Restless Spirit - Restless Spirit - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Digitally re-mastered edition of this sadly overlooked album from 1980. An errant project of suburban Los Angeles art collective World Imitation Productions, Monitor was the sonic outlet of four young artists grappling with their terror and amazement in the convergence of the late 1970 s Punk scene and Southern California's consumerist decadence. As with the collective's visual artwork and events, Monitor blends archaic influences with modern technology into one of the era's most curious albums. Eerie synthesizer, menacing guitar leads and morose vocal chants make 'In Terrae Interium' an evocative ballad of paranoia. 'I Saw Dead Jim's Shade' showcases Monitor's idiosyncratic vocal interplay in a sinister tale of a stolen hand. When Hair' required a tempo beyond Monitor's instrumental chops, the band appropriated the Meat Puppets to record the track for them. Acquainted at first through mail art, World Imitation found a kindred spirit in Devo associate Ed Barger, who meticulously recorded this LP in 1980, burying the presence of shrieking cats, closing doors and tape loops deep in the mix.

RESTLESS SPIRIT's third album, InchAfterimageInch, embodies the East Coast trio's aim of never wanting to sound exactly like before. Long Island deep-fried guitars meet pounding rhythms and emotionally raw vocals. Where the predecessor InchBlood of the Old GodsInch (2021) sometimes ushered the listener into twisted complexity, InchAfterimageInch delivers short, sharp shocks that hit straight home. Lyrically, InchAfterimageInch is driven by tragedy and personal loss. Singer and guitarist Paul Aloisio has put his heart and soul into the album. InchAfterimageInch might well be read as a cautionary tale. Embarking on their musical journey very early in life, RESTLESS SPIRIT's core of Aloisio and bassist Marc Morello met the summer before Kindergarten and grew up discovering music side by side. Channelling influences like BLACK SABBATH, TYPE O NEGATIVE and THE SWORD and incorporating aggressive modern metal, unabashed stoner-doom pummelling, energetic changes and stirring, earnest vocals, their band was finally christened RESTLESS SPIRIT in 2019. Their debut full-length InchLord of the New DepressionInch (2019) fit equally well into the stoner, doom, and sludge moulds, while on InchBlood of the Old GodsInch, the three-piece developed a more varied, melodic approach with added complexity. On the live front, the Long Island band has undertaken several tours in support of InchBlood of the Old GodsInch and shared stages with the likes of CROWBAR, THE OBSESSED, and CANNIBAL CORPSE. With InchAfterimageInch, RESTLESS SPIRIT deliver a massive punch to the gut that actually feels damn great once the initial pain subsides.

Magnetic Eye Records is proud to present this re-issue of Restless Spirit's sludge metal monolith InchBlood of the Old GodsInch, accompanying the signing of the band to MER.