil Amos (also of

Holy Sons Holy Sons is a one-man solo band built around American songwriter and drummer Emil Amos. Amos is notable for releasing "genre-bending" albums, according to ''LA Weekly'' music reviewer Chris Martins, and for being a prolific songwriter; one accou ...

and Om) and second guitarist Paul Spitz. They garnered positive reactions following their first show, played on a whim.

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

musicians Timothy Horner (violin) and Bill Slater (piano/bass) later joined the group to record their first EP. The band then released two self-financed EPs in 2000 and 2001. Paul Spitz left the US to travel in Turkey and Zak Riles joined as guitarist, often playing more of an acoustic role. In 2002, Hall sent a promotion CD to

Neurot Recordings Neurot Recordings is an American independent record label founded by members of avant-garde metal band Neurosis in 1999. Gradually expanding, it has showcased a variety of artists including a number of sludge metal, post-rock, and noise band ...

who were convinced of the band's potential. In 2003, just before the release of their first full-length album, the band changed its name to Grails. They adopted a louder, more aggressive style, often switching instruments with each member writing songs that saw them branching out to increasingly disparate styles. Early in 2005 after a European tour, Horner suddenly left the band, as of 2018 Hall still had not heard from him. The band carried on with only four players recording and releasing the ''Black Tar Prophecies'' series which is described as "... revealing their fondness for the '60s and '70s experimental artists that saw music as a process of discovery." The group often picks up an extra musician for tours, allowing Amos to switch between guitar and drums and expanding the live instrumentation. Recently, Randall Dunn and Dave Abramson have joined the group live. In their early years, Grails only toured Europe, but have switched to focusing on the

East Coast of the United States The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, the Atlantic Coast, and the Atlantic Seaboard, is the coastline along which the Eastern United States meets the North Atlantic Ocean. The eastern seaboard contains the coa ...

in the last few years. Despite living in Portland, the band rarely plays live shows in their hometown. In 2006, Important Records released a CD compilation of the first three ''Black Tar Prophecies'' series. A compilation DVD was released on April 7, 2009, called ''Acid Rain'' summing up their most productive period. In 2010, the band had re-issued three releases, including versions of their first two albums remastered by Carl Saff. In the same year a vinyl issue of ''Black Tar Prophecies Vols. 1, 2, & 3'' was released by Important Records. Also released on Important as a vinyl-only EP was ''Black Tar Prophecies Vol. 4''. The band released their album, ''Deep Politics'', on March 8, 2011, under the label Temporary Residence Limited. In October 2012, the band released a split LP with the Finnish band

Pharaoh Overlord Pharaoh Overlord is an experimental rock (music), rock music band, initially featuring three members of the Finnish group Circle (band), Circle, Jussi Lehtisalo, Janne Westerlund and Tomi Leppänen. Originally begun as a vehicle to indulge their ...

on Kemado Records. The Grails side of the LP is called ''Black Tar Prophecies Vol. 5''. The band released their album ''Chalice Hymnal'' on February 17, 2017, on the label Temporary Residence.

Side projects

The various members stay busy with several different projects. Hall has played guitar with Steve Von Till of

Neurosis Neurosis is a class of functional mental disorders involving chronic distress, but neither delusions nor hallucinations. The term is no longer used by the professional psychiatric community in the United States, having been eliminated from th ...

in Von Till's project Harvestman, Amos has played drums with

Jandek Jandek is the musical alias of Houston, Texas based lo-fi folk singer Sterling Smith. Since 1978, Jandek has independently released over 45 albums without granting interviews or providing any biographical information, releasing on a self-made lab ...

, produced for

Yellow Swans Yellow Swans were an American experimental music band from Portland, Oregon. The duo were renowned for their improvisational approach to noise music, creating a unique experience for each live performance. They described their music as "a const ...

. Hall & Amos have their own genre-blurring duo, Lilacs & Champagne, who have released music on the

Mexican Summer Mexican Summer is an independent record label founded in 2009 by Keith Abrahamsson and Andres Santo Domingo. Based in Brooklyn, New York, the label has released recordings from artists including Best Coast, Kurt Vile, Ariel Pink, Allah-Las, Weye ...

label.

Equipment

The band has frequently used the

Marxophone The Marxophone is a fretless zither played via a system of metal hammers. It features two octaves of double melody strings in the key of C major ( middle C to C''), and four sets of chord strings (C major, G major, F major, and D7). Sounding s ...

on records for its high register and Eastern sound.

Discography

* '' The Burden of Hope'' (2003) * '' Redlight'' (2004) * ''Interpretations of Three Psychedelic Rock Songs from Around the World'' (EP) (2005) * '' Burning Off Impurities'' (2007) * ''Black Tar Prophecies Vol's 1, 2, & 3'' (compilation) (2007) * '' Take Refuge in Clean Living'' (2008) * '' Doomsdayer's Holiday'' (2008) * ''

Deep Politics Peter Dale Scott (born 11 January 1929) is a Canadian-born poet, academic, and former diplomat. A son of the Canadian poet and constitutional lawyer F. R. Scott and painter Marian Dale Scott, he is best known for his critiques of deep politics ...

'' (2011)– Musicbrainz".
Musicbrainz. Retrieved July 15, 2015. carried on with only four player * ''Black Tar Prophecies Vols. 4, 5, & 6'' (compilation) (2013) * '' Chalice Hymnal'' (2017)

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grails American experimental rock groups Musical groups from Portland, Oregon 1999 establishments in Oregon Musical groups established in 1999 Temporary Residence Limited artists