EXTENDED PLAY: Bite-Sized Morsels of Musical Mayhem – Uber Rock – ITUS “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.” https://uber-rock.co.uk/extended-play-bite-sized-morsels-of-musical-mayhem/
Category: ITUS
0 EXTENDED PLAY: Bite-Sized Morsels of Musical Mayhem – Uber Rock – ITUS “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.”
0 Exclaim! ITUS – Primordial “Blending their love of doom, stoner rock and its attendant psychedelia, Ontario trio Itus have created a colossal debut in Primordial.” 9/10
Exclaim! ITUS – Primordial “Blending their love of doom, stoner rock and its attendant psychedelia, Ontario trio Itus have created a colossal debut in Primordial.” 9/10 https://exclaim.ca/music/article/itus-primordial
0 Toronto Doom Duo ITUS Streaming Debut EP “Primordial” via Decibel Magazine
(contact info below)
NEWS RELEASE
Montreal, QC – March 13, 2020
For fans of Conan, Sleep, Electric Wizard, Windhand, Black Sabbath
Toronto Doom Duo ITUS Streaming Debut EP “Primordial” Out March 13th
(L-R) Reinier Vandenbosch – Vocals, Brandon Lucking – Guitars and Bass
Photographer Credit: Justin Ryan Lawrence
Toronto doom duo ITUS are streaming their debut EP “Primordial” due out March 13th. The EP is the first of two that will culminate into a full-length album.
The EP’s songs focus around aggressive, dark and primal concepts and embrace the death metal roots of the duo. They explain their goals for the release’s reception:
“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 and stoner rock rumbles of ITUS and their debut “Primordial”.
Listen to the full stream of “Primordial” via its premiere on Decibel Magazine HERE.
EP will be 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
About:
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 looking to try something new. The result was 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.
– 30 –
“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
“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
—
ASHER MEDIA RELATIONS
Jon Asher – Music Publicist
#.514.581.5780
asher[@]ashermediarelations[.]com
Facebook @AsherMediaRelations
Instagram @AsherMedia
Tweet @AsherMedia
0 ITUS Unleash Warhammer Inspired Doom Track ‘The Chaplain’ via CVLTNation; EP “Primordial” Out March 13th
(contact info below)
NEWS RELEASE
Montreal, QC – March 6, 2020
For fans of Conan, Sleep, Electric Wizard, Windhand, Black Sabbath
ITUS Unleash Warhammer Inspired Doom Track ‘The Chaplain’ Off Upcoming EP “Primordial”
Debut EP “Primordial” Out March 13th
(L-R) Reinier Vandenbosch – Vocals, Brandon Lucking – Guitars and Bass
Photographer Credit: Justin Ryan Lawrence
Toronto’s ITUS unleashes their next single ‘The Chaplain’ off their debut recording “Primordial” due out March 13th. The EP is the first of two that will culminate into a full-length album.
‘Chaplain’ can be heard via its premiere on CVLTNation HERE.
The band adds:
“‘The Chaplain’ is definitely a weird one. We didn’t really know what to do for the final song on the EP so we decided to go up north to Brandon’s cottage, jam for the weekend and see what we came up with. The entire rhythm section of the song was hashed out with a click track. We built up the whole song around one riff, adding many more layers and effects. We really wanted to close the album with a hard-hitting, droning doom song. The lyrics are directly inspired by stories from Warhammer 40k, a popular fantasy war game. It follows the tale of a space-marine soldier, who finds a portal in space which completely corrupts him, and he emerges from that portal as a plague on humanity.
The EP’s songs focus around aggressive, dark and primal concepts and embrace the death metal roots of the duo. They explain their goals for the release’s reception:
“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 and stoner rock rumbles of ITUS and their debut “Primordial”.
EP Pre-order on Bandcamp.
Videos:
‘Primordial’ here.
‘This Can’t Be’ 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
About:
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 looking to try something new. The result was 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.
– 30 –
“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
“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
—
ASHER MEDIA RELATIONS
Jon Asher – Music Publicist
#.514.581.5780
asher[@]ashermediarelations[.]com
Facebook @AsherMediaRelations
Instagram @AsherMedia
Tweet @AsherMedia
0 Pest Webzine – interview w/ ITUS
Pest Webzine – interview w/ ITUS http://pestwebzine.com/index/itus/0-2372
0 Astral Noize – ITUS – Primordial – dark and brooding doom “Primordial is a powerful and unforgiving EP that is certainly worthy of your time.”
