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Chromaparagon

by Moon Tooth

supported by
Bruce Pandolfo
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Bruce Pandolfo Nonstop originality, virtuosic playing, ferocious and live energy. The passion is palpable, the songs feel unpredictable, a sincere sonic wilderness. Grandiose without pretension, chaotic without sloppiness. Singular in its vision. Moon Tooth are coming for the crown. Favorite track: Queen Wolf.
Colin M.
Colin M. thumbnail
Colin M. Definitely more proggy and frenetic than subsequent albums; arguably a more challenging listen but every bit as enjoyable. Killer! Favorite track: Belt Squeezer.
9RnK7
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9RnK7 This is one of the best albums of the last 10 years, buy it already. If you like heavy riffs with musical variety this is for you Favorite track: Little Witch.
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1.
Queen Wolf 04:53
In my den On the outskirts of density The fools use miles to keep the wise at bay And they think they’re safe But for She And they won’t speak Her name Like a bad joke the horns sound Hits like a dull cloud As some poor son of a “don’t know how” sets out And the scent’s out Slash Dust They should have learned If there was ever a reason not to stay here alone Oh, and it’s like a bad itch Maybe She could be What I need So let’s see I gathered up all my holy books O, my holy ink and paper I burned them all Stripped naked and I set out And the scent’s out I am hunger, I am thirst Where I bite, I hold till I die I can fast a hundred years I can lie a hundred nights on the ice and not freeze I can drink a river of blood and not burst Now tell me, who comes to disturb me? She spoke with a voice colder than a grave But sure as stone, I held my gaze I said I can make an inch a mile I am the outcast, the truth-lie I paint with ghosts I am any and every meaning in life I am black blood I am deeper than dying I am not here to conquer I am here The kill at her breath was a perfume There was no denying that we belonged to each other So what do gods do on equal ground? They don’t suffer any will but their own And so they went forth into stories told
2.
When the light explodes in sound There are no words left for you Breathe It's real Sleep, wake, again, again Try to wrap your mind around what could follow I give you but a glimpse And your blood’s turned to fire This is what the voice said to me And then in a thunderous roar, it said I don’t apply to any of your rules I am the fire you were before you were you You begin to see how I’ve been waiting You will not set mid-stride For we’ve yet to run, let alone fly So courage O sore bones, O ache, O offered blood The gift of pain well-earned Throbs and volts welcomed as conversation few others understand They say look brother how we’ve climbed Four winds and only solid’s left to lift But mass is pretend when you play at spectacle All the silent tingles in the air pulse And the animals know you’re coming Iweall Iweall Iweall Iweall
3.
Igneous 04:58
The spirit took me And this old broken body leapt up and danced Settin’ out All my heroes in a bundle at my back Hawk am I More wings span in my shadow than overcast You know what they say Always need something to look up to Said I got Said I got what I need Said I got the Sun and Trees I got the sweet sound And its gonna set me free Yeah, momma I wanna be Like the Mountains Like the Sea Yeah, tell the newsman he got his story Couple young men And they’re hungry I made love to my ordeals By light of holy fire A lion rearing under ash All the beasts of un-days loomed And I saw Mars stand Said I died Said I died to strange eyes Said I died to borrowed means I found the sweet fire And its gonna set me free
4.
Little Witch 04:26
We scour through the wreckage of our lives No sign of survivors, we don't mind We're dancing on the headstones, it's our night And laughing at the buzzards, we won't hide Cuz your pain is my pain and your blood is mine Little witch, stay with me I will share my place in Hell And I want to have you cast your spell on me Little witch, don't be shy I will share my place in Hell And I want to have you cast your spell on me They killed all our parents and our pets The forest is our home now, our fortress We sing for the moonlight, she's our guide And scream at the sunrise, that damn light Cuz your blood is my blood and your pain is mine Little witch, stay with me I will share my place in Hell And I want to have you cast your spell on me Little witch, don't be shy I will share my place in Hell And I want to have you cast your spell on me Little witch, take me in I will share my place in Hell And I want to have you cast your spell on me
5.
(instrumental)
6.
Strings not played still grow rust So take good care in who you trust When in the park well after dusk Painful love fills you up
7.
Chroma 04:15
