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Category: ITUS

0 Stoner Rock And Death Metal Collide In ITUS’ New Video “Droner”

  • February 16, 2023
  • by Asher
  • · ITUS · Music News

NEWS RELEASE

Montreal, QC – February 16, 2023

Stoner Rock And Death Metal Collide In ITUS’ New Video “Droner”

(L-R) Brandon Aitchison (Bass), Vince Anastasi (Drums), Brandon Lucking (Guitars), Reinier Vandenbosch (Vocals)
Photo Credit by Jake Daffern

ITUS was born in 2018 when guitarist Brandon Lucking and vocalist Reinier Vandenbosch began writing doom metal together. Now with bassist Brandon Aitchison and drummer Vince Anastasi, they blend grueling sludge and epic doom with stoner rock and death metal into a compelling mix. Their latest release is the single “Droner” – a heavy metal throwback, with lots of hooks that is widely accessible to rock fans. Vandenbosch conjures sexy clean rock verses that build into fat, sludgy passages. The guys are confident that all kinds of rock and metal fans will dig it.

“Droner” immediately comes out swinging with hard rock verses and a sludgy chorus, filled with vocalist Reinier Vandenbosch’s quaking shrieks and eerie crooning. The song gets even darker after the chorus breaks down into this almost ‘proggy’ jam where the song lifts off into a grimy sludge finale. Vandenbosch treated “Droner” with primarily clean vocals as opposed to his usual harsh focused approach. The band elaborates:

“We wrote ‘Droner’ as a slightly less violent hard rock track, to compliment the death metal feel of our previous single ‘Sturgeon’ and to test more of our musical range and abilities. It’s a heavy hitting hard rock slapper with a dark Valentine’s Day vibe. When we demoed ‘Droner’, it was about half as fast as when we finished it. At some point, we realized that when we sped it up it became a lot catchier, but we kept the name ‘Droner’ even though the song doesn’t ‘drone’ that much anymore. It used to be so slow and more repetitive, hence the name. In the lyrics, it’s used to describe a disillusioned female partner who is relied on for solace and teaching the hard life lessons.”

Fans of Conan, Pallbearer, Crowbar, will find themselves tripping out on ITUS’ soundscape of horrors in the single “Droner”, which can be seen and heard via its video premiere on TheCirclePit YouTube channel – https://youtu.be/7ywWN92lhKs​

Single Stream – Itusofficialdoom.bandcamp.com, Spotify​

ITUS is:​
Reinier Vandenbosch – Vocals
Brandon Lucking – Guitar
Brandon Aitchison – Bass Guitar
Vince Anastasi – Drums

For more info:​
​https://www.facebook.com/ITUSDOOM​
​http://www.instagram.com/ITUSDOOM​

About: ITUS was born in 2018 when Brandon Lucking (guitars) and Reinier Vandenbosch (vocals) began writing Doom Metal together. Fans of Conan, Pallbearer, Crowbar, Windhand, Electric Wizard, and Black Sabbath will find themselves tripping out on ITUS’ soundscape of horrors ‘PRIMORDIAL’, their debut EP. ITUS blends grueling sludge and epic doom with stoner rock and death metal. Crushing yet jammy heavy metal passages, infused with a psychedelic, horror atmosphere established their EP as ITUS’ first brutally tripped-out release. The PRIMORDIAL EP launched on Friday the 13th of March 2020. Covid seemed to strike right then with lockdowns, but given time to build ITUS recruited Vince Anastasi on drums, and the three boys started building in new directions both musically and professionally. ITUS lined up gigs for 2022 and performed a slew of new singles alongside the music from their first EP. New music videos produced by the band are also coming this year in 2022 and 2023. Hold your eyes and ears open for the new Sludge from ITUS.

