Sculptured

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Sculptured is an American experimental and progressive metal band, mixing melodic and atonal segments.

Biography[]

Following the dissolution of his previous band, guitarist Don Anderson began Sculptured as mostly a one-man project in 1996.  With the help of John Schlegel (drums) and Brian Yager (clean vocals), Sculptured recorded their first and only demo Fulfillment in Tragedy (1996).  The demo secured them a deal with Poland’s Mad Lion Records for their debut album The Spear of the Lily is Aureoled (1998).  The debut was eventually licensed to the brand new The End Records for North America and was the 4^th release by the record label.  The debut combined the demo recordings with  four new songs that were recorded at the same studio (Soundtracks) with the same engineer (Ronn Chick).

During this same time the band recorded a cover of Iron Maiden's "Iron Maiden" for an Iron Maiden tribute album that also doubled as an American metal complication titled Maiden America: Iron Maiden Tribute (Twilight Records, 1998). The band's version of the song featured a doomy and slower intro with nylon string guitars, and a Jazz/Swing middle part featuring trumpet.

Now completely signed worldwide to The End Records, Sculptured completed their sophomore recording Apollo Ends (2000).  This album expanded the use of brass instruments started with the debut and placed a greater emphasis on atonality and dissonance.  The core lineup for Apollo Ends was Don Anderson (guitars, vocals), Brian Yager (clean vocals), Jason Walton (bass), and John Haughm (drums).  This was also the core lineup for John Haughm’s main project at the time, Agalloch (minus Yager).  During this period the trio simultaneously rehearsed and recorded both Agalloch’s Pale Folklore (1999) and Sculptured’s Apollo Ends.

In 2001 the band (Anderson, Yager, and Haughm) recorded a cover of Goblin's main theme from the film Suspiria for a Goblin tribute album that was never released. This cover was released on The End Records' sampler Phases: the Dark Side of Music (2002).

Sculptured would not record their third album until 2008.  The lineup changed once again with the addition of Dave Murray (drums), Andy Winter (keyboards), Tom Walling (vocals), and returning bassist Jason Walton.  Embodiment (2008) was composed predominantly with atonal and serialist techniques using what Anderson called 4-tone row matrices. When asked how he wrote some of the music on Embodiment, he describes this technique in an interview posted on Progarchives:

Sometimes, as with the song "The Shape of Rage," it’s a matrix, for example I used the four-tone row C# A G# E to develop a matrix and then wrote the main chorus and bridge parts from this particular matrix. I like this one because it is a kind of homage to John Cage and is built around two minor 6ths (my favorite interval) separated by a major 7th. So it’s soft because of the minor 6ths, but kind of unstable due to the major 7th. For "Bodies without Organs," it was D E A F—which also has a very nice sound to it when played as a chord and a matrix. And sometimes, it’s a shape. "Taking My Body Apart" was built around the triangle shape starting at the 3rd fret on the 6th string and then going to the 4th fret/5th string, 3rd fret/4th string, etc, and then back up the neck in the same pattern from the high E string. So if you drew a line across the fret board (in terms of the fingering position) you’d have an upside down triangle. So, I might mix this upside down triangle with a right side up one and juxtapose them between both guitars.^[2]

From 2008 to 2021 Sculptured was dormant as Anderson focused his time and energy on Agalloch who were quickly growing in popularity and touring regularly. However, Anderson mentions that he "had ideas going since 2010."^[3] Following Agalloch’s breakup in 2016, Anderson quickly completed what would become 2021’s The Liminal Phase.  However, the three members of Agalloch: Anderson, Walton, and Aesop desired to continue as a working band and began working with Aaron Gregory of Giant Squid on a new project called Khôrada.  This project was signed to Prophecy Productions and released one album, 2018’s Salt and played a handful of shows before disbanding.  Now, with only Sculptured as his main project, Anderson completed the recording for The Liminal Phase which is scheduled for release on August 27, 2021, by BMG. The lineup features returning longtime bassist Jason Walton and keyboardist Andy Winter, drummer Martti Hill (Barrowlands), and vocalist Marius Sjoli.

Discography[]

Full-length albums[]

• The Spear of the Lily is Aureoled (1998)
• Apollo Ends (2000)
• Embodiment (2008)
• (2021)

Compilations[]

• Until the End of Time: An End Records Compilation (1998)
• Maiden America: Iron Maiden Tribute (1998)
• White: Nightmares in the End: An End Records Compilation (1999)
• Phases: the Dark Side of Music: An End Records Compilation (2002)

Personnel[]

Current members[]

• Don Anderson - guitar, vocals
• Marius Sjoli - vocals
• Jason Walton - bass guitar
• Martti Hill - drums
• Andy Winter - keyboards

Past members[]

• Burke Harris - trumpet
• John Haughm - drums (Agalloch)
• Clint Idsinga - trombone
• Chris Maycock - drums
• John Schlegel - drums
• Brian Yager - vocals
• Tom Walling - vocals
• Dave Murray - drums

References[]

External links[]

• Facebook site