Dust off that space suit, friend: Dayton, Ohio's intergalactic metal transcendentalists Mouth of the Architect are reissuing a stunning limited remastered edition of the band's lush beauty-and-the-beast crusher of a debut Time & Withering on Translation Loss Records, which Decibel is pleased to exclusively stream below along with some reminiscences from drummer David Mann.
"The original idea of that recording was to just be a demo. We were doing something different compared to the bands we had been in prior to this one, so we thought let's get a good sounding demo and shop it around. I knew [Translation Loss co-owner] Drew [Juergens] because he worked at Relapse and I gave him the demo. He offered to put it out as an LP, and that was that.
"The one standout thing I remember about the recording process is how we recorded the guitars -- Chris chained together a bass amp and a guitar amp and cranked them both up obnoxiously high. There was no distortion on the guitars on that recording, just natural overdrive from a super loud amp all recorded to analog two-inch tape.
"At first the plan was to release it on the ten year anniversary, but hopes and reality rarely meet up. It was a great reminder for all of us about how far we've come, how much we have changed, all the joy and suffering we experienced along the way. This record is special to me for a lot of reasons, but mostly because it was the first. We had no expectations and no formula -- just jamming and loving it.
"Chris is from our home town and used to record a lot of the local bands records and demos. At the time we made the call to record the songs we had, Chris lived in Nashville so that's where we went. We didn't have a budget, just some songs so we spent three days cutting them to tape and Chris was the perfect man for the job. Since then, every time we can make it work, we have worked with Chris, twice traveling across the country to record with him in Seattle. He has been a huge part of this band -- even producing and playing bass on "Sleepwalk Powder" when he recorded it in our living room!
"The relationship with Translation Loss has been simple and wonderful. We never had a multi-record contract with them but every time we were ready to make another record they were always there and did whatever they could to be the ones to put it out. It was the kind of relationship with a label that a lot of bands wish they had.
"There was a certain magic with the original lineup. After things went bad the first time we never tried to copy what we did there, but rather tried to keep moving and adapting to what life had to throw at us. I deeply miss what this band was, love what it is, and await what it will become. That record reminds me of all that..."
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