Discography:
2023 – Droner (single)
2021 – Sturgeon (single)
2020 – Primordial – EP

– 30 –

“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

—
ASHER MEDIA RELATIONS
Jon Asher – Music Publicist
#.514.581.5780
jon[@]ashermediarelations[.]com
Facebook @AsherMediaRelations
Instagram @AsherMedia
Tweet @AsherMedia

0 ITUS – Droner (single) (2023)

  • February 16, 2023
  • by Asher
  • · EPKs · ITUS

ITUS – Droner (single) (2023)

Publicist – Jon Asher jon[@]ashermediarelations[.]com

For fans of Crowbar, Conan, Windhand, Katatonia, Electric Wizard

“We wrote Droner across a couple months besides our other singles Sturgeon, and Dead Future. They all pull in different genres and symbolize an experimental stage for us as writers while we incorporated Vincent into that process. Droner is intended as a rock and roll ride through old-school heavy metal and new school all at once. It’s both bright and dark, and it’s a testament to how ITUS has changed and continues to grow. The lyrics describe a troubled soul who finds false peace and hard lessons with a malignant partner. The lyrics lean back and take influence from old school heavy metal and rock.” – ITUS

Facebook.com/ItusDoom | Youtube | Instagram.com/Itusdoom

Itusofficialdoom.Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music

“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

“Droner is a peg in the sand for ITUS as a developing band. We’re psyched about what we accomplished with it. We pushed our limits musically into new lands so to speak. Droner is the second of 3 very different singles we wrote one after another; coming after Sturgeon we wanted to experiment more with Droner. We’re pleased at how it came to be, but even more pleased with what we learned and gained through it all. The next single will be even closer to what we think ITUS is supposed to sound like, but Droner caused that, and we plan to play it with a ton of new songs, as we come back to gigs in 2023. Injuries aren’t going to stop us.” – Reinier Viktor Vandenbosch

“Droner marked the moment for me that I truly felt a part of ITUS writing our second single together from scratch. Although we had a similar process to completing Sturgeon, the second time around with Droner felt more natural and fluid.” – Vince Anastasi

[Download Single Cover | Download Single Lyrics]

Single title: DRONER
Release date: February 16, 2023
Label: Self-Release
Distribution: Distrokid
Track length: 4:12

‘Droner’ Single recording credits:
Performed by ITUS (the band)
Written by ITUS
Produced by: Luc Chiasson
Mixed by: Luc Chiasson
Mastered by: Luc Chiasson
Single Art by: Dan Bothen
— ITUS are all SOCAN members —
— ‘Droner’ is 100% Canadian content —

Band lineup + live band lineup:
Reinier Vandenbosch – Vocals
Brandon Lucking – Guitar
Brandon Aitchison – Bass Guitar
Vince Anastasi – Drums

============================================

FUN FACTS:

1. All four of ITUS’ members live in different cities throughout the GTA and Ontario, yet somehow manage to meet at the jam space to practice, write music and get into trouble. ITUS is from Hamilton, Caledon, Muskoka, and downtown Toronto. ITUS’ reach is far.

2. ITUS’ jam space resides in a spooky basement below a huge club in TORONTO, with winding hallways reminiscent of a dungeon.

3. Brandon Lucking, ITUS’ guitar player is a licensed Airplane Structural Technician, and Reinier has been his on-and-off apprentice.

4. The whole band is beast lovers. Snakes, birds, dogs, and cats can live together! Reinier especially loves Bullterriers.

(L-R) Brandon Aitchison (Bass), Vince Anastasi (Drums), Brandon Lucking (Guitars), Reinier Vandenbosch (Vocals)
Photo Credit by Jake Daffern

ITUS was born in 2018 when Brandon Lucking (guitars) and Reinier Vandenbosch (vocals) began writing Doom Metal together. Fans of Conan, Pallbearer, Crowbar, Windhand, Electric Wizard, and Black Sabbath will find themselves tripping out on ITUS’ soundscape of horrors ‘PRIMORDIAL’, their debut EP. ITUS blends grueling sludge and epic doom with stoner rock and death metal. Crushing yet jammy heavy metal passages, infused within a psychedelic, horror atmosphere established their EP as ITUS’ first brutally tripped-out release. The PRIMORDIAL EP launched on Friday the 13th of March 2020. Covid seemed to strike right then with lockdowns, but given time to build ITUS recruited Vince Anastasi on drums, and the three boys started building in new directions both musically and professionally. ITUS lined up gigs for 2022 and performed a slew of new singles alongside the music from their first EP. New music videos produced by the band are also coming this year in 2022 and 2023. Hold your eyes and ears open for the new Sludge from ITUS.

