Hailing from San Francisco, Grayceon are a post-metal trio featuring three highly respected names in the Bay Area metal scene: Jackie Perez Gratz — current vocalist and cellist for the underwater-themed doom band Giant Squid, former member of avant-garde outfit Amber Asylum, and session musician for the likes of Neurosis, Today Is the Day and Agalloch (RIP) — and Max Doyle and Zack Farwell of neighboring thrash-metal band Walken. The band has spent the past 12 years churning out doom-dirges with a dreamy, neoclassical flair, as romantic as they are roiling.
Following a five-year hiatus, the group is gearing up to drop its fourth album, titled — wait for it — IV. Recorded with Jack Shirley at the Atomic Garden (a space previously haunted by local heroes Deafheaven), the follow-up to 2013's Pearl and the End of Days, out later this spring, finds the band taking its sinister love story in an ethereal direction, with a noticeable uptick in swirling melodies and lush sonic textures. That said, Grayceon's hardly done dishing out the venom: The album's first single "Scorpion" stands among the most lethal cuts ever concocted by the trio, with a central riff so searing, you could fry an egg on it.
"'Scorpion' is one of our favorite songs from the album," Gratz tells Revolver of our first taste of IV. "The title 'Scorpion' was the working song title from the beginning, and it stuck so well that the title itself inspired the completion of the song and its lyrical content. It also features one of our all-time favorite Grayceon riffs and showcases IV's distinctive vocal style. Turn it up, and enjoy!"
IV hits shelves May 18th via Translation Loss. You can pre-order the album here.
