EPK – ITUS – Primordial (2020) (EP) |

ITUS – Primordial (2020) (EP)

For fans of Conan, Sleep, Electric Wizard, Windhand, Black Sabbath

Release Date: March 13, 2020
Label: Self-Release
Distribution:

Facebook | Youtube | Instagram | Bandcamp

“Blending their love of doom, stoner rock and its attendant psychedelia, Ontario trio Itus have created a colossal debut in Primordial.” 9/10 – Exclaim!

“Love doom and sludge metal, but find yourself frustrated that those bands that would monolithically crush the listener fail to pay nearly as much attention to injecting some measure of melody into their music? Ontario duo ITUS may be the cure to what ails ya. Starting with downcast sludgy stoner doom, the pair of guitarist Brandon Lucking and vocalist Reiner Vandenbosch also aren’t shy about making use of psychedelic rock and good ol’ fashioned heavy metal to get their point across. Think of it like Graves at Sea and Conan discovering the magic power of Tony Iommi’s fake fingertips and the blinding quality of a vintage Hawkwind live show.” – Decibel Magazine

“Primordial is a great release as it treats you to five unique tracks. Never once do you hear the same thing as ITUS truly does a great job of keeping you on your toes and guessing as to what you are about to hear next. Through and through this is a well crafted and cohesive effort that you would be unwise to skip over.” – Cadaver Garden

““This Can’t Be” is a change of pace from the record’s ravenous namesake single which came out earlier in the month. It’s a moving window into their world, with clean vocals this time reminiscent of Woods of Ypres and a vibe that fans of Pallbearer should have no trouble at all falling in love with.” – Doomed And Stoned

““The Chaplain” sounds like the languid expansion of the universe; the impassive serenity of planetary movement; the inexorable eroding of rock by wind and water; the absurd “progress” of humanity set against a backdrop of endless time. It’s achingly heavy and crushingly slow, just like epic doom should be… ITUS drive all thought from your mind and leave only doom behind… ” – CVLT Nation

“This EP is shrouded in a dark and eerie atmosphere from the instant you put it on, but despite that very consistent vibe, there is a lot of variation going on in the lyrics and sound. The production on here is immaculate, these riffs are just enormous, they swallow you whole… Just how I like my doom!… Seriously, the riffs alone are worth listening for! Definitely going to be the EP to beat this year.” 8/10 – Noob Heavy

“… an EP that packs a punch and holds its ground that’s for sure… The intensity really shines and each song generates it more and more. You have the rhythmic highs and lows of the genre and all your senses are overwhelmed. It really makes the listener want even more and you kinda feel depressed when it’s all over so you decide to listen to it all over again! This is the type of EP that you just place inside your CD Player or on your MP3 player and just let all that negative vibes leave your body. You just listen to it and forget about everything all around you especially in this world of sickness, chaos and crisis. A modern twist to an overcharged genre!” 8/10 – Metal-Temple

“Massive crushing riffs heave themselves out of the primeval sludge that provides the sonic backdrop for this crushing aural assault, which seethes and broils around you like a pungent stew sucking you deep into the bowels of the cauldron in which it is simmering. There is superb use of sound effects to create ever denser layers of atmosphere, which in turn add to the hypnotic quality of the five tracks, which themselves flow with an natural ease and sense of purposeful progression, which makes this release all the more intimidating and impressive in equal measure.” – Uber Rock

“A very strong first release, and well worth checking out for doom fans looking for something with some brains behind the fuzz.” – The Burning Beard

“dark and brooding doom “Primordial is a powerful and unforgiving EP that is certainly worthy of your time.” – Astral Noize

“crisp, and aggressive guitar tones” – Permafrost Today

“ITUS, from Toronto, Canada, provide a good blend of doom, heavy and psych vibes… Five songs in this Ep where blackened vocals enrich the doom sound carpet, trademark of the band.” – Hard Rock Heavy Metal

Early in 2019, ITUS was formed by Brandon Lucking (guitars) and Reinier Vandenbosch (vocals), who, at the time were in another band with a different style but wanted to try something new, resulting in these Ontario boys blending doom and stoner rock with crushing heavy metal passages, in a psychedelic atmosphere of horror influenced sounds.

They began with a handful of demos that Lucking recorded in his apartment, in the autumn of 2018. Shortly after they began recording the demos as an EP with Luc Chiasson at his studio. At that time, they had opted for a studio drummer and thus hired Jackson Ward from Strata Recordings to perform/record the drums on the EP. The vibe of the EP is very “off the cuff” so to speak, which comes through naturally since a lot of the songwriting was experimentation that was finalized in the studio.

The writing process is fairly simple for ITUS, Lucking writes the melodies as they come to him, and Vandenbosch writes the vocals and lyrics. When Lucking has a song idea, he records a demo for it with guitars and bass and programmed drums at home. A lot of time is spent figuring out the right tones for the guitars and bass. With a near-complete song in a demo, Lucking sends that to Vandenbosch who works on lyrics, vocal phrasing, and vocal harmonies. The foundation of the lyrics always starts from personal experience, traumas, and how events in life unfold which are further imbued with influence from science fiction and horror fiction, mythology, dark philosophy, and political angst.

The soundscape of horrors that ITUS paints is enthralling already as a two-piece online project, and there are plans on the horizon to build it into a full-on touring 3 piece band delivering an energetic and abrasive live experience with a heavy, brooding ambiance.

ITUS’ debut EP “Primordial” is due out March 13, 2020

(L-R) Reinier Vandenbosch – Vocals, Brandon Lucking – Guitar and Bass

Photographer Credit: Justin Ryan Lawrence

EP Title: Primordial
Release Date: March 13, 2020
Label: Self-Release
Distribution:

Track Listing:
1. Cloud Reader (3:17)
2. Question Everything (4:16)
3. Primordial (4:13)
4. This Can’t Be (4:19)
5. The Chaplain (5:43)
EP Length: 21:50

EP Credits:
• All songs performed by: Itus
• All songs written by: Itus
• Produced by: Luc Chiasson
• Mixed by: Luc Chiasson
• Mastered by: Luc Chiasson
• Album Artwork by: Paul Callaghan
• Canadian Content (MAPL)
• Album Artwork – Paul Callaghan – Artist (originally painted in 1978)
Photography and editing – Brandon Lucking

EP Band Line Up:
Reinier Vandenbosch – Vocals
Brandon Lucking – Guitars and Bass
Jackson Ward – Drums

Live Band Line Up:
Reinier Vandenbosch – Vocals
Brandon Lucking – Guitars and Bass
TBA – Drums

Discography:
2020 – Primordial (EP)

EPK – ITUS – Primordial (2020) (EP)

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