Discography:
2023 – Droner (single)
2021 – Sturgeon (single)
2020 – Primordial – EP

0 Canadian Doom ITUS Share Playthroughs Guitar and Drums For New Single “Sturgeon”

  • August 22, 2022
  • by Asher
  • · ITUS · Music News

NEWS RELEASE

Montreal, QC – August 22, 2022

 

Canadian Doom ITUS Share Playthroughs Guitar and Drums For New Single “Sturgeon”

Toronto-based death/doom/sludge band ITUS unleashed their latest single and horror story music video “Sturgeon” earlier this summer. It’s been the first taster of new music since the band’s debut EP “Primordial” was released in 2020.

Today, they share with fans their recent playthrough videos for both guitar and drums to check out.

Watch guitarist Brandon Lucking shred the sludgy doom alongside guest guitar solos by Dexter Forbes of Apogean – https://youtu.be/zegVPb2DmPE

​

and drummer Vincent Anastasi show you the sludge flow at https://youtu.be/Df1p3TDIEfs

​

Both videos were filmed and edited by Wavelens Media.

“Sturgeon” is the heaviest music that ITUS has written to date. This new offering is very heavy, shocking, but also catchy and widely accessible to all music fans. The dramatic, horror-themed video will also catch the eye of viewers along with its guest appearance from Canadian rocker KO as the “bait dude” character. The band explains the video and song in further detail:

“We wrote Sturgeon in a few sessions using a hook Brandon previously came up with. It just flowed organically from Brandon. Eerily, almost all the lyrics and vocal phrasing flowed seemingly from Reinier during the same writing sessions. The lyrics comment on apocalyptic guilt, with satanic ritualism juxtaposed with Christianity. We named our single Sturgeon because we knew we wanted to develop and shoot a music video that involved Brandon’s cottage, which is built on an inlet out of Sturgeon Bay, Ontario. Sturgeon are also huge prehistoric bottom-feeding fish with armoured skin, which is metal.”

For ITUS, “Sturgeon” is a fun bridge between their roots in death metal and where they plan to take their new music. They hope fans will enjoy the slightly more sludgy, heavier direction that is exemplified on the single. They place a great focus on hooks and have become more focused. They intended to get back to the stage in June, and those who get to see them live will be inundated with an energetic, atmospheric abrasive heavy metal experience. They aim to mystify and shock people with their performances.

The atmosphere in “Sturgeon” is creepy and ominous, and the band also incorporates a more modern-sounding metal mix while still maintaining that quintessential doom/sludge sound that fans will recognize. They are recommended listening for fans of Crowbar, Conan, and Windhand.

The music video for “Sturgeon”, which was partially directed by Apogean guitarist Dexter Forbes who also adds a guest guitar solo on the track, can be viewed at https://youtu.be/F0DBTMS8BfI​

Video Credits:​
Cinematography by Dexter Forbes and John Esposo
Editing by John Esposo
Directed and written by Reinier Vandenbosch

Single Stream – Itusofficialdoom.bandcamp.com, Spotify​

Single Recording Band Line Up:​
Vince Anastasi – Drums
Brandon Lucking – Guitar and Bass
Reinier Vandenbosch – Vocals
Dexter Forbes – Guest Guitar Solo

Live Band Line Up:​
Vince Anastasi – Drums
Brandon Lucking – Guitar
Brandon Aitchison – Bass/backing vocals
Reinier Vandenbosch – Vocals

For more info:​
​https://www.facebook.com/ITUSDOOM​
​http://www.instagram.com/ITUSDOOM​

​

About:

ITUS was born in 2018 when Brandon Lucking (guitars) and Reinier Vandenbosch (vocals) began writing Doom Metal together. Fans of Conan, Pallbearer, Crowbar, Windhand, Electric Wizard, and Black Sabbath will find themselves tripping out on ITUS’ soundscape of horrors ‘PRIMORDIAL’, their debut EP. ITUS blends grueling sludge and epic doom with stoner rock and death metal. Crushing yet jammy heavy metal passages, infused within a psychedelic, horror atmosphere established their EP as ITUS’ first brutal yet eclectic outing.

