A lot of bands just kind of do their thing—no label, no PR push, no pay-to-play on websites of dubious ethical character for a single goddamn song premiere. It’s often unclear if these bands want more for themselves or their only option is DIY or and die. We try our best to document the underground via columns in the magazine like Through a Speaker Rumbly, Throw Me a Frickin’ Bone and Vicious Circles, but no one’s sieve is big enough to save all the hidden gems from tumbling into the abyss.
[DESTROY//EXIST] The Pains of Existence // A Compilation by Destroy//Exist
[MEAT MEAD METAL] DOOM HAUNTERS IRESS ENRAPTURE WITH DARK TRANSMISSIONS ABOUT CHANGE ON ARRESTING EP ‘SOLACE’
Nothing lasts forever, though many of us lie to ourselves and bargain with whatever forces we can to try to maintain status quo as long as we can. But that’s not reality. The world changes, people move on to other things, and even worse, those who we love and hold dear sometimes leave for whatever plane of existence is next. Or sometimes people’s hearts change, leading to life upheaval.
[METAL TEMPLE] Iress – Solace
IRESS is a Heavy Alt quartet out of Los Angeles. I’m hesitant to call them Metal, though their latest release moves them to an adjacent space of maybe Doomglaze or Post-Metal. They formed in the way back of 2010 and have two LPs to their credit. On May 12, 2023 they’ll add an EP, “Solace,” to their discography. This will be their first recording with their new guitarist, Graham Walker, who joined the group in 2022. It also marks a notable shift in their sound away from the lighter Alt vibes and veering into the darker terrain of Doom while leaning more on Michelle Malley haunting, emotive vocals.
[THE OBELISK] Iress, Solace EP
Conveying genuine emotionality and reach in the vocals of Michelle Malley, the four-track Solace EP from L.A.’s Iress turns its humble 16 minutes into an expressive soundscape of what the kids these days seem to call doomgaze, with post-rock float in the guitar of Graham Walker (who makes his first appearance here) atop the solemn and heavy-bottomed grooves of bassist Michael Maldonado and drummer Glenn Chu for a completeness of experience that’s all the more immersive on headphones in a close-your-eyes kind of listen — that low contemplation of bass after 2:20 into “Soft,” for example, is one of a multitude of details worth appreciating — and though leadoff piece “Blush” begins with a quick rise of feedback and rolls forth with a distinct Jesu-style melancholy, Iress are no less effective or resonant in the sans-drums first two minutes of “Vanish” in accentuating atmosphere before the big crash-in finishes and “Ricochet” offers further dynamic display in its loud/quiet trades, graceful and unhurried in their transitions, the surge of the not-cloying hook densely weighted but not out of place either behind “Vanish” or ahead of “Soft,” even as it’s patience over impact being emphasized as Malley intones “I’m not ready” as a thread through the song. Permit me to disagree with that assessment. The whole band sounds ready, be it for a follow-up album to 2020’s Flaw (which was their second LP) or whatever else may come.
[BLOODY DISGUSTING] Iress – Doomgazers Channel King Woman With Crushing New Single “Blush” [Exclusive]
One of my favorite underground bands over the past few years is Iress, the Los Angeles-based doomgaze band gearing up for the release of a brand new EP next month.
[NEW NOISE MAGAZINE] Bandcamp of the Day: It’s Bandcamp Friday!
Iress are a doomgaze act from Los Angeles, California who have been described as the “Adele of Doom.”
They recently put out a new single called “Ricochet” on Dune Altar Records. The single is available on their Bandcamp page.
It starts off with those beautiful femme vocals that build up with no distortion in the music until the heavy guitars come crashing in like waves against the rocks. It’s a song that thrashes hard but still comes back to some really powerful vocals, like a less radio-friendly Evanescence.
[RUE MORGUE] Radio Macabre: Doom Metal Band IRESS Returns With Haunting New Single “Ricochet”
IRESS, a Los Angeles band equally influenced by doom metal and shoegaze, has released their first single since the 2020 album Flaw, entitled “Ricochet.” The following EP, Solace, promises more of the dark beauty of Flaw and its predecessor Prey (2015). Featuring Michelle Malley, Michael Maldonado, Glenn Chu, and Graham Walker, IRESS alchemizes Malley’s rich vocals with the heavy instrumentation of her bandmates.
[Fémforgács] Iress – Fájdalmasan gyönyörű
A Los Angeles-i székhelyű heavy slowcore / doomgazey banda az Iress május 12-én kiadja új EP-jét Solace címmel. A csapat 2010-ben alakult az “Adele of Doom“-nak becézett Michelle Malley énekesnő és Michael Maldonado basszusgitáros által. Zenéjükben a shoegaze, a slowcore és a domm metal sötét, parancsoló elemeit keverik a filmszerű crescendo pillanataival, ami által műfajilag is valami újszerűen brutálist, egyben fájdalmasan gyönyörűt alkottak. Hamarosan megjelenő kislemezükről elsőként Ricochet című daluk hallgatható meg.
[METAL PERVER] Iress – Ricochet
Müziği dalgalar halinde yayılan post-metal topluluğu Iress, 2010’da Amerika’da kurulmuş bir isim. Kadın vokalist Michelle Malley‘nin sesinden güç alan ekip, Mayıs ayında yeni bir EP yayımlayacak. Şimdiden hayli kasvetli ve doom atmosferinde olacağını tahmin ettiğim EP öncesi Ricochet parçasına kulak kabartıp Iress müziğiyle tanışabilirsiniz.