EPK – Cell Press – Cages (2024) (The Ghost Is Clear Records)(Ancient Temple Recordings)(No List Records)
Publicist – Jon Asher – Jon[@]ashermediarelations[.]com
“We think (and hope) that folks who enjoyed our first EP will be pleased with this offering and the next evolution of our sound and auditory trajectory. We are trying to offer a full-length album with no filler from start to end and are appealing to our listeners to embrace an almost passe era where bands present collections of songs that are meant to be listened to altogether and that fit and tell a complete story, with each song being individual chapters to that story.” – Cell Press
For fans of KEN Mode, Unsane, Keelhaul, Burnt By The Sun, Yautja
Band: Cell Press
Album Title: Cages
Release Date: March 8, 2024
Label: The Ghost Is Clear Records (Vinyl), Ancient Temple Recordings (Vinyl), No List Records (Cassette)
Distribution: Distro Kid
Facebook.com/cellpressmtl | Instagram.com/celllpresss | Twitter.com/celllpresss
https://linktr.ee/cellpress | Cellpress.bandcamp.com | Spotify
Canadian Campus Radio Charts – The National Top 50 – #34 – Cell Press (Earshot) – For the Week Ending: Tuesday, March 19, 2024
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Canadian Campus Radio Charts – The National Loud Chart – #3 Cell Press (Earshot) – For the Week Ending: Tuesday, March 19, 2024
“An album that prides itself on being an old school sludge-fest and manages to deliver the goods from start to finish, Cages finds one of Montreal’s best live acts in fine form. With blistering riffs, gut-wrenching vocals and a few unexpected twists, Cages captures Cell Press at their height, the ultimate sludge metal experience that captures their on-stage fury… Cages is a no bullshit record, an exciting new chapter in the story of Cell Press that promises a bevy of possible avenues. Sludge rarely sounds so invigorating.” – Exclaim!
“Are you looking for the perfect soundtrack for a grueling weightlifting session on Doomsday? Well, look no further, as Montréal’s Cell Press concocts an edgy-yet-sophisticated ooze of jazzy punk, grindcore, noise rock, and sludge on the debut LP Cages, that’ll have your muscles burning hotter than the world around you.” – Pan M 360
“The song (Original Uranium Baby) is indeed a hook monster that will get your muscles jumping, but the hooks are mangled and the beats don’t consistently follow a straight line. It sounds stripped-down, as lots of catchy music often does, but it mutates as it goes. There’s a heavy throbbing and punching quality to the bass lines, and the riffing seems to blare, quiver, and lurch in differing phases of derangement, while the drumming comes off-kilter just enough to enhance the song’s bamboozling qualities, and the swift fills add to its electric effects. As the music works its odd magic, and begins to seem like a big ugly bulldozer out of control, a voice howls and screams in a throat-shredding combination of fury and madness.” – No Clean Singing
“An abrasive set of songs, Cages is a brutal listen which musically leans more on influences from the rougher side of the hardcore and metal worlds. Tracks like “Dark Side of the North” and “Recoil (A Collective Behaviour of Violence) tackle subjects like the lack of clean drinking water in the Northern Communities of Canada (the former) and gun control / American Mass Murder (the latter). Unsurprisingly, this raw, honest, ugly look at life, is sonically matched by a soundtrack that is equally as harsh.” – V13
“‘Kissed by a Morose on Mont Royal’ is a banger.” – Overtone Magazine
“Cages is nothing if not pure sonic chaos distilled into a surprisingly palatable if not refreshing listening experience. It opens with “Adult Baptisms” and hits you with as much force as the cops taking an Enforcer to the door of the wrong person’s apartment, knocking out at least two of your teeth and bruising your sternum. A blistering meditation on the zealous way some people buy into the lies sold by the media to influence our thoughts and opinions, it perfectly encapsulates what it feels like to be constantly tasked to dig through the mud to find the truth and then to fight for your life to defend it. In short, for an opening track, this one is absolutely brutal.” – Noob Heavy
“These guys promised good things on their debut EP and “Cages” sees them following through in workmanlike style. A band that fans of EYEHATEGOD and CHERUBS both can appreciate.” – Wormwood Chronicles
“a muscular nine-song full-length titled Cages. Drawing on a gnarly mix of metal, hardcore, and sludge” – Some Party
“The head f*** that is “Blue Royale” is a backwards tune with a sample that might make you feel like your brain is about to implode but feels in keeping with the straight jacket wearing patient depicted by Sean Arsenian in the cover art. They say that art reflects life and that’s perfectly true with this… Mark McGee saves his finest kit performance until the albums grand finale with “Things They Do in France“, a song about love lost and how good it could have been if it wasn’t so toxic to which we can all relate. Playing with textures and tempos, this one twists and contorts with alarming regularity before the downtempo finish which can only be described as a Chef’s Kiss moment. Heed the warning. Cell Press have something to say. – Metal Noise
What the press has said about Cell Press’ 2020 Self-Titled EP:
“From the grooves on “Piss Police” to the odd-timed melodic chords of “Blacked Out in Verdun,” everything moves in unexpected ways. All of this is perfectly set to the backdrop of PQ’s uniquely cackled screams… Cell Press is a great sludge metal EP that reminds the listener of the best aspects of this sub-genre. This EP makes the future appear bright for what is to come from this band. 8/10″ – Exclaim!