The EP launched on Friday the 13th of March 2020. Covid seemed to strike right then with lockdowns, but given time to build, ITUS then recruited Vince Anastasi on drums, and the three boys started building in new directions both musically and professionally. ITUS has lined up gigs for 2022 and will be performing a slew of new singles alongside the music from their first EP. New music videos produced by the band are also coming this year in 2022. Keep your eyes and ears peeled and ready to catch some ITUS.

Discography:
2011 – Sturgeon (single)
2020 – Primordial – EP

– 30 –

—
ASHER MEDIA RELATIONS
Jon Asher – Music Publicist
#.514.581.5780
jon[@]ashermediarelations[.]com
Facebook @AsherMediaRelations
Instagram @AsherMedia
Tweet @AsherMedia

0 ITUS Presents Video For “Sturgeon”, A Canadian Doom Metal Horror Story

  • June 29, 2022
  • by Asher
  • · ITUS · Music News

NEWS RELEASE

Montreal, QC – June 29, 2022

 

ITUS Presents Video For “Sturgeon”, A Canadian Doom Metal Horror Story

ITUS is a Toronto-based death/doom/sludge band that came together in 2018. They released their debut EP “Primordial” in 2020 and after a period of incubating new material they are ready to hit the scene with force. They have been sitting on some singles since December and now is the time for them to release the first, “Sturgeon” – the heaviest music they have written to date. They set out to make this new offering very heavy, shocking, but also catchy and widely accessible to all music fans. The dramatic, horror-themed video will also catch the eye of viewers along with its guest appearance from Canadian rocker KO as the “bait dude” character. The band explains the video and song in further detail:

“We wrote Sturgeon in a few sessions using a hook Brandon previously came up with. It just flowed organically from Brandon. Eerily, almost all the lyrics and vocal phrasing flowed seemingly from Reinier during the same writing sessions. The lyrics comment on apocalyptic guilt, with satanic ritualism juxtaposed with Christianity. We named our single Sturgeon because we knew we wanted to develop and shoot a music video that involved Brandon’s cottage, which is built on an inlet out of Sturgeon Bay, Ontario. Sturgeon are also huge prehistoric bottom-feeding fish with armoured skin, which is metal.”

For ITUS, “Sturgeon” is a fun bridge between their roots in death metal and where they plan to take their new music. They hope fans will enjoy the slightly more sludgy, heavier direction that is exemplified on the single. They place a great focus on hooks and have become more focused. They intended to get back to the stage in June, and those who get to see them live will be inundated with an energetic, atmospheric abrasive heavy metal experience. They aim to mystify and shock people with their performances.

The atmosphere in “Sturgeon” is creepy and ominous, and the band also incorporates a more modern-sounding metal mix while still maintaining that quintessential doom/sludge sound that fans will recognize. They are recommended listening for fans of Crowbar, Conan, and Windhand.

The music video for “Sturgeon”, which was partially directed by Apogean guitarist Dexter Forbes who also adds a guest guitar solo on the track, can be viewed via its premiere on TheCirclePit – https://youtu.be/F0DBTMS8BfI​

​

​Video Credits:​
Cinematography by Dexter Forbes and John Esposo
Editing by John Esposo
Directed and written by Reinier Vandenbosch

Single Stream – Itusofficialdoom.bandcamp.com, Spotify​

Single Recording Band Line Up:​
Vince Anastasi – Drums
Brandon Lucking – Guitar and Bass
Reinier Vandenbosch – Vocals
Dexter Forbes – Guest Guitar Solo

Live Band Line Up:​
Vince Anastasi – Drums
Brandon Lucking – Guitar
Brandon Aitchison – Bass/backing vocals
Reinier Vandenbosch – Vocals

For more info:​
​https://www.facebook.com/ITUSDOOM​
​http://www.instagram.com/ITUSDOOM​

​About:

ITUS was born in 2018 when Brandon Lucking (guitars) and Reinier Vandenbosch (vocals) began writing Doom Metal together. Fans of Conan, Pallbearer, Crowbar, Windhand, Electric Wizard, and Black Sabbath will find themselves tripping out on ITUS’ soundscape of horrors ‘PRIMORDIAL’, their debut EP. ITUS blends grueling sludge and epic doom with stoner rock and death metal. Crushing yet jammy heavy metal passages, infused within a psychedelic, horror atmosphere established their EP as ITUS’ first brutal yet eclectic outing.

