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grayceon

..grayceon..

About Me


GRAYCEON/GIANT SQUID SPLIT 7" OUT NOW ON THE END RECORDS!!!
7" release is limited to 500 copies, 250 in dark maroon color, 250 in sand color. Get 'em while they are hot! Visit our web store to order one!
Grayceon is Jackie Perez Gratz ( Amber Asylum ) on electric cello and voice, Max Doyle ( Walken ) on guitar and voice, and Zack Farwell ( Walken ) on drums.Grayceon pulls together an extremely diverse range of musical influences and writing styles to create a fresh sound that defies the boundaries of the metal/rock/progressive genres. Compared to Opeth, King Crimson, and Ved Buens Ende, not in sound but in 'feel', Grayceon embraces the hard-to-describe-them definition and expects no hard comparisons to be made any time soon.Alternate low tuning on both cello and guitar, finger picked metal riffs, dreamy double vocals, and unpredictably impeccable drumming all meet to give Grayceon their unique sensibility. ..

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 3/12/2006
Band Website: grayceon.com
Band Members:
Max Doyle - GUITAR/VOICE
Jackie Perez Gratz - ELECTRIC CELLO/VOICE
Zack Farwell - DRUMS/DRUMS

Influences: Heavy Metal / Prog / Classical / Rock-n-Roll
Sounds Like: " ... Grayceon is an ambitious band and that's what I like most about them. Not many bands take risks, and when they do they're usually not the right kind; Grayceon take artistic risks that I'm sure will pay off in the long run. Right off the bat, let's talk about the cello and guitar. This is not a combination you hear everyday. Sound and tuning issues alone present several obstacles and this is especially the case at a venue without a proper sound set up. There's also the fact that Max's style of guitar playing is finger and not pick based, and relies a lot on intricacies. These difficulties aside, the two manage to create some very interesting sounds between them. At various points it sounds as if the two trade-off bass and/or guitar functions, and the cello adds another layer of percussiveness to the overall mix. The effect is to produce song structures that glide between a decisive guitar 'chunk' and melodic delicacies that have a neo-folk feel to them. The music itself sounds rooted in Rock with an overall classical feel in the arrangements. It's a style that reminds me of a cross between early Art Bears melded with a hint of Amber Asylum, which project cellist Jackie is also involved in. Underneath it all, Zack Farwell keeps the time with an adroitness of Bill Buford from the "Larks Tongue/Starless" era of King Crimson. It's a style that glides right along with the arrangements, giving them a fluid feel that may not be present in less able hands. Another bonus: in spite of whatever sound difficulties the venue presents, Zack's playing is always audible... "- Blood Eagle, Heathen Harvest (Underground Concert Reports)We've also been compared to Ved Buens Ende, Pink Floyd, early Art Bears, Opeth, early Rush and Yes, King Crimson...
Record Label: Vendlus Records
Type of Label: Indie

My Blog

Zack gets drum endorsement by Po Boy Drums!

Grayceon would like to congratulate Zack for his new endorsement with Po' Boy Drums! Based out ot Colorado, this boutique drum company creates beautifully sounding drums and they've got the coolest gu...
Posted by grayceon on Fri, 20 Jun 2008 03:14:00 PST

HAPPY NEW YEAR! - 7" release, Sonic Frontiers Best Underground Album of 2007, and the new year

Happy New Year to our friends, family, and supporters!!! We are pleased to announce that our 7" split with Giant Squid has finally been released on The End Records in a limited edition of colored viny...
Posted by grayceon on Sat, 05 Jan 2008 10:41:00 PST

album of the month on MetalReview.com ...and more yummy press...

ALBUM OF THE MONTH / MetalReviews.com"Grayceon come from Northern California, they do have a cello among the trio of instruments, but instead of being a stuck-up chamber troupe I have a feeling they w...
Posted by grayceon on Tue, 27 Feb 2007 12:56:00 PST

Candidate for album of the year on DigitalMetal.com ...read full review here...

I never know what to expect from Vendlus Records. From the industrial black metal of V:28, the completely unclassifiable musings of Especially Likely Sloth, the folk art of The Mist and Morning Dew, t...
Posted by grayceon on Wed, 14 Feb 2007 10:41:00 PST

The first reviews of Grayceon's debut album are trickling in...

"Dark Rock/ Metal CD strong with the progressive elements and heavy with the string arrangements as Jackie of Amber Asylum and now Giant Squid is the string player and one of the vocalists here. Grayc...
Posted by grayceon on Fri, 09 Feb 2007 08:08:00 PST

Grayceon Spring tour / Grayceon in bed with Giant Squid

Sacramento, California-based eclectic doom rock band GIANT SQUID, who are embarking on an upcoming tour of the U.S. and Canada this March, have gone through some recent lineup changes.Giant Squid's si...
Posted by grayceon on Fri, 19 Jan 2007 09:31:00 PST

Garyceon signed to Vendlus Records

Grayceon is pleased to announce our signing to Vendlus Records!!! Our debut album is scheduled to be released in February 2007 and we are absolutely thrilled! Vendlus is an eclectic independent label ...
Posted by grayceon on Fri, 06 Oct 2006 12:16:00 PST

Grayceon goes into the recording studio

Grayceon goes into the Atomic Gardens recording studio this week. We will be re-recording our two songs posted here, as well as three additional songs, clocking in around 60 minutes of material! ...
Posted by grayceon on Thu, 10 Aug 2006 03:42:00 PST

Grayceon's first live performance review on HeathenHarvest.com

" ... Grayceon is an ambitious band and that's what I like most about them. Not many bands take risks, and when they do they're usually not the right kind; Grayceon take artistic risks that I'm su...
Posted by grayceon on Thu, 18 May 2006 09:22:00 PST