Devourer of Light: Staghorn's "Rahula" (feat. Drew Speziale of Circle Takes the Square)
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Post-metal can really be boiled down to two things: the journey and the payoff. A genre built on dynamics alone, much like post-rock before it, post-metal revels in its crescendos and eventual climaxes, but sometimes this journey can take… a little too long. This isn’t really a problem, per se, but when songs can top out at a half hour, maybe the idea of a song with a single climax can be troublesome. Luckily, there are bands like Staghorn, who make a strong point in a compact period of time. Listen to an exclusive premiere of “Rahula” below.
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In just under four minutes, a time which would often be relegated to an interlude track on a post-metal album, Staghorn experiments with extremes in dynamics without aforementioned revelation — this is almost utilitarian by design. A quiet, almost slowcore introduction makes way to an absolute explosion of sound, heralded by Circle Takes the Square’s legendary Drew Speziale on vocals. This is powerful music which lacks the self-indulgent nature of most post-metal — its tight, sleek nature makes “the payoff” arrive much sooner and that much sweeter.
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From the artist:
It’s 11pm, the night before we drive down to Edwardsville, and we are having a last minute run through of the material. We roughly had laid out a short interlude which would bridge the gap between song 2 and 3 but nothing much more than a simple guitar line to wind down the previous song. I can’t quite recall how it happened but I’m pretty sure we joking went into a breakdown and smashed through that a few times. We all just looked at each other and agreed that this would be the shape of the song. Later, after recording the structure, I felt the song had a certain Circle Takes The Square feeling to it. Drew and I had recently been discussing printing some shirts for his organic permaculture Farmstead which he and his partner Cadyn grow organic food for market as well as wild crafted botanical chocolates. I brought up the song and we discussed a potential collaboration and he humbly asked for the tracks to give it a try…This was super exciting for such a like minded permaculturist and talented friend to put forth a contribution to our record. I wanted a simple yet effective set of lyrics that repeated (in a very screamo type of vibe) and drilled the idea into the listeners head that we are powerless against the infinite beauty and destructive powers of nature. He eventually got back to me with what I feel is a signature performance of everything I love about Circle Takes the Square. Very few if not none invokes these same feelings and I genuinely feel that this song is truly complete with Andrew’s contribution. Furthermore, this is the first song I returned to performing vocals in a band in a decade. Mine being the lower register. This song fits an important role as it brings forth in a very apparent way, the primary theme of the record, which is the dimming of light. The transformation from light (life) to twilight and the inevitability of that. The track is titled after the ancient Tibetan Buddhist cosmological Deity who represents the natural phenomenon of an eclipse. He is both the worldly protector and the world swallower. Atop his head sits a Raven or Corvus in Latin.
Corvus IV releases March 20th.
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Staghorn European Tour
April 30th – Veszprém, HUN – TEREM
May 1st – Budapest, HUN – Gólya
May 2nd – BRNO, CZ – Bajkazl
May 3rd – Prague, CZ – Cross Club
May 5th – Katowice, Poland – Katofonia
May 6th – Krakow, Poland – TBA
*May 7th – Cluj-Napoca, ROU – Form Space
*May 8th – Bucharest, ROU – Quantic Club
May 10th – Bratislava, Slovenia – Garaze pod pristavnym mostom
May 11th – Vienna, At – Venster99
May 12 – Linz, AT – Secret Location
May 15th – Rock the South Malta
May 16th – Rock the south Malta
May 17th – Malta – Rock the South Festival
*w/ Am Fost La Munte Și Mi-a Plăcut
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