Single Slam – Bread and Circuses by Tau Cross (Pillar of Fire)

Heavy metal/punk band Tau Cross have released a new single called Bread and Circuses. Bread and Circuses will feature on the band’s 2nd album due out on July 21st via Relapse Records. That album will be called Pillar of Fire.

Tau Cross are a multinational collection of artists from bands such as Amebix, Voivod, Misery and War//Plague. with Ron “The Baron” Miller (Amebix) is the bassist and lead vocalist. Voivod’s Michel “Away” Langevin is on drums and James Adams is on keyboards. Jon Misery (Misery) and Andy Lefton (War//Plague) are the guitarists and there is a second bassist, in Tom Radio.

Tau Cross released their self titled debut in 2015, recording the different instrument tracks across multiple continents and countries. It was widely regarded as an exceptional piece of work and received critical acclaim at every turn. It is quite a bar to set though the band won’t shy away from that.

Musically Tau Cross are difficult to place in a genre. That is a nice change. They obviously have elements of punk and crust in there music. There is also some gothic rock, black metal, industrial, doom, thrash and a bit of prog rock. They have an immensely interesting sound. Pillar of Fire, and Bread and Circuses, was recorded in the same way as their debut with the instruments all being tracked in different places, across 3 countries. Canada, United States and Scotland.

Bread and Circuses is just under 5 minutes long and is unlike anything you have really heard before. It starts off with a gentle, distorted melody before grainy, not quite black metal vocals come in. A chugging rhythm and steady drum beat come in and play a really neat riff that is drenched in bass. The guitars come to the forefront for the chorus as the gravelly vocals increase in power and volume.

It is a slow tempo, chunky, head banging track with dark and doomy riffs. You get nice little guitar flourishes every now and then and nearing the end the vocals change to whispers for a few lines. They lead into a final chorus where the guitars and drums kick up the intensity to a much faster rhythm with a soaring guitar lead in the background.

Tau Cross had the following to say about the new album – “‘Pillar Of Fire’ is the continuation of some of the ideas that were explored on our first album. This time we have managed to share the song writing more equally and introduce some other textures to the songs. This should help to establish TAU CROSS as less of a one-off phenomenon and more of an ongoing musical collective producing our own distinctive sonic environment.”

It is a really enjoyable song which sounds very different to a lot of what you hear these days. They have a real unique edge to them and I love Bread and Circuses down tuned, chugging edge and the atmosphere it creates. The vocals are strong, there is a ton of bass and a good drum rhythm. The guitars mix between dirty riffs and little flourishes. They sound like a band that have their sound figured out and I can’t wait to hear more on Pillar of Fire.

Check out Bread and Circuses here. If you want to preorder the album, you can do so via Relapse Records and via Bandcamp. You can also pick it up via the links below the article. Check out Tau Cross on Facebook and Twitter for more information on them. Be sure to give them a like or follow while you are there.

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