NEWS RELEASE
Montreal, QC – February 23, 2022
Streaming Now! THEY GRIEVE Release Somber, Doomy Sophomore Drone Album “To Which I Bore Witness”
New Album Out Feb 24th, 2023 via Silent Pendulum Records
Produced by Topon Das (F*ck The Facts)
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Photo Credit – Nick Shaw
“To Which I Bore Witness” both lyrically and musically, tries to capture the uncomfortable juxtaposition between weakness and weight. It is the second release from Canada’s drone doom duo They Grieve who are constantly trying to express the ways in which the ugliness and decay we see in the world sets itself down and plants its roots inside of them—how the weight of the world transforms into their own weakness once it has done so. They try to capture this feeling of juxtaposition and tension within the music itself by oscillating between ambient, textural drones and heavy, doom-laden riffs. They continue to explain the album:
“We are very proud of how far we’ve come as a band since our last release. Although it’s been a painstaking process, having scrapped and then re-written most of it, we feel that the end result is a very clear step in the right direction for us. We took our time trying to get the details right, getting more comfortable and adept at filling sonic space as a two-piece. Specifically, we put a lot of work into blending our disparate drone and post-metal influences in a way that feels more natural and seamless than our previous efforts.”
The duo of Gary Thibert on guitars, bass, and vocals; and Deniz Güvenç on drums, synthesizers, piano, and vocals have worked together in the past on a few other projects. In 2015, Thibert was growing increasingly frustrated with his current project at the time and wanted to try experimenting with a more collaborative form of writing, as both of them are songwriters. Initially, they were going to focus on a drone/ambient project but drifted back toward metal pretty quickly. Compared to their first EP, listeners will find this new album more refined and nuanced.
“To Which I Bore Witness” is meant to be depressing, it’s sad, loud music that’s not meant to cross into anger. They Grieve wants people to sit with the album’s sadness and find comfort or kinship within it. The poignant riffs and melancholic layers are recommended for fans of Year of No Light, The Body, and Cult of Luna.
The album was produced by Topon Das (F*ck The Facts) at Apartment Two Studio along with mastering done by Dave Williams at Eight Floors Above and additional tracks recorded by Alex Jakimczuk at Uppercut Studios. The album artwork was done by Pascale Arpin.
The album is being released on February 24, 2023, via Silent Pendulum Records and can be heard through its full stream premiere on Decibel Magazine HERE.
Album pre-order:
– https://silentpendulumrecords.com/products/they-grieve-lp
– https://silentpendulumrecords.bandcamp.com/album/to-which-i-bore-witness
Music Video – “To Which I Bore Witness” – https://youtu.be/MV5DMP0rERE
Tour Dates:
Feb 25 – Ottawa, ON – Houe of Targ (Album Release Show)
March 2 – Peterborough, ON – Sadleir House
March 3 – Waterloo, ON – The Dive Bar
March 4 – Toronto, ON – Bovine
March 5 – Hamilton, ON – Casbah
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Track Listing:
1. Wither (7:12)
2. Under the Weight (7:23)
3. If Light Should Appear (7:00)
4. To Which I Bore Witness (6:43)
5. Guided (3:18)
6. Weakness (8:01)
Album Length: 39:40
Album Band Lineup:
Gary Thibert: Guitars, Bass, Vocals
Deniz Güvenç: Drums, Synthesizers, Piano, Vocals
Album Recording Credits:
• All songs performed by: Deniz Guvenc & Gary Thibert
• All songs written by: Deniz Guvenc & Gary Thibert
• Produced by: Topon Das at Apartment 2 Studios
• Mixed by: Topon Das at Apartment 2 Studios
• Mastered by: Dave Williams at Eight Floors Above
• Album Artwork by: Pascale Arpin
• Additional tracks recorded by Alex Jakimczuk at Uppercut Studios
For more info:
www.facebook.com/theygrieve
www.instagram.com/theygrieve
About: They Grieve is a two-piece doom, drone, and post-metal band based in Ottawa, Canada. Drawing influence from both minimalist ambient music and down-tempo metal, they blend warm synthesizers, electronics, and lofty guitar drones into mournful hymns and monolithic dirges with urgency, tension, and weight.
Members Gary Thibert and Deniz Güvenç formed They Grieve in 2015 with the intent to experiment with new forms and processes for songwriting, collaboration, and improvisation. Their first EP, I Made My Sacrifice Accordingly, was self-recorded and self-released in late 2016. In 2018, it was re-released with an added bonus track and accompanying music video through Transcending Records.
