ExKathedra (NEW STUDIO TRAC...

REVIEW OF "THIS IS WHERE" BY ANTHONY LACAPRARA(COLARADO CHaAPTER)

-=ExKathedra is absolutely fucking brilliant, some of the most cerebral music I've heard especially with the delicate interplay you've created between moods and punctuation. Theres some awkward spontaneity with latent origin, almost as if it is made as it comes, yet falls into the bare and rythmic consciousness of birth. The snake eats or vommits its own

tail. It were as if my arousal were so beyond apprehension the semen just coursed out my flaccid cock.---



BIOGRAPHY



Ex Kathedra Began long ago, born out of one riff and a surplus of the will to metal. Under the cool autumn winds and fiery colours of October of 2005, 3 friends began to pluck away at the intstruments they held. These three friends were Eric, the guitarist/vocalist, Rei, the bassist/vocalist, and Gray, the oh-so coveted drummer. Up until this point the Trio had only spent their precious musical hours together playing Opeth and Lamb of God covers, and recording other such covers in Eric’s basement studio. The 3 had also written one song of their own, “The Desolation”. The basis of this song had been conceived years ago by their dear friend Matt Stevens, but had undergone many changes. Dan Hawie had also contributed a lead to this epic number, and soon this piece was nearing a state of completion. The band was eager to let this music be heard by the masses, but figured it would not be done true justice to unless they recruited another member for their band. It was then that they added the man commonly referred to as “Ashtray” to the band. It was then that these four men adopted the Name “Ex Kathedra”. Gray and Eric had spent a night pushing the juices of their minds to upper capacity, so Eric decided to consult Ashtray about the band name. After asking for suggestions, the first thing that Ashtray uttered was “uhEx Kathedra?” Eric instantly knew that this would fit perfectly. It was derived from a Latin term, and literally meant “from the chair”, or a position of Authority. Ex Kathedra continued to write more songs, including the hits “Final Dawn” and “Be stricken”, and played their first show at their school’s Open Mic concert in February of 2005. Their blistering cover of “Laid to Rest” and the unnerving jaunt of the original tune “Desolation”, a song that had undergone almost 3 years of changes, decimated the other acts. They continued on to play a sweaty supernova gig at the beginning of May and were confident that it was time again to take the band to the next level. They recruited a crazy fellow named Alex Medley to fill the position of front man and screamer. He was “two years older”, and this a fact that the band was constantly reminded of. Eric, Rei, Gray were unsure of this shady character. The only thing they knew about Alex was that he was the kid who tore open his shirt during the middle of class on 6/6/2006 and proceeded to start a moshpit after painting 6 6 6 on his exposed chest. The endless energy and ridiculous antic’s of this character fit perfectly with Ex Kathedra, and the band proceeded to record their first 4-song demo in Eric’s basement studio. There were many hours of intense work put into this project, and the songs were dense and heavy. Unfortunately the finished mix was less than stellar but the group still felt accomplished. Eric attended the 5-week summer program at the Berklee College of Music of Boston the night after this demo’s completion and had quite the inspirational experience. He was writing relentlessly in this highly musical environment, and thus planted the seeds for many Ex Kathedra songs to come. After he returned the band began to work immediately on new material. Their first new song “Downfall” was a large step forward for them and they were all feeling extremely inspired. They played their first show as a 5-piece on September 30th 2006 at the Reverb. They played a blistering set and had some very intense moshing action. The group was taken back in a limo like real rockstars, and they were all elated. The group kept playing shows all throughout the winter and had some very notable performances. They made carnage of out their fans, one dislocated his shoulder, one got his leg broken by another fan, and another had his knee shattered, subsequently ruining his construction career. In November the group decided to book time for the next summer at Mastermind studio to record their first album. They blocked off 25 days of time at the end of the summer, and began the writing process. The group wrote fervently for the rest of the year in between playing shows and had 11 full songs completed by the end of June, some of the Epic numbers even spanning over 10 minutes long. The original three members of the band, Eric Rei and Gray, headed off to Europe in July and anticipated the album greatly. Unforunately Alex “Ashtray” Athaas left the band due to internal turmoil within the group during this month. When Eric Rei and Gray returned in august they were more than ready to record the album, titled “This is Where”. Recording went smoothly, and the mix sounds stellar. The group was fortunate enough to acquire the help of artistic enigma wyatt clough to produce their album art. Two tracks from the first version of the master are available on this website, and the album will be fully mixed and relased within the next few weeks. Alex "Ashtray" Athaas joined up with the band again after being depressed about colour. Keep a watch out for more kick ass shows in December and the new year.



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