NEWS RELEASE
Montreal, QC – December 7, 2020
For fans of Devin Townsend, Meshuggah, Protest The Hero, Dillinger Escape Plan
Autocatalytica Posts Drum Playthrough For Proggy Jazzy Math Rock Track “Cheggo”
Video Premiere via TechnicalMusicReview
New Album “Powerclashing Maximalism” Out Now!
Pictured – Guitarist/Vocalist/Producer – Eric Thorfinnson
Photo Credit: Walker Esner
A sizzling cauldron of scatter-brained prog-metal insanity helmed by guitarist/vocalist Eric Thorfinnson, Toronto’s Autocatalytica unleashed their latest album “Powerclashing Maximalism” this past October. The LP is the band’s third and it explores all corners of Autocatalytica’s sound in a tight 36-minute runtime over eight tracks. A more mature listen, the full length continues the expressive outlet for Thorfinnson’s abstract angst and penchant for everything over the top. Thorfinnson has always drawn inspiration from a vast collage of different artists resulting in a sound that is sure to surprise and intrigue listeners of all persuasions. For fans of Devin Townsend, Meshuggah, and Protest The Hero, Autocatalytica‘s new album “Powerclashing Maximalism” is one for creative loving prog fans.
Today, drummer Neilroy Miranda shares his playthrough for the track “Cheggo”, a jazzy take on Math rock with its fair share of freneticism.
The video can be viewed via its premiere on TechnicalMusicReview HERE.
“Powerclashing Maximalism” is available on Autocatalytica.bandcamp.com, Spotify, Apple Music.
Previous singles:
Lyric Video – Borndun – YouTube
Lyric Video – Zippler – YouTube
Track Listing:
1. Borndun (5:18)
2. Zippler (3:33)
3. Trash Serum (5:19)
4. Cheggo (4:35)
5. Dukka Dukka (6:00)
6. Bananas Have Potassium (4:05)
7. Crawboi (6:08)
8. Graveo (2:32)
Album Length: 37:34
Autocatalytica was formed as a solo project in 2009. From The Dillinger Escape Plan to The Mars Volta, to Bjork, to Devin Townsend, to 20th-century composer Bela Bartok, Autocatalytica‘s sound is sure to surprise and intrigue listeners of all persuasions.
Upon moving to Boston to study at Berklee in 2010, Thorfinnson recruited guitarist Erik Sorensen, Drummer Emmett Ceglia, and bassist Jon Anderson to flesh out Autocatalytica’s line-up. Over the next few years the band played its first shows and in April of 2012 released their debut EP “Horror Vacui”.
The group relocated to Brooklyn in the fall of 2012 and immediately began to rehearse and write a full-length record. In June 2013 the group began recording its eponymous LP, while continually playing shows along the east coast of the US. They released their Debut LP “Autocatalytica” in June 2014, and continued performing shows in and around Brooklyn, all the while furiously composing a follow-up record.
In early 2015, Thorfinnson found out he was going to have to move back to his native Toronto, ON, but despite this, the band decided to finish writing and recording the songs for their follow-up LP. In October 2015, tragedy struck the group when Guitarist Erik Sorensen suddenly passed away from an undiagnosed heart condition. Despite reeling from this massive trauma and coming to terms with Thorfinnson’s impending relocation, the group finished tracking drums to their next LP, and played their final show as a Brooklyn-based incarnation on Nov. 21st, 2015.
Thorfinnson spent most of 2016 toiling away at the tracking and mixing of this next record at home in his native Oakville, Ontario, and on December 9th, 2016 the group released the LP “Vicissitudes”, a 16-track maximalist genre-gauntlet of sporadic insanity.
Over the next few years, Thorfinnson spent most of his time on other projects, as the future of Autocatalytica remained uncertain. In 2018, he decided there was still more music to be had from Autocatalytica, and teamed up with his friend and drummer Neilroy Miranda (of local Jazz-math stalwarts “Dog Drive Mantis”) to rehearse and record a new album. The idea for this record was to be a much more collaborative effort than previous releases that had seen Thorfinnson handing all vocal and most guitar duties. The record “Powerclashing Maximalism” features a smattering of collaborators including Parliament Owls / Telomere’s Devlin Flynn, Northern Heirs’ Scott Carruthers, and Plethora’s Gary Walsh to name a few. While at this time Autocatalytica exists solely as a recording project, but no one knows what the future holds!
For more info:
Facebook.com/Autocatalytica
Instagram.com/autocatband
EPK
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“This is an album that’s just on all the time; at its core, it is a progressive metal work, with Protest the Hero as a possible cited influence. But in other places, the album also uses a copious amount of strings, wind instruments, and jazz-inflected time signatures to create a whirlwind of groove, aggression, and, here we go, maximalism. “Cheggo”, which we are proud to premiere here today, has all of that and more. From its nu-prog opening, through the more dreamy middle passages and all the way to its noisy outro, “Cheggo” is everything that’s great about Autocatalytica and Powerclashing Maximalism.” – Heavy Blog Is Heavy
“Powerclashing Maximalism is intricate, varied, and impressive. But above all else, it’s just plain fun. The kind of fun that is contagious. Some people won’t like Powerclashing Maximalism due to the sheer variety of sounds, or due to the somewhat metalcore-y moments scattered throughout. For everyone else, though, Autocatalyctica have delivered a captivating experience that should be given a chance. Their influences inform their sound, but they breathe a new life into all of their steps. 8/10” – Metal Utopia
“I’ve had a hard time tagging this one as well, but I think I’ll stick with the good ol’ catch-all “progressive metal”. Yes, it’s got mathcore; yes, it’s got deathgrind; yes, it’s got djent, so what am I to do? Find the common denominator, I guess! So, you’ll be treated with an incredibly high calibre product for all aforementioned genres (and more!) Fans of heavy music and multiple genres, jump right in and support this awesome artist!” – Can This Even Be Called Music?
“‘Powerclashing Maximalism‘ by Autocatalytica is an album that smashes all preconceived notions of rules you thought existed and brings a unique experience to the listener. There’s something for everyone here. Sure, ‘Powerclashing Maximalism‘ is progressive and heavy but it’s so much more. I don’t think there is anything similar at the moment. Each song has its own distinctive sound which is different from the rest.” – The Music Below
“Overall, this is Progressive Death Metal turned up to 11. The tight instrumentation is un-matched. 8/10” – Metal Temple
“Eric (Thorfinnson) does most of the mixing/production on every release, and with this one he has managed to give us a multitude of rock and metal styles, in eight tracks lasting a total of 37 minutes. 4/5” – The Prog Space
“if you combine the modern, masterful and unpredictable prog of Tesseract with the adventurousness and epic nature of Opeth (and make them both more intense), you get Autocatalytica. In my opinion this is a rarely flawless album and is very strongly recommended listening for all metal heads. I really can’t think of a single thing I’d change.” – The Independent Voice
“If you like complex metal with progressive hints, growl and no boundaries. Check this out.” – Melodic.net
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