Divide and Dissolve’s new album Systemic examines the systems that intrinsically bind us and calls for a system that facilitates life for everyone. It’s a message that fits with the band’s core intention: to make music that honours their ancestors and Indigenous land, to oppose white supremacy, and to work towards a future of Black and Indigenous liberation.
Saxophonist and guitarist Takiaya Reed comments, “This music is an acknowledgement of the dispossession that occurs due to colonial violence,” She continues, “The goal of the colonial project is to separate Indigenous people from their culture, their life force, their community and their traditions. The album is in direct opposition to this.”
Shadow and Claw
Chaotic, contemplative and fierce, Shadow and Claw emerges from Boise as a new force of Idaho heavy metal. With their blend of Cascadian black metal, desert sludge, and oceanic ambience, the trio is primed to become known as a band that carves out their own path in music with demoniac fury and haunting elegance.
Shadow and Claw were formed in March 2023 by guitarist/vocalist Travis Abbott and drummer Aaron Bossart out of the sheer love for all things heavy. Bassist Geno Lopez joined during midsummer of the same year, and from this point, the trio began preparing for live shows and studio recording. The trio debuted with their first live performance on September 26, 2023, and recorded their first full length album in January 2024.
With a duality akin to a cold winter storm descending upon a desolate high desert terrain, Shadow and Claw embodies the beauty and horror inherent to the diverse landscapes and history of Idaho – and the American West as a whole. Their feral screams, thunderous rhythms and fiery riffs delivered in the spirit of ancient warrior-poets burdened by hope and moral terror demand a listener’s full attention.
Dirt Russell
“Dirt Russell is what happens when a snarling werewolf and a time-traveling resistance fighter from the age of The Great A.I. Uprising have a meetcute in a ghost town under a full moon. This high desert, post punk duo is a combination of Ryan Hondo’s fuzzed-out, savage riffs and Angela Heileson’s merciless, dynamic rhythm. Their battle cry is a fed-up and sometimes sarcastic indictment of modern society’s shortcomings and both Ryan’s wailing lead vocals and Angela’s steely supporting vocals deliver it with ferocity.”
– Dusty Aunan
