"Was the beast a wulf?" he asked, cradling what he decided to be her head.
"Was the beast a lazer?"
"It was neither," she gargled. "'It was both..."
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Lazer/Wulf is an instrumental Metal band, or an evil Funk group, or a Jazz trio from Hell.It is the product of constant, self-critical and insatiable evolution. It is the chaotic cooperation between its members, their emotions, objectives and influences, to form a brand new sum of its varied parts. It is an ongoing experiment in making conflict non-conflicting, cooking diverse and often adverse ingredients into a delicious and irreverently relevant whole.
Circumstantially, it's heavy as hell.
Lazer/Wulf is three very different guys, who have very different perspectives, trying to keep each other (and no one else) very, very happy. And having a hell of a good time at the chaotic juggle.
Whatever it may be, Lazer/Wulf is a giant trampoline rigged to explode. Fun for everybody, but likely to kill you at any moment.
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The numerical history of Lazer/Wulf is: 2, 4, 5, 4, 3.
Formed in Athens, GA in 2005, the wulves began as high school friends Sean "Duke Davis" Peiffer and Robert "Christ-Puncher" Sullivan. Reaped from the tatters of a mutually unsatisfying metal project, the dionesian duo drew the blueprints for a more diverse and musical experience. Recruiting an eccentric and inexperienced guitarist (Bryan Aiken) and a cryptically-named, migrative drummer from New York (Mathius), the group erupted with material. It was chaotic, it was confusing, it was fun, and it was moving way too fast to rein or question. They had barely flirted with the idea of finding a singer before booking shows as an instrumental four-piece.
And so, the lazer/beast was forged.
Later that year, vocalist Jimmy Baldwin stepped up to be the socio-political mouthpiece of L/W's avant-metal movement. After recording and self-releasing their 2006 debut demo, "Demo-Lition!," the band enjoyed local success as a gleefully violent metal band in a skeptical microcosm of Indie Rock. The band's reputation as Athens' most irreverent and depraved circus had earned the nomination of "Best Up & Coming Band of 2007" by a local publication and victory in a 2007 UGA-sponsored Battle of the Bands.
But L/W's buzz of positive critical reception was stricken by founding member Sullivan's sudden departure and the increasingly bleak prognosis of Baldwin's health. The vocalist's throat had become pocked with polyps, and while the looming reparative surgery would save his vocal cords, it effectively ended his tenure as the band's formidable and memorable front man. Thus, the ranks of L/W rapidly dwindled to three, leaving Aiken, Peiffer and Mathius to fend for themselves without their chosen genre's staples of harsh vocals and dual guitars.
Ironically, this new instrumental approach to their existing material (and to the writing process of their forthcoming album, The Void That Isn't) added new, more interesting perspectives and layers to their already diverse sound. Thrust into evolution, the trio at once flailed and settled into an experimental new identity. Less had, essentially, become more.
This trimmed lineup allows for a heartier imagination, better communication between its members, and more confident stints into uncomfortable stylistic territory. The lack of vocals opens the band's instrumentation to more diverse audiences and breaks previously troublesome language barriers, while allowing for more abstract arrangements overall. In June of 2008, Lazer/Wulf's latest incarnation was named "Band of the Year" by Athens' acclaimed Flagpole Magazine.
Lazer/Wulf has shed the security of genre conventions in favor of creative curiosity and more honest song-writing. It is the honed and determined result of a respectful and productive power-struggle. It's music without genre-worship, music for the moment, music that writes its own damn self. The vision is heavier and lighter, harsher and friendlier, broader and more focused. The machine is varied, vicious and endlessly willing.
This is some truculent shit, like damn.
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Beware.
The lazer/wulf can fucking see you.
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"The Void That Isn't" CD, 31 min., $10
1. Sacrilicious
2. (My Hiss Becomes Your Own)
3. Urine For A Treat
4. Howl Movement, I-III: "Devastate!"
5. Lagarto
6. Who Were The Mound Builders?