So what? Your day job sucks Did they put a gun to your head? Did they tell you to play dead? No? Then how’d you get there? We sleep, we shake In the bed we make C’mon Stop gawking and taking pictures You were Not Put here to watch the world pass you by So stop with the name dropping Put some weight to your own Come and join in We’re going further and further and further than we’ve ever Been before (Don’t belong) Four beings Came down Four beings Made of a colorful light We came here to save you We risked our lives to tell you that it's okay To feel God’s touch We risked our lives To tell you its okay to be afraid And still sing Oh, like mountains You are no slave
8.
Vesuvius I 02:46
I was tired Had walked for miles Left my post Fled like a ghost When it started to rain At the inn I hid my face He pulled her through the door Right then and there, I swore She was to be mine I can’t just sit by Something shifts inside No more can I hide What made me iron? What put death in my eyes? I am the mountain of fire In my ashes, he’ll die And over his grave, flowers and fruit will grow Bountiful, the wreckage left in my wake Threw the hatchet down Fingers hit the ground Blood splattered the crown Don’t look back, just run His dogs are whipped and starved I won’t simply be hung He will show no mercy I’ll ask for no quarter
9.
Vesuvius II 04:32
In the wind’s embrace Swelling at our back Pushing ever forth You know I’m coming home Love keep my eyes fixed lest I remember Aries Lest his blood shines brighter than her rosy cheeks I don’t know if I can let this go Think I need to find him Lover don’t Be here now Keep that fire low No I don’t want his blood I want your eyes Oh, and I want them on me But he’s already gone Who is this? I don’t know He’s not the man I fell in love with Your pain is my cathedral Your torment so sweet it burns my tongue
10.
I'd tear the badge off, I'd scratch off my name But to my hubris I am merely enslaved And I know your words will haunt me to my grave "Please officer I am not who you say!" You have no rights save for what I decide Then he took a nervous step back So I took him down Just in time, I was gettin' bored And he's tellin' me Stop it But I never do Please forgive me My whole life I'd forsake I drown every meal in a whiskey neat It's my only hope to hide my deceit And my whole family thinks I'm incomplete But I keep some secrets that must die with me His voice Ringing Through my Head And I'm telling him Stop it But he never does
11.
The sky was on fire And I screamed and cried "Mother, get down!" Then the shock wave hit and it blasted through Everything that I thought I knew Prayed to all the luck that followed me Just see us through But I felt that it was no use So we said our goodbyes And we waited As I held tight I knew right then that I would surely die It was my time to go I never felt more alive Eyes closed I saw the whole thing go Missiles rained down, weaved and chose Plague-filled pits swallowed men whole Don't understand how we were passed over I opened my eyes and we were still alive But my mother had not seen Some stone goddess drifted down From the vibrant architecture in the clouds She said we read the signs right She said the time's ripe O Death, I am through your eyes I behold no end in sight Now I know you as life And ours are the hands that write But it's a scary game Blackened with the thousand fears of child to man And it won't relent No matter how long you keep crying or moaning But it's wonderful Use the hurt to shine All on one, for how could one be THE without the world warning? A voltage not yet understood But it surges through all of you Which is to say it surges all through me It surges through everything
12.
White Stag 10:50
I saw the White Stag He presented himself With a great crown of antlers He tore up the ground Ran down fiery lanes Told me he's always ran with my soul Since the cosmos was kindled And now that we knew We could do anything Yeah, world stand fast and behold I'm giving all my soul See, I walk in the light Fiction's fed me thus far For the most part Spend however long we feel we need in the dark Brief head pokes over the walls Yeah, then together we stood tall Little kid with storybooks for brains Thought that was the be all end all Yeah but that's growing up, aint it? We drink joy and taste pain Circle round, return, ride it again We know the words but can't speak the language And it's hard Forgive yesterday, oh silly yesterday Said today So sure, been made but you know that Tomorrow's sure to be a smirk and a head shake What's sure? Nothing, says the man in the grave Hard speech and saplings A young man, the only one who knows Fruit bearer Cloud King And he will reign for all his flowers There is no name for the stir in him When he sees the trouble he can save Go on and call him Woe Breaker, Saint's Bale, Debt Payer With a stern gaze, this one means Spirit of All, guide him You've carried to the helm, now aid in the manning Dream undertowed Naught but the furious hope to earn the grace could navigate Above below, but still under Rose enough to see that it's a choice Hands above, head under Clouds dance and weave in infinite potential The surface is the youth-man line And if dreams don't end, they die Help him understand Grant him the courage to rise and rise well He wills in your name On forever in beautiful ways

