Territories (album)

The album was announced on January 6, 2010.[8][9] The press release for the album describes the album as incorporating "elements from noise, power electronics, drone, and black metal to come up with a truly unique sound reflecting the sprawling urban decay surrounding them in Chicago." [8] The album was initially released through a collaboration between multiple record labels: the U.S. based Small Doses record label, the U.S. based Bloodlust! record label, the U.K. based At War With False Noise label, and the French Basses Frequences label.[8]

Territories was recorded in January 2009 at Phantom Manor Studios in Chicago, IL. The album features numerous collaborators including Blake Judd (Nachtmystium), Bruce Lamont (Yakuza), Mark Solotroff (Bloodyminded), and Andrew Scherer (Velnias).

The band described the lyrics of the album as being influenced by the New Brutalism movement of architecture.

In a 2010 interview, Hannum described the lyrics on the album:

They're all kind of based off of [sic] architectural descriptions and this kind of bleak world...The whole first song came from this screed from the 19th century, in England, about industrialization. I thought it was really poetic when you kind of edited it down-- things hadn't changed that much. I really doubt most progress. I think that's really behind a lot of the lyrical content of the record, this doubt of this direction. Both André and I were kind of raised around hardcore music that felt that they had all the answers and kind of whacked you over the head all the time with...[10]

Critics generally praised the release. Pitchfork described the album as "a kaleidoscope of grays and black, where suffocating sustains and piercing feedback swirl deliberately with crippled blastbeats and mangled shouts."[10] Rock-a-Rolla magazine described Territories as "an absolutely flooring album in an age where such things mean less and less."[11]

Critics praised the contributions of the multiple guest musicians on the album. All Music noted that "its obvious that their pooled talents and distinct visions contributed significantly to Territories' oftentimes unique, if at times perplexingly diverse material. There's never a dull moment here, that's for sure."[12]

Credits adapted from All Music.[13]

• André Foisy – guitars, bass guitar
• Terence Hannum – design, guitar, organ, synthesizer, tapes, vocals
• Blake Judd – guitars, vocals
• Mark Solotroff – synthesizer, vocals
• Andrew Scherer – drums
• Bruce Lamont – saxophone, vocals

• Territories (album) at Discogs (list of releases)