Minsk (band)

Minsk
Origin	Peoria, Illinois, United States
Genres	Doom metal, post-metal
Years active	2002–present
Labels	At a Loss Recordings Relapse Records
Website	thesoundofminsk.com
Members
Christopher Bennett Timothy Mead Sanford Parker Tony Wyioming
Past members
Jeff Hyde Anthony Couri Drew McDowell Brian Barth Jared Madigan

Minsk is a doom metal/post-metal band from Peoria, Illinois founded in 2002. They are signed to Relapse Records. Self described as "psychedelic metal", their songs tend to start out as slow and simple, and become heavy and complex towards the end. Their sound draws equally from sludge metal, doom metal, hardcore punk, ambient and noise music, with a highly psychedelic attitude achieved through tribal drum patterns, thick layers of synthesizers and keyboards, and echoing vocals. They are named after the capital of Belarus, which is the town where Fival, the cartoon mouse of American Tale was born. The idea of survival through suffering is a recurring theme in the lyrics and musical style. In fact, regarding the origin of their name, their official biography states: "Drawing its nominal inspiration from a remote Belarusian city nestled deep amidst the in-betweens of the East and the West, a city that has been burned to the ground on several occasions only to be rebuilt like a Phoenix rising from its ashes."^[1] The sounds and atmospheres they evoke in their songs are complex and psychedelic and have led many critics, and mostly the band members themselves, to describe their music as "deeply spiritual and emotional".^[2]

Biography

Minsk was formed in 2002 between the cities of Peoria and Chicago. They soon produced a demo CD entitled Burning, released by Lisa Falzone Recordings around the time of a United States tour and appearance at the Templars of Doom Festival in 2004.^[3] In late 2004, Minsk was featured on the compilation If It Plays…, which consisted solely of artists in the Peoria region (hence the title).^[4]

The band's first full-length album, Out of a Center Which Is Neither Dead nor Alive, was recorded in late 2004 and released in 2005 on At a Loss Recordings, following appearances at the South by Southwest and Emissions from the Monolith festivals. During the recording of the album, Drew McDowell left the band leaving them without a bassist. Sanford Parker,a big fan of Minsk and the guitarist for doom metal band Buried at Sea, who was producing the album at the time, decided to join Minsk as a full-time bassist to replace McDowell and also resumed his production work. He is still today a full time member of Minsk and a notable underground producer. Soon after Parker joined, founding member and guitarist Dustin Addis left, leaving the band to record Out of a Center Which Is Neither Dead nor Alive as a four piece, with Cristopher Bennett solely in charge of guitar duties. To support the album's release, the band embarked on a nationwide tour supporting many popular metal artists, notably Brutal Truth, High on Fire, Boris, Sunn O))), and Pig Destroyer.^[3]

Following the tour, Minsk prepared to record their second album, The Ritual Fires of Abandonment, which was released February 2007 through Relapse Records who signed them immediately because of their growth in popularity and positive reception of their debut.^[5] After its release, Minsk went on another United States tour in support, reappearing at the South by Southwest and Emissions from the Monolith festivals in addition to several east coast stops. The band released their 3rd LP, With Echoes in the Movement of Stone, on Relapse Records in 2009. According to blog on their website, as of April 2011, the band is on an extended hiatus.

Discography

Studio albums

• Burning demo (Lisa Falzone Recordings)
• Out of a Center Which Is Neither Dead nor Alive (2005, At a Loss Recordings)
• The Ritual Fires of Abandonment (2007, Relapse Records)
• With Echoes In The Movement Of Stone (2009, Relapse Records)

Splits

• Split with Unearthly Trance 7" (2009, Parasitic Records)

Compilation appearances

• If It Plays… (2004, Thinker Thought Records) (contributed "White Wings of Death Scatter Our Days")
• For the Sick tribute compilation (2007, Emetic Records) (contributed "Ruptured Heart Theory")

Members

Current members

• Christopher Bennett – guitar, vocals
• Timothy Mead – vocals, synthesizer
• Sanford Parker – bass guitar, vocals, keyboards

???? – drums

Previous members

• Jeff Hyde – bass guitar^[3]
• Dustin Addis – guitar
• Anthony Couri (A.K.A. Tony Wyoming) – drums^[6]
• Drew McDowell – bass guitar^[7]
• Joel Madigan – bass guitar (live)^[8]
• Brian Barth – drums (live and on Burning demo)
• Jared Madigan - bass (live and on "Burning" demo)

References

1. ^ Belcher, Tony (2008-08-15). "Minsk - Out Of A Center Which Is Neither Dead Nor Alive". Tartarean Desire. http://www.tartareandesire.com/reviews/Minsk/Out_Of_A_Center_Which_Is_Neither_Dead_Nor_Alive/2836/. Retrieved 2011-10-27. 
2. ^ "Minsk | Free music, tour dates, photos, videos". Myspace.com. http://www.myspace.com/minsk. Retrieved 2011-10-27. 
3. ^ ^{a b c} "Minsk --- Artist Biography". Relapse Records. http://shop.relapse.com/artist/artist.aspx?ArtistID=10180. Retrieved 2007-06-11. 
4. ^ "V/A "If It Plays…"". Thinker Thought Records. Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. http://web.archive.org/web/20070930210531/http://mysite.verizon.net/grabb/ttw/ifitplays.html. Retrieved 2007-06-11. 
5. ^ "Minsk interview". Lords of Metal. http://www.lordsofmetal.nl/showinterview.php?id=1670&lang=en. Retrieved 2007-06-11. 
6. ^ "Old news update at thesoundofminsk.com". 2003-08-21. http://www.thesoundofminsk.com/oldnews.html. Retrieved 2007-06-11. 
7. ^ "Old news update at thesoundofminsk.com". 2004-07-20. http://www.thesoundofminsk.com/oldnews.html. Retrieved 2007-06-11. 
8. ^ "Old news update at thesoundofminsk.com". 2003-10-02. http://www.thesoundofminsk.com/oldnews.html. Retrieved 2007-06-11. 

External links

• Official website
• Minsk on Myspace
• Interview with Sanford Parker