John Frum – a new project uniting current and former members of The Dillinger Escape Plan, The Faceless, John Zorn and, and many others – has revealed itself and announce the release of their debut record, A Stirring In The Noos. If you’re wondering what to expect from the release, which is scheduled to drop this May on Relapse, here’s an excerpt from the press release describing the affair:
Nearly 6 years in the making, John Frum’s unorthodox debut maneuvers through 40 minutes of darkly psychedelic and meticulously crafted death metal, the backdrop of a bad trip. A Stirring In The Noos is a dismal distillation of oneiric transmissions, an aural reliquary of mis-shapen manifestations, and a totem to modern primitivism in heavy music.
Regarding the name, the release goes on to describe its origins:
John Frum borrows its name from a relatively isolated group of natives in the South Pacific islands, known as a Cargo Cult, who first used the alias John Frum as a means to reject European ways, escape oppressive missionaries, and return to their old traditions. The narrative changed, during the war in the 1940s, to reflect their encounters with thousands of American soldiers who spectacularly descended on that region by sea and air with crates of wartime materials dropped from the sky, known as “Cargo.” These events drastically changed the beliefs and lifestyle of the islanders as they took the soldiers and their offerings to be god-like, as they descended from the heavens.
Alt-religious narratives induced by these encounters were incongruent with islanders’ long-held beliefs, yet the natives could not deny the call of the cargo. Attempting to reconcile their existing beliefs with the new understanding of the outside world led to some strange interpretations which evolved into a bizarre narrative about a dark-skinned soldier-deity who resides inside a nearby volcano, and who many believe will one day return, showering them in riches and technology.
A trailer for A Stirring In The Noos is available and can be streamed below. Stay tuned for more info and music from John Frum.
John Frum is:
Matt Hollenberg (John Zorn, Cleric) – guitar
Eli Litwin (Intensus/Deveykus/Knife The Glitter) – drums
Derek Rydquist (ex-The Faceless) – vocals
Liam Wilson (The Dillinger Escape Plan, Starkweather) – bass