NEWS RELEASE
Montreal, QC – September 21, 2022
Exitus Stratagem Records – “Collateral Damage” Is Coming From AITTALA’s Doomy New Album “Live to Regret”
“Live to Regret” Out November 7th
L-R – AITTALA – Gary ‘Smith’ Zeus (Drums), Eric Aittala (Guitar/Vox), Ali Lugo (Bass)
Photo Credit – Formont Photography
Aittala can best be described as eclectic doom, they have taken inspiration from other genres such as sludge, power, and traditional metal. They are gearing up to release their sixth album “Live to Regret” this fall and to intrigue listeners, they offering their first single “Collateral Damage” accompanied with a music video. The single is a hard rock/metal track about dealing with relationship ultimatums set to catchy, memorable riffs and comes with a video. They had this to say about it:
“It was the first song written for the album during the pandemic. The lyrics were inspired by a very chaotic relationship one of the band members was going through at that time. The girlfriend was very controlling and kept drawing lines and giving ultimatums until it reached the breaking point and the relationship shattered. The music flowed as organically as the lyrics and it came together very quickly. We are very proud of this song and video and excited for the fans to experience it!”
Watch and listen to “Collateral Damage” via its premiere on TheCirclePit YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/ZKuIKuQohoE
The album “Live To Regret” has eleven tracks, all written during the pandemic, and conveys a sense of chaos that the band members were experiencing at the time. Compared to the albums that came before it, the core of the Aittala sound remains constant, but steadily matures over time. The first two albums were more experimental using programmed drums with heavy use of keys/synthesizers. After drummer Gary ‘Zeus’ Smith joined the band in 2012, the writing started to tune in to his drumming style and become more guitar orientated. In 2019, bassist Ali Lugo joined and brought a different musical perspective that is infused throughout the new album.
The original incarnation of Aittala was formed in 1991 in The Netherlands while guitarist/vocalist Eric Aittala was stationed there with the United States military. For about 18 months, they played shows around The Netherlands and started to create a buzz around the scene. Unfortunately, Aittala had to leave the country at the end of 1993 when his military contract ended. The project lay dormant for quite some time while Eric played in other bands, but he continued to write and record Aittala songs as a side project. In 2009, he made the decision to concentrate on Aittala again as his only musical endeavor.
Aittala’s sound is one that is hard to narrow down, they have managed to etch out a uniqueness all their own, but will find favor with those interested in Mastodon, Eyehategod, and Baroness.
“Live to Regret” will be available on November 7, 2022, via Exitus Stratagem Records and was produced by Eric Aittala and John E. Wooten IV, who also mixed the record along with mastering by Dave Harris at Studio B Mastering. Album artwork by Mariano Pugliese.
Album pre-order: https://hypeddit.com/aittala/livetoregret
Album Sampler – https://youtu.be/yAoHuPoHlHE
Track Listing:
1. Live to Regret – 2:49
2. Collateral Damage – 3:22
3. War of Attrition – 3:18
4. Saint – 3:35
5. Cannibals – 3:56
6. Betrayed – 3:26
7. Big Brother – 4:45
8. Dancing with Disaster – 3:35
9. Never Forget – 3:36
10. Well Enough Alone – 5:03
11. Juliet (2022) – 5:24
Album Length: 42:56
For more info:
https://www.exsrmusic.com
http://www.aittala.com
https://www.facebook.com/aittalamusic
https://www.instagram.com/aittalamusic
About: The music of AITTALA (pronounced ‘EYE-tah-la’) crosses many metal genres; it’s hard to put it into just one category. The sound infuses elements of classic heavy metal, doom, progressive, power, thrash, and hard rock with lyrics drawing inspiration from the darker side of the human condition. The AITTALA sound has been cited for being unique which is no easy feat in the metal genre.
The first version of AITTALA was formed in 1991 while Eric Aittala was living in Holland. With fellow American Tim on vocals and Dutch bandmates Ed (drums) and Jon (bass), the band became a staple of the Dutch metal scene.
With the release of the 3-song EP ‘Selling Heaven’ in summer of 1993, AITTALA opened for such bands as THE GATHERING and SADIST. Unfortunately, as the demo started to create a buzz in the underground European metal scene, Eric had to return to the US and disbanded AITTALA.
Over the next decade or so, Eric played in numerous bands (TRIBE, MAGNETHEAD, DWELL) and lost focus on AITTALA.
Near the end of the 00’s, Eric decided it was time to refocus his efforts on the AITTALA brand. From 2009 to 2016, AITTALA released 4 full-length albums: ‘Bed of Thorns’ (2009), ‘Haunt Your Flesh’ (2011), ‘Effigy’ (2014) and ‘American Nightmare’ (2016). Each album showcasing a natural progression of song writing and lyrical content but retaining the core AITTALA sound and evolving it.
In 2019, AITTALA signed with Curtain Call Records and released the band’s fifth full-length album ‘False Pretenses’. It was ten brand new songs that not only continued the song writing evolution of heavier but catchy songs, but also sonically. AITTALA used an entirely different approach for the recording, mixing and mastering to create the best AITTALA album to date.
The current lineup of AITTALA consists of Gary ‘Zeus’ Smith (THE FIFTH, ex-MR BLACKWELL) on drums and Ali Lugo (ex-AGE OF DESPAIR) on bass.
They continue to write, record and tour to bring AITTALA to the masses with plans in 2022 to unleash their sixth studio album entitled “Live To Regret” to be released by label Exitus Stratagem Records.
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“The band’s sound is difficult to pigeonhole because they incorporate a variety of styles. The common element in all the songs is the potent groove. On tracks like “Black Coffin” and “Afterthought” stoner/doom is at the forefront, while songs such as “Disowned” have a more traditional metal vibe. There are progressive influences on “How Much Longer,” while the closer “Debt” is a piano based ballad. Even with so many disparate styles, Aittala bring everything together into a cohesive whole.” – Heavy Music Headquarters
“I would describe them as an eclectic Doom Metal band, although their sound is a bit tough to define. That’s ultimately a good thing though, and I enjoy the refreshment of something different. My only major complaint is that on some songs, the vocals and lyrics are so drawn out that they become a little boring and you end up waiting a bit for something cool to happen. The good news is something cool usually does end up happening” – Metal-Temple
“In the metal world, bands can start to sound the same and Aittala steps outside of the box. With clear crisp vocals, grinding rhythms and well executed leads, this band is definitely in a league of their own.” – The Metal Channel
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