Tree of Sores

As you know, we have been great advocates of British psychedelic doom band Tree of Sores since their very early days, so it is with heavy heart indeed that we read the following update.

[Tree of Sores]..is dead.
Sadly we are splitting up with immediate effect. One member has made some poor decisions and these have reflected on the band in a way which we cannot tolerate. We have considered continuing with a new member but this doesn't feel right. Obviously this is a sad decision for us, and me personally as I care a lot about this band. However it is because I hold the band in such high regard that I feel we have to split up.
We thank everyone that has given us so much support over the last 4 years and also those who have made positive comments about our music. It means a lot that we have affected people in the way we wanted our music to. Most thanks must go to Chris at Witch Hunter Records and Timo at Alerta Antifascista, their support has been brilliant and I love those guys. Please show them your support by buying our records as no doubt there won't be any more coming out. Obviously we will be unable to fulfill our upcoming gig commitments so also our apologies go the promoters we will be letting down.

All the best,

Matt

To say that we are gutted here at Claw Towers would be an understatement - I actually put off publishing the review of their first release because I had to be sure that it was actually that good. A shame - get them on and get it loud.

Tree of Sores in wax release on ALERTA ANTIFASCISTA

Claw favourites TREE OF SORES are set to release their, well, basically their back catalogue on vinyl through Germany's ALERTA ANTIFASCISTA. This contains the recent full length "A Cry of Despair" and the debut on one 12".

PRE-ORDER! SHIPPING AT 15th DECEMBER!!! 
Starting out with crushing guitars and abrasive vocals a pounding rhythm soon is established leading to some haunting guitar work it sets the tone for more to follow. 
Tree of Sores must really be commended for the quality of this release. 
Every member excels to provide the listener with a stunning listening experience. 
 "A Cry Of Despair" takes a more subtle turn around the ten minute mark. 
A delicate riff builds with chiming momentum giving way to a brooding passage of density and euphoric greatness . Free of vocals, the music carries the song while maintaining the flow . 
It gives way to more atmospheric moments before gathering in pace again. Ending in brutal fashion with pummelling drums and layers of guitar, eventually fading out in drones of feedback and effects overall its an outstanding accomplishment Tree Of Sores can be proud of. 
This Release also contains almost the whole first EP (one song is missing) on the B-Side and a A2-Poster (size: 17x24inch)!!!

Tree of Sores - S/T Album

It's taken me so long to get this review up for one reason or another, but one of the main reasons I held back was to make sure I wasn't over reacting.

The main reason for this is that Tree of Sores' debut (on Witch Hunter) is one of those rare releases that wears it's influences proudly, but still manages to bring them together in such a way that you can't put your finger on the band, you're drawn back again and again to try and discover what makes this album so compelling.
Amongst the waves of Amebix-style crust bleakness, melodies and grooves that bring to mind Damad/Kylesa at their most hypnotic. When I first heard Monolith by Amebix, I listened to it over and over again for about two months; I did the same with this album, and that's pretty good company to be in. After a dark, blackened crust type intro that the previously mentioned 'bix would be proud of, the album winds it's way through five tracks, each one claustrophobic yet with all the expanse of sound normally associated with po-faced post-rock shoegazers, giving the songs an oddly uplifting feel not unlike jesu, even on From Within, with it's Killing Joke-esque tribal drumming from Ben and "plea/response" vocals from Matt and Talia, but especially on Sandford which brings to mind British post-punk being played in a darkened squat, the ending of the song being total late Godflesh/early jesu bigness..
One of the benefits/disadvantaes of popping this review out so late is that I've had the fortune to read other reviews of the CD; a lot of people seem to be missing is that this album makes one feel insignificant, compressed and crushed by such a rolling black ocean of sound, preferring instead to cop out and compare them to Neurosis, a comparison I don't think is fair, as Neurosis have never sounded so wounded and utterly fucking fed up; a feeling that brings to mind two of their home county's enduring locations, the moor and the coast of the North Sea. I'm looking forward to catching the band live and seeing how they evolve in the future.

In a nutshell: Amebix and Killing Joke have a knife fight with jesu and Kylesa, causing Antisect to reform.


Tree of Sores (paywhatyouwant/myspace/facebook/twitter)
Witch Hunter Records