“You know that feeling, when you spin a new record for the first time and it just fucking destroys you? Well today I am happy to report, Cell Press outta Montreal have truly delivered the goods with their debut self titled EP. I mean fuck, is it any wonder this band rules, when they can boast members from the likes of The Great Sabatini, Biipiigwan, I Hate Sally, Architect. With their self-titled release, Cell Press give zero fucks about accessibility, instead they focus on delivering punishing aggression with a melting pot of sludge metal, noise rock, and grindcore.” – The Sludgelord
“a perfect showcase of their unique sound and style and leaves you wanting to hear more from the band. Their total disregard for the limitations of genres and boundaries results in the EP blending noise, grindcore, sludge, punk, groove and dark ambient among other influences. They perfectly blend raw aggression with groove and melody and aren’t afraid to shift gears to play with ambience and noise.” – Cave Dweller Music
“Warm fuzzy guitar tones bring a touch of the Sabbath to “Piss Police” with broken chords and momentary pauses giving the kind of sound that Raging Speedhorn look for to accompany the rampant venting screams of the vocals that unapologetically roar along during the montage.” – Metal Noise
“Cell Press’s debut self titled EP is definitely an interesting listen. I didn’t expect it to take me on the journey which it did. An aggressive sound runs throughout showing that this band don’t play by the rules, they’re making music the way they want to.” – The Independent Voice
“Noisy and enjoyable, I give this Cell Press effort high marks. I am a Punk fan from the beginning, and I hear those roots here, certainly in the attitude, even if the category is technically off. The disenfranchisement is very appealing. Recommended.” – Flying Fiddle Sticks
Canadian College Radio Loud Charts for – Cell Press – Self-Titled (EP) (2020) :
#1 – National Loud Chart For the Week Ending: Tuesday, February 2, 2021 (Earshot)
#3 – January 2021 – Top 20 Loud – National Loud Chart (Earshot)
#6 – National Loud Chart For the Week Ending: Tuesday, January 26, 2021 (Earshot)
#1 – National Loud Chart For the Week Ending: Tuesday, January 19, 2021 (Earshot)
#1 – National Loud Chart For the Week Ending: Tuesday, January 12, 2021 (Earshot)
#5 – December 2020 – Top 20 Loud – National Loud Chart (Earshot)
#2 – National Loud Chart For the Week Ending: Tuesday, December 15, 2020 (Earshot)
#3 – National Loud Chart For the Week Ending: Tuesday, December 8, 2020 (Earshot)
#10 – National Loud Chart For the Week Ending: Tuesday, November 10, 2020 (Earshot)
Band: Cell Press
Album Title: Cages
Release Date: March 8, 2024
Label: The Ghost Is Clear Records (Vinyl), Ancient Temple Recordings (Vinyl), No List Records (Cassette)
Distribution: Distro Kid
Track Listing:
1. Adult Baptisms (3:12)
2. Kissed by a Morose on Mont Royal (3:14)
3. Original Uranium Baby (2:48)
4. Dark Side of the North (4:02)
5. JOI to the World (4:01)
6. Disco Naps on the Devil’s Bedpost – (4:08)
7. Blue Royale – (3:31)
8. Recoil (A Collective Behaviour of Violence) – (3:51)
9. Things They Do in France – (4:35)
Album Length: 33:22
Album Recording Credits:
• All songs performed by: Cell Press
• All songs written by: Cell Press
• Engineered by: Sean Pearson (Cursed, Shallow ND, Fiftywatthead) @ Boxcar Sound Recording
• Additional guitars tracked at Unfamous Audio; engineered by Paul Edwards
• Mixed by: Scott Evans (Kowloon Walled City, Town Portal, Great Falls) @ Antisleep Audio
• Mastered by: Carl Saff (Ken Mode, Blacklisters, Fu Manchu, Childbite) @ Saff Mastering
• Album Artwork by: Wurmzilla
• Music is Canadian Content (MAPL)
Album Band Line Up:
PQ – Vocals
Sean Arsenian – Guitar, Bass, Vocals
Mark McGee – Drums
Live Band Line Up:
PQ – Vocals
Sean Arsenian – Guitar, Vocals
Mark McGee – Drums
Tristan Dorrington-Meehan – Bass
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About The Album Artwork:
The cover art is a painting made by guitarist Sean (aka Wurmzilla) depicting an inpatient in a psychiatric ward. The style of the rendering is attempting to express the fragility and mania of the person, and some of the ideas in the songs.
