Pulsar Colony - Biography
Biography
It was summer of 2008 when the DNA of the Pulsar Colony sound started to take shape. Death metal, black metal, thrash metal, doom metal, and classic metal were combined with progressive rock, classic rock, and - most importantly - a broad spectrum of emotions, soundscapes, and a bizarre headspace. From June-October 2008 Charles Sabo wrote several riffs that would end up on the songs "Pillars of Creation", "Calypso", "Snowball Earth", and "To Pluto and Beyond".
Many of those riffs were written while standing on the beach of Lake Huron, which created a vibe that helped shape the primal, psychedelic, deep atmosphere of Pulsar Colony. Over the next year Sabo continued to write, arrange, and revise the songs, and from September 2009-January 2010 the instrumental recording sessions for Snowball Earth took place. The sessions resulted in a new breed of mind-warping, cosmic, contemplative experimental extreme/black metal. The tempos vary from all-out death metal speed to the slow crawl of a funeral dirge. Brutal, discordant passages conjuring images of disease, warfare, and pestilence intertwine with mountainous, epic melodic passages.
At times, the heavy guitar riffs disappear altogether in favor of trippy mellow sections with uncanny guitar and bass effects that take the listener on a journey through nebulas and wormholes. The keyboard sounds range from choirs and strings to new wave synthesizers, creating a futuristic, apocalyptic vibe. In addition to the standard drum kit (which was programmed on the first two albums, but programmed with as much tastefulness and dynamics as possible), tribal and electronic percussion make their mark on the album for increased trippy-ness. Lyrical themes range from global warming, the self vs. society, mythology/fantasy/science fiction, the ultimate fate of mankind and the universe, literature, to personal thoughts and experiences. In addition to being metal-influenced, Pulsar Colony draws influence from every non-metal influence you might imagine, for example: Jethro Tull, Soundgarden, Sonic Youth, Tears for Fears, world music, the list goes on. However, the songwriting flows naturally without focusing on influences, which allows Sabo to forge a unique style that's more an expression of his own soul and creative energies rather than a random collage of musical influences. Soon after Snowball Earth was recorded, the inspiration continued and the instrumental tracks for the sophomore album, entitled The Deep Sleep, were recorded from mid-2010 through mid-2011.
The Deep Sleep draws from all the musical ingredients introduced in Snowball Earth, yet ties them into a more developed, well-rounded sound. In late 2011 and early 2012 Sabo re-worked the lyrics, discarded the previous vocal tracks, and recorded more powerful vocals on both Snowball Earth and The Deep Sleep
In November 2011, an un-mastered version of Snowball Earth was unleashed to the public via bandcamp, which received a couple very positive reviews. By October 2012, both albums were mixed, mastered, and made available at Pulsar Colony's bandcamp page. From Spring 2012 through January 2013 the creation of the third album Equilibrium Zone took place. This album saw a number of very crucial changes for Pulsar Colony, and indeed marks a new beginning for the project. On this album, the music of Pulsar Colony for the first time features real drums and professional production, thanks to the help of Matthew Friend from Palantir, another great black metal project from Fayetteville, Arkansas. Equilibrium Zone is Pulsar Colony's most well-written, mature, atmospheric, and powerful album to date. In addition to the introduction of real drums and higher sound quality, Sabo took a huge step forward in terms of songwriting. Equilibrium Zone takes the uncanny experimentation and soundscapes introduced on Snowball Earth and The Deep Sleep and incorporates them in a more consistent black metal framework.
Thus, the songs are a bit shorter and the mellow trippy passages take a backseat, creating a more brutal, blackened, to-the-point metal album without losing any of Pulsar Colony's original surreal quality. The lyrics are more individualistic, triumphant, and symbolic than ever. At this point in time, early 2013, Pulsar Colony has arguably reached its full potential, and is capable of holding its own among other successful, well-known extreme metal acts.
Source: http://www.pulsarcolony.com/biography/
Many of those riffs were written while standing on the beach of Lake Huron, which created a vibe that helped shape the primal, psychedelic, deep atmosphere of Pulsar Colony. Over the next year Sabo continued to write, arrange, and revise the songs, and from September 2009-January 2010 the instrumental recording sessions for Snowball Earth took place. The sessions resulted in a new breed of mind-warping, cosmic, contemplative experimental extreme/black metal. The tempos vary from all-out death metal speed to the slow crawl of a funeral dirge. Brutal, discordant passages conjuring images of disease, warfare, and pestilence intertwine with mountainous, epic melodic passages.
At times, the heavy guitar riffs disappear altogether in favor of trippy mellow sections with uncanny guitar and bass effects that take the listener on a journey through nebulas and wormholes. The keyboard sounds range from choirs and strings to new wave synthesizers, creating a futuristic, apocalyptic vibe. In addition to the standard drum kit (which was programmed on the first two albums, but programmed with as much tastefulness and dynamics as possible), tribal and electronic percussion make their mark on the album for increased trippy-ness. Lyrical themes range from global warming, the self vs. society, mythology/fantasy/science fiction, the ultimate fate of mankind and the universe, literature, to personal thoughts and experiences. In addition to being metal-influenced, Pulsar Colony draws influence from every non-metal influence you might imagine, for example: Jethro Tull, Soundgarden, Sonic Youth, Tears for Fears, world music, the list goes on. However, the songwriting flows naturally without focusing on influences, which allows Sabo to forge a unique style that's more an expression of his own soul and creative energies rather than a random collage of musical influences. Soon after Snowball Earth was recorded, the inspiration continued and the instrumental tracks for the sophomore album, entitled The Deep Sleep, were recorded from mid-2010 through mid-2011.
The Deep Sleep draws from all the musical ingredients introduced in Snowball Earth, yet ties them into a more developed, well-rounded sound. In late 2011 and early 2012 Sabo re-worked the lyrics, discarded the previous vocal tracks, and recorded more powerful vocals on both Snowball Earth and The Deep Sleep
In November 2011, an un-mastered version of Snowball Earth was unleashed to the public via bandcamp, which received a couple very positive reviews. By October 2012, both albums were mixed, mastered, and made available at Pulsar Colony's bandcamp page. From Spring 2012 through January 2013 the creation of the third album Equilibrium Zone took place. This album saw a number of very crucial changes for Pulsar Colony, and indeed marks a new beginning for the project. On this album, the music of Pulsar Colony for the first time features real drums and professional production, thanks to the help of Matthew Friend from Palantir, another great black metal project from Fayetteville, Arkansas. Equilibrium Zone is Pulsar Colony's most well-written, mature, atmospheric, and powerful album to date. In addition to the introduction of real drums and higher sound quality, Sabo took a huge step forward in terms of songwriting. Equilibrium Zone takes the uncanny experimentation and soundscapes introduced on Snowball Earth and The Deep Sleep and incorporates them in a more consistent black metal framework.
Thus, the songs are a bit shorter and the mellow trippy passages take a backseat, creating a more brutal, blackened, to-the-point metal album without losing any of Pulsar Colony's original surreal quality. The lyrics are more individualistic, triumphant, and symbolic than ever. At this point in time, early 2013, Pulsar Colony has arguably reached its full potential, and is capable of holding its own among other successful, well-known extreme metal acts.
Source: http://www.pulsarcolony.com/biography/