Amidst a backdrop of political strife wherein such fundamental principles as the health, safety, and common decency toward women continue to erode more with each executive order and Twitter fit, the spirit of BLACK MARE stands unbridled under the singular vision and limitless purview of its driving force, one Sera Timms.
Death Magick Mother is the second proper full length album from Los Angeles, California’s BLACK MARE. Seven songs in length, this documentation captures Timms amidst a dynamic cohesion and confluence of inspiration unlike any prior. Whereas previous output operated under a founding principle of rhythmic repetition and atmospheric simplicity toward trace-like escapism, Death Magick Mother is Timms stepping right in front of the lens for a closeup. Mixed by Andrew Clinco of Drab Majesty and mastered by Dan Randall at Mammoth Sound Mastering, bolder arrangements lend themselves toward soaring, dynamic vocal melodies and nuanced harmonization to highly-satisfying effect. Spot-on performances and command of all instrumentation across the spectrum further propels the sense of arrival in mastery over her chosen craft. In many ways, this album is an awakening for both its creator and listeners alike.
In their Pick Of The Week, Meat Mead Metal writes, “Timms has had an extensive career with bands including Black Math Horseman and Ides Of Gemini, but Death Magick Mother is her most striking, from-the-bloody-heart recording of her life. She is not letting anyone steamroll her or others, and she is using BLACK MARE as a means of protest and warning. This is a moving, shadowy record that not only sounds amazing but should have like-minded people rising up and fighting alongside her.” Toilet Ov Hell, likens Death Magick Mother to an “endless funeral procession stopping traffic, breaking up the monotony of a rainy Thursday in February,” while Ave Noctum gushes, “the vocals soar over the instrumentals, with Sera’s voice a force of nature amidst bold arrangements that are propelled by crisp production quality. The harmonies feel both fragile and powerful, almost spectral in places, densely layered against ringing guitar chords and slow, steady, funereal percussion. The dynamics of this record feel very carefully considered, and give the impression that creating this album was an extremely cathartic process. It gives the illusion of something much larger than itself.”
Elsewhere the sentiment echoes. Cvlt Nation writes, “Death Magick Mother embodies the power of music to create, effect and destroy, and is a stunning sophomore release and a must have in your record collection,” furthering, “Listening to Timms’ ethereal voice on ‘Ingress To Form,’ it’s no surprise that BLACK MARE was invited to perform at the recent Women’s Mass benefit hosted by The Satanic Temple – there is an electric atmosphere to her music that makes my hairs stand on end and my skin break out in goose bumps, as if she’s harnessing the electromagnetic waves traversing the earth with her voice and directing them with purpose at our self-harming species.” Drunk In A Graveyard concurs, “It is wild, delicate, feminine, and oddly brutal. It is stark and lonely. It is every wave crashing inside my heart, every wild impulse.” Adds Echoing Magazine, “Death Magick Mother is a sonic form of ethereal darkness with pained expressions of minor-key somberness, all brought together by guitars and melodies that seamlessly traverse clean and shimmering tones with moments of distorted anger.”
Death Magick Mother is out now digitally via Magic Bullet with LPs to follow. Orders are currently available at THIS LOCATION.
Following a recent midnight ceremony in celebration of a total eclipse with France’s Celeste and a women’s mass replete with a bloodletting ritual, BLACK MARE will take on a traditional tour of the western United States in direct support of Junius. See confirmed dates below.
BLACK MARE w/ Junius, Mustard Gas & Roses:
9/21/2017 Yucca Tap Room – Phoenix, AZ
9/22/2017 The Viper Room – West Hollywood, CA w/ Hours
9/23/2017 The Golden Bull – Oakland, CA w/ Daxma
9/24/2017 Cafe Colonial – Sacramento, CA
9/25/2017 Tonic Lounge – Portland, OR w/ Wovoka, Drainage
9/26/2017 Highline Bar – Seattle, WA w/ They Rise We Die
9/27/2017 The Shredder – Boise, ID
9/28/2017 Urban Lounge – Salt Lake City, UT
9/29/2017 Hi-Dive Denver – Denver, CO w/ Ghosts Of Glaciers
10/01/2017 The Sidewinder – Austin, TX
BLACK MARE is the solo project of Sera Timms, vocalist and bassist for Ides Of Gemini and of the now-disbanded Black Math Horseman. With a focus on rhythmic repetition and atmospheric simplicity, BLACK MARE steps outside the collaborative dynamic to reveal a creative process that is all Sera’s own. Her songs traverse hidden realms, fragments of dreams, submerged memories, and mythical imagery. Where Black Math Horseman and Ides Of Gemini demand volume and collusion, BLACK MARE requires quiet contemplation. If Black Math Horseman and Ides Of Gemini seek to summon the deafening roar of inevitability, BLACK MARE delivers its verdicts on cresting waves and solemn whispers. And yet each operates, in its own way, within the darkened spheres of oceanic hypnosis.
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