About the album as a whole (LYRICALLY & MUSICALLY):
Cages as a whole album is a collection of songs with different themes and vibes. Written over the span of two years (2021-2022) when the world was changing rapidly as was our personal lives. Certain peaks and valleys through those years influenced the songs and the songwriting. Cages is an angry, gritty unapologetic look at the world through our eyes and expressed through our voices and instrumentation for your ears.
Track by Track (LYRICALLY & MUSICALLY):
Adult Baptisms – Questioning modern media and misinformation in a world in which a tsunami of news and information bombards us every waking hour. What is real and what is not? Adult Baptisms would refer to people developing a religious fervor and cult-like view based on lies influenced by the opinion of a news corporation or the editorial take of a media personality.
Kissed by a Morose on Mont Royal – Opining on the contagiousness of mood and depression and the cloudiness of perception when in such a state.
Original Uranium Baby- A dystopian tale set in the town of Elliot Lake, Ontario in the year 2088.
Dark Side of the North- Expressing fury over the lack of clean drinking water for the northern communities in Canada which has been promised and then ignored over several election cycles and calling for change now.
JOI to the World is a song about hopelessness and the acceptance that things will never get better.
Disco Naps on the Devil’s Bedpost- a song about addiction and pushing the line of consumption more and more. Testing and tempting death by sticking one’s finger right in its face, daring it to make the move.
Recoil (A Collective Behaviour of Violence)- Exploring and questioning American-made mass murder and gun culture, broken promises by politicians, and the willful blindness and gross ignorance of 2A advocates and political lobbyists.
Things they do in France – A song about lost love and what could have been had it not been so toxic.
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Fun Facts:
The members of the band have individually recorded at Boxcar Sound Recording in Hamilton, Ontario with sound engineer Sean Pearson a combined total of one dozen times between this band and their other projects (The Great Sabatini, Swarm of Spheres & Cruickshank).
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Cell Press is a Montreal-based band that formed in 2019. They play a sort of burly noise-rock that leans more on the hardcore and metal side of the swamp. They took their name from the 2001 Russian prison documentary “The Mark Of Cain”. The brutal humanity of that film is reflected in the music… on the surface, it’s raw and punishing, but there are complexities and nuances revealed once the surface noise has been embraced. Members have played in a myriad of punk, metal, and hardcore bands such as The Great Sabatini, Biipiigwan, I Hate Sally, The Chariot, Animal Ethics, Architect, Swarm Of Spheres, and Angles. Cages is their first full-length album, recorded at Boxcar Sound Recording in Hamilton, ON, and due out in early 2024.
“We are very happy to announce our first full-length album “Cages”. This album has been in the works for the last three years, taking two years to write and one year to record, mix, master, and find the right partners to work with on the release. This album jumps all over the place thematically from demanding clean drinking water for the people in the northern communities in Canada to dystopian fiction in which the radioactive bones of the dead are used as currency, to addressing the current state of “truth” and what we consume as information on a daily basis and how it has been dividing society to the point that it is almost reminiscent of a holy war with men and political affiliations taking the place of gods.
Despite this diversity in lyrical themes throughout the album, the music pulls it all together from start to finish with relentlessly punishing guitars and drums. The aesthetic of our cover art is once again designed and painted by our guitar player, Sean Arsenian (aka Wurmzilla) who has a real knack for visualizing what the music on our album would look like translated into art. We are very proud of this album and are looking very forward to releasing it to your ears!”
Discography:
2024 – Cages – LP
2021 – Split LP w/ Anthesis, Botfly, Greber & Clouds Become Oceans
2020 – Self-titled- EP
Shared Stage with: Greber, Ken Mode, Frail Body, Diner Drugs, Fuck the Facts. Glowing Orb, Skumstrike
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