about

"An undeniably strange, totally kick-ass beast."
–MetalSucks

February 5th, 2016 marks the release of Chromaparagon, the debut full-length album by Long Island, New York band Moon Tooth.

A fireworks display of melody and rhythm, Chromaparagon is more than that too – its progressive, aggressive sound is brimming with soul, riddled with hairpin turns, and delivered with the grace and swing of real virtuosos. Over the course of twelve songs, Moon Tooth mashes together rock, metal, and blues, into a fusion that bursts with color. There are few limits here. Moon Tooth possesses the imagination and skill to swerve into whatever musical direction it wants. But this band wanders without getting lost; it channels its wild dreaming and black-belt chops into an album that drives forward with purpose.

Frontman John Carbone carries forth the tradition of singers with the range and the courage to go for it. Like Jeff Buckley, Into Another's Richie Birkenhead or Shudder to Think's Craig Wedren, Carbone belts it out with a soaring voice that can command quiet subtlety as well as arena-rocking operatics. In poetic, modern-mythic phrases, his lyrics address themes of, in his own words, "trials, perseverance, victory... answering the call of adventure, following what you know to be your true purpose even in the face of danger, uncertainty and fear."

"I made love to my ordeals / By light of holy fire / A lion rearing under ash / All the beasts of un-days loomed / And I saw Mars stand," Carbone sings on the song "Igneous."

Guitarist Nick Lee (also the newest member of veteran heavy metal act Riot, now known as Riot V) extracts entire worlds out of his instrument. His dexterity is matched only by his soulfulness. Backing him are bassist Vincent Romanelli and drummer Ray Marte who glide swiftly from tasty grooves and rhythmic illusions to full-on metal muscularity.

Loosely speaking, some modern-day reference points include The Mars Volta, Mastodon, and Between The Buried And Me. But Moon Tooth is its own, unique, "undeniably strange, totally kick-ass beast" as one MetalSucks editor put it.

Chromaparagon was recorded, mixed, and mastered by Moon Tooth drummer Ray Marte. The vivid cover art was created by Jon Contino. It is preceded by the band's 2013 debut EP, Freaks.

credits

released February 5, 2016

John Carbone – Vocals
Nick Lee – Guitar & Vocals
Ray Marte – Drums & Vocals
Vincent Romanelli – Bass

Produced, engineered, mixed, & mastered by Ray Marte at Westfall Recording Company in Farmingdale, NY.

This album was not recorded to a metronome, quantized, or pitch-corrected in any way.

Additional vocals on ‘Vesuvius’ by Roz Raskin
Violin on ‘Snake Ryder’ by Derek Smith
Additional vocals on ‘Snake Ryder’ by Anthony Lopardo
Additional samples on ‘Snake Ryder’ provided by Michael McManus
Additional gang vocals on ‘Belt Squeezer’ by Steve Gomez
Didgeridoo on ‘Belt Squeezer’ provided by Garrett Kuppelmeyer
Organ on "Igneous" & "Little Witch" by Jess DeBellis

Artwork & design by Jon Contino

Moon Tooth uses Reverend Guitars, Railhammer Pickups, Fuzzrocious Pedals, Hiwatt Amplification, Electroharmonix, Precision Drums, Zildjian, Promark, Evans, Specter Basses, Aguilar, Ernie Ball, & D'Addario.

Thank you to our families, friends, and fans who helped us make this happen.

All songs written, performed, & published by Moon Tooth. Copyright 2016.

MoonTooth.org
nickleesays@gmail.com

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Moon Tooth

"...bursts with enthusiasm and rabid energy, as if Mastodon's apocalyptic visions were replaced with cosmic wonder." - PITCHFORK on 'Crux'
pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/moon-tooth-crux/

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