The EP launched on Friday the 13th of March 2020. Covid seemed to strike right then with lockdowns, but given time to build, ITUS then recruited Vince Anastasi on drums, and the three boys started building in new directions both musically and professionally. ITUS has lined up gigs for 2022 and will be performing a slew of new singles alongside the music from their first EP. New music videos produced by the band are also coming this year in 2022. Keep your eyes and ears peeled and ready to catch some ITUS.

Discography:
2011 – Sturgeon (single)
2020 – Primordial – EP

– 30 –

—
ASHER MEDIA RELATIONS
Jon Asher – Music Publicist
#.514.581.5780
jon[@]ashermediarelations[.]com
Facebook @AsherMediaRelations
Instagram @AsherMedia
Tweet @AsherMedia

0 EPK – ITUS – Sturgeon (2022) (single)

  • May 25, 2022
  • by Asher
  • · EPKs · ITUS

ITUS – Sturgeon (2022) (single)

Publicist – Jon Asher – jon[@]ashermediarelations[.]com

“We hope fans will enjoy the slightly more sludgy, heavier approach we decided to take with our newer material. With our new single, Sturgeon, we’ve taken everything we’ve learned in terms of the heavy music we all love, and we’ve applied it as tastefully as we possibly could. Sturgeon was written with a greater emphasis on hooks and a more focused direction musically. We want Sturgeon to sit as one of the heaviest songs we’ve created to date. We also think that people will really enjoy the music video we procedure together for Sturgeon, especially if you’re Canadian. The music video is a short horror story that follows Reinier around his cottage while he deals with an unknown assailant.” – ITUS

For fans of Crowbar, Conan, Windhand, Black Sabbath, Varials

Release Date: June 29, 2022
Label: Self-Release

Facebook.com/ItusDoom | Youtube | Instagram.com/Itusdoom

Itusofficialdoom.Bandcamp | Spotify | Apple Music

“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

“Sturgeon is the first song that we plan to release among the other new singles we tracked in December of 2021. We are tentatively looking at releasing singles over the next coming months of 2022 and then releasing them together as an EP with some added material in the second half of 2022.” – ITUS

Single Title: Sturgeon
Release Date: June 20, 2022
Label: Self-Release

Track Listing:
1. Sturgeon – (05:18)

Single Recording Credits:
• All songs performed by: ITUS
• All songs written by: ITUS
• Produced by: Luc Chiasson and ITUS
• Mixed by: Luc Chiasson
• Mastered by: Luc Chiasson
• Album/Single Artwork by: Dan Bothen
• ITUS are all Members of SOCAN
• 100% Canadian Content (MAPL)
• Single Recording Band Line Up:
– Vince Anastasi – Drums
– Brandon Lucking – Guitar and bass
– Reinier Vandenbosch – Vocals

About:

ITUS was born in 2018 when Brandon Lucking (guitars) and Reinier Vandenbosch (vocals) began writing Doom Metal together. Fans of Conan, Pallbearer, Crowbar, Windhand, Electric Wizard, and Black Sabbath will find themselves tripping out on ITUS’ soundscape of horrors ‘PRIMORDIAL’, their debut EP. ITUS blends grueling sludge and epic doom with stoner rock and death metal. Crushing yet jammy heavy metal passages, infused within a psychedelic, horror atmosphere established their EP as ITUS’ first brutal yet eclectic outing. 

The EP launched on Friday the 13th of March 2020. Covid seemed to strike right then with lockdowns, but given time to build, ITUS then recruited Vince Anastasi on drums, and the three boys started building in new directions both musically and professionally. ITUS has lined up gigs for 2022 and will be performing a slew of new singles alongside the music from their first EP. New music videos produced by the band are also coming this year in 2022. Keep your eyes and ears peeled and ready to catch some ITUS. 