Astral Noize – ITUS – Primordial – dark and brooding doom “Primordial is a powerful and unforgiving EP that is certainly worthy of your time.” https://astralnoizeuk.com/2020/02/25/itus-primordial-dark-and-brooding-doom/
0 ITUS Unleash Dramatic Doom Single ‘This Can’t Be’ Off Upcoming EP “Primordial” via Doomed and Stoned
(contact info below)
NEWS RELEASE
Montreal, QC – February 21, 2020
For fans of Conan, Sleep, Electric Wizard, Windhand, Black Sabbath
ITUS Unleash Dramatic Doom Single ‘This Can’t Be’ Off Upcoming EP “Primordial”
Debut EP “Primordial” Out March 13th
(L-R) Reinier Vandenbosch – Vocals, Brandon Lucking – Guitars and Bass
Photographer Credit: Justin Ryan Lawrence
Toronto’s ITUS recently released their first single / title track off their debut recording “Primordial”. They are now following it up with the second ‘This Can’t Be’, which contrasts with the first by being much slower and mellower with a rising crescendo.
“Primordial” is out on March 13, 2020 and is the first of two EPs that will culminate into a full-length album. The EP’s songs focus around aggressive, dark and primal concepts and embrace the death metal roots of the duo. They explain their goals for the release’s reception:
“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.”
Complemented with a black and white music video, ‘This Can’t Be’ aims to remind the listener of the sleepless nights where thoughts run a mile a minute while bombarding the listener with layer upon layer of guitar. ITUS explains in-depth:
“This song is intended to bring us down the aggression that the previous two songs delivered, into a calm and thoughtful zone. The lyrics are based around struggling with past burdens and with one’s own sense of worthlessness. We wanted the end of the song, where the solo and heavy guitars come in, to give a feeling of relief, comfort, and closure.”
The stark contrast between this single and the first is an excellent representation of the flexibility ITUS has. For fans of Electric Wizard, Sleep and Left Behind, the video for ‘This Can’t Be’ can be watched via its premiere on Doomed & Stoned HERE.
ITUS‘ first single and title track ‘Primordial’ can be heard 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
About:
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 looking to try something new. The result was 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.
– 30 –
—
ASHER MEDIA RELATIONS
Jon Asher – Music Publicist
#.514.581.5780
asher[@]ashermediarelations[.]com
Facebook @AsherMediaRelations
Instagram @AsherMedia
Tweet @AsherMedia
0 Cadaver Garden – ITUS – Promordial “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 – ITUS – Promordial
“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.”
0 Something Doomy This Way Creeps With ITUS’ Debut Video “Primordial” via The Sludgelord; EP Out March 13th
(contact info below)
NEWS RELEASE
Montreal, QC – February 7, 2020
For fans of Conan, Sleep, Electric Wizard, Windhand, Black Sabbath
Something Doomy This Way Creeps With ITUS’ Debut “Primordial”
Debut EP “Primordial” Out March 13th
(L-R) Reinier Vandenbosch – Vocals, Brandon Lucking – Guitars and Bass
Photographer Credit: Justin Ryan Lawrence
Toronto’s ITUS is the latest in Canadian doom featuring heavy, brooding and psychedelic tones meshed with horror-inspired sounds. They have been toiling away, working on their debut EP “Primordial” set to be released on March 13, 2020.
Atmospheric and energetic, this album is a step in a new musically direction for the duo of Brandon Lucking and Reinier Vandenbosch, and they are encouraged that the reception for their latest endeavour will be well received as they explain:
“We think that Itus could have a much wider appeal than previous efforts of ours. Songs on the EP like ‘Cloud Reader’ and ‘This Can’t Be” are much more accessible, especially with Vandenbosch’s newly developed clean singing. We think the heavier tracks will strike a nice balance with the mellower tracks on the EP as a whole.”
Two very different singles will be released from the EP, the first being the title track ‘Primordial’. Painting the mood like a classic horror creature reveal, it’s both abrasive and calm, and the accompanying music video is shot like a horror film to accentuate the brutality and dark riffage in the track. ITUS details the track:
“We chose to make this the first song we release because to us, it embodies the aspect of human savagery. Primordial uses the idea of coming out of a euphoric bliss into a hellish existence. Its lyrics comment on what forces within people work to pull society back down to chaos. This is the most aggressive song on the EP with its crisp, and aggressive guitar tones that really make it stand out from the other songs.”
Fans of Electric Wizard, Conan, and Windhand will definitely take an interest in ITUS.
The track ‘Primordial’ is available via its video premiere on The Sludgelord 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
About:
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 looking to try something new. The result was 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.
– 30 –
—
ASHER MEDIA RELATIONS
Jon Asher – Music Publicist
#.514.581.5780
asher[@]ashermediarelations[.]com
Facebook @AsherMediaRelations
Instagram @AsherMedia
Tweet @AsherMedia
0 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)
ashermediarelations.com 