They Grieve are set to release their first full-length album entitled To Which I Bore Witness. Recorded at Apartment 2 with Topon Das of Fuck the Facts, this album presents a marked change in the band’s sound. Moving away from the harsh-noise influence on their first album, To Which I Bore Witness unveils a much more refined approach to texture and atmosphere while simultaneously shifting to a slower, heavier pace.
Employing a nuanced sense of harmony, the result is an emotional, dynamic, and doom-laden take on post-metal.
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“The best kept secret in Ontario’s doom metal scene, They Grieve — the project of Gary Thibert and Deniz Guvenc, of Alaskan and Stay Here respectively — have spent the past several years refining their approach to doom metal, shifting away from the genre’s usual tropes to make something uniquely their own. To Which I Bore Witness is a subtle, nuanced and richly emotional exploration of grief and loss that sends doom through a prism of sound.” – Exclaim!
“In the song (To Which I Bore Witness) itself, the music lumbers like a wounded leviathan, staggering ahead with terrific heaviness through corrosive chords and pounding drums — and unexpectedly, it also gets significantly louder, all the better to crush the listener into submission. Enhancing the daunting atmosphere of the music, the vocals scar the senses with harsh howls of ruinous torment, and a guitar wails in bitter grief. Suddenly, just as the video’s protagonist lands on a barren beach (to meet her other self), the music dramatically changes. A slow piano melody ethereally rings in moody but mesmerizing fashion above a humming bass and steady beats. That interlude only seems to magnify the bruising impact of what follows it. The piano still rings, but the rough reverberations that surround it abrade like heavy-grit sandpaper, and the screams reach new heights of harrowing intensity. The drums boom, the chords scrape and moan, the feeling of immense desolation becomes staggering. The protagonist buries the box she removed from within forest roots and wanders away, alone.” – No Clean Singing
“The song (Wither) opens with simple mystical statements on the synth. Other instruments are added to effect layers of feeling, meaning, and intensity. Guitar chords crackle and swell, enveloping us in ionizing radiation. Vocals are gruff and raspy; you have a feeling they’ve been through a lot, seen too much. As we inch closer to minute five, drums bounce jubilantly and a torrent of scratchy riffage erupts like the blinding winter wind. Gradually, the swell is calmed and we return to the strange solitary cries of the keyboard.” – Doomed and Stoned
“Generating a lot of sound for a two-piece, They Grieve’s second release is a deeply emotional album that captivates through pure sonic structure. Heavy and engaging, To Which I Bore Witness shows a wonderful marriage of doom and post-metal, utilizing both genre aspects wonderfully. Whether one is aiming to use sadness/emotion to heal or to further grieve, this album offers many pathways through one’s emotions.” – Musique Machine
“To Which I Bore Witness will not be everyone’s cup of tea. The production is deliberately fuzzy and abrasive. The songs are droning and meditative in the most self-destructive way they can be. It’s the kind of band you either “get” or don’t. This is also what I would call mood music. You don’t listen to They Grieve every day. You have to be in a particular mood to enjoy it, but I know that mood and I’ve felt these emotions and this blend of sludge, doom and post-metal with bold electronic elements carries them as well as they can be carried.” – Vox & Hops
“Could They Grieve be the future kings of Post-Metal?… As with most albums of this musical style, To Which I Bore Witness is dark, depressive, emotional and musically heavy. Upon first listen it can be overwhelming and tough to get through, however, with each repeated listen the album seriously grows. I for one, am very excited to see what They Grieve produces in the future.” – RAM Zine UK
“Unlike other representatives of this way of making music, where the elements typical of this extreme type of doom metal are used, they are rather invasive and even aggressive, in the case of They Grieve it is completely different. It is true that the despair contained in these compositions, additionally fueled by painfully sounding vocalizes, is undeniable, but it has an extremely soothing effect, introducing the listener into a kind of stupor that separates him from the surrounding world full of painful stimuli. Quite an interesting antidote to the pain of existence is served by these Canadians, and fans of the above-mentioned forms of squat playing will certainly appreciate it.” – Apocalyptic Rites
“The duo formed by Gary Thibert (guitar, bass, vocals) and Deniz Güvenç (drums, synth, piano, vocals) has created an intensely and strongly emotional album, at times almost monolithic, but at the same time decidedly dynamic. In the development of the six songs of which it is composed, To Which I Bore Witness exudes heaviness with its suffocating gait that seems to want to subdue the listener to the point of making him harmless. Thanks also to a sound that drags us into desolate lands where the ice, like a true master, crystallizes our every emotion, in the name of a now rampant moral decadence.” – Grind On The Road
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