New Orleans based heavy doom gaze trio, Guts Club have shared “The Gun Collector,” the second single from their upcoming album, CLIFFS/WALLS. Bringing to mind early Earth and Khanate recordings, the band uses unconventional instrumentation to build a brutal wall of sound with haunting, anguished vocals.
“The Gun Collector” is a reflection on grief and how we navigate a world overflowing with extreme loss and devastation. Intensely crushing, yet strangely mediative, the track is a refreshing take on the doom genre.
Set for release on January 13, 2023, CLIFFS/WALLS marks a notable shift towards extreme, heavy music and post-metal. After the literal hell of the pandemic and widespread anti-queer and trans sentiment, Guts Club went even more dark. That violent and unsettling lyricism is finally running parallel with their music. Intensely cathartic but brutally crushing, the album’s title track, “Cliffs/Walls” is a great reintroduction to the weird world of Guts Club.
Hear what Metal Sucks says is “bred from the darkness” below!
Stream “The Gun Collector” in Spotify
Stream “The Gun Collector” in Bandcamp
‘CLIFFS/WALLS’ bandcamp pre-order
Guts Club has been releasing music, in various iterations, since 2015. Their debut album The Arm Wrestling Tournament was described by Paste as having “moments of poignancy.” Their second album, Shit Bug, was called “funny and gross and fucked” by the late, great Tiny Mix Tapes (RIP.) For their third LP, Trench Foot, The Sydney Morning Herald (not sure how the record got to them) said “Like Bob Dylan and Martha Wainwright, Baker’s vocals won’t be for everyone.” It did alright, though.
Since then, the band has gone through a lineup change and a notable shift towards heavy and experimental doom, noise, and post metal. With Ronna Sandoval (Coffinwolf Ultra) on drums and Alex Dimef (Student Driver) on second guitar, the lyrically dark violence of early Guts Club finally parallels the music.
The Sydney Morning Herald would definitely be bummed about the vocals, but for Baker and the band, they’re a cathartic release after these last few years of literal hell.
Guts Club is set to release CLIFFS/WALLS on January 13th 2023.