Single Recording Band Line Up:
Vince Anastasi – Drums
Brandon Lucking – Guitar and bass
Reinier Vandenbosch – Vocals

Live Band Line Up:
Vince Anastasi – Drums
Brandon Lucking – Guitar
Brandon Aitchison – Bass/backing vocals
Reinier Vandenbosch – Vocals

Discography:
2011 – Sturgeon (single)
2020 – Primordial – EP

0 Thank you for the airplay love CJSW Radio (Calgary) #1 Omniarch – Omniarch – Self-Released #2 Killitorous – The Afterparty – •• Tentacles Industries •• #3 Cryptonight – The Black Ritual – Self-Released #9 ITUS – Primordial – Self-Released

  • May 13, 2020
  • by Asher
  • · Cryptonight · ITUS · Killitorous · Omniarch
Thank you for the airplay love CJSW Radio (Calgary)
 
#1 Omniarch – Omniarch – Self-Released
#2 Killitorous – The Afterparty – •• Tentacles Industries ••
#3 Cryptonight – The Black Ritual – Self-Released
#9 ITUS – Primordial – Self-Released
https://earshot-online.com/charts/cjsw.cfm?intChartTypeID=6&dWeekOfID=2020-05-12

0 Toronto Doom Duo ITUS Shares Lyric Video “Primordial” via TheObelisk

  • May 5, 2020
  • by Asher
  • · ITUS · Music News

(contact info below)

NEWS RELEASE

Montreal, QC – May 5, 2020

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

Toronto Doom Duo ITUS Shares Lyric Video “Primordial” via TheObelisk

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

Photographer Credit: Justin Ryan Lawrence

 

Unleashing their debut EP “Primordial” this past March, a first of two that will culminate into a full-length album, Toronto doom duo ITUS is sharing with fans the lyric video for the release’s title track.

“‘Primordial’ comes off very abrasively after the calm opening like the listener is watching the creature being revealed in a horror movie.” adds the band.

The lyric video can be viewed via its premiere on TheObelisk HERE.

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

The writing process is fairly simple for ITUS, Lucking writes the melodies as they come to him, and Vandenbosch writes the vocals and lyrics. 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.

Their debut EP “Primordial” focuses around aggressive, dark and primal concepts and embrace the death metal roots of the duo. They explain further:

“We think that this EP will manage to ensnare those who are into heavier music, as well as attract other listeners who may not be so into death metal and related genres. The clean vocals and bright lead guitars really lighten up the darker, heavier passages of the songs. Reinier’s aggressive, chortling screams and yelling portrays an unhinged, brooding darkness, sure to keep listeners on the edge of their seats.”

Fans of Electric Wizard, Sleep, and Left Behind are sure to enjoy the doomy, stoner and psychedelic rock rumbles of ITUS and their debut “Primordial”.

The EP is available on Bandcamp and Spotify.

Videos:
‘Primordial’ here.
‘This Can’t Be’ here.
‘The Chaplain’ here.


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

For more info:
Facebook.com/ITUSDOOM
Instagram.com/ITUSDOOM
EPK

– 30 –

“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

—

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0 ITUS – Primordial – Metal Temple “… 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!”

  • April 6, 2020
  • by Asher
  • · ITUS

ITUS – Primordial – Metal Temple “… 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 http://www.metal-temple.com/site/catalogues/entry/reviews/cd_3/i_2/itus-primordial.htm

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

  • March 28, 2020
  • by Asher
  • · ITUS

The Burning Beard – ITUS – Primordial “A very strong first release, and well worth checking out for doom fans looking for something with some brains behind the fuzz.” http://www.theburningbeard.com/2020/03/ascending-from-ooze.html

0 Noob Heavy – Album Review: ITUS – Primordial 8 (Doom Metal) – “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

  • March 17, 2020
  • by Asher
  • · ITUS

“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

https://noobheavy.com/2020/03/13/album-review-itus-primordial-8-doom-metal/?fbclid=IwAR1zDAWJvgcdzrtBLdP2OAeVdtd5NyzEpprUnMmQXeA0pvN2MkIJBab_c2c

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