Brown Jenkins

Formed from the still-warm ashes of the instrumental band Starshine, Brown Jenkins originally began as an attempt to capture, illustrate, or further explore the aesthetic atmospheres opened by H.P. Lovecraft in his stories. The band took its name from the half rat-half human demonic familiar Brown Jenkin in the story “The Dreams In The Witch House”, a constant favorite, and opened their first CD-R demo, 2007’s “Squamous” with songs that were inspired directly by some of Lovecraft’s most enduring scenarios: the machinations of precocious Joseph Curwen (immured in his infernal summoning chamber), the star travellers out of “The Whisperer in Darkness” and the love life of Lavinia Whateley – inbred, passionate, cherished by terrors. Another CD-R demo later that year, “Call Down The Star Cult” - completely instrumental and composed spontaneously over one day - explored the dominant auras of “The Call of Cthulhu”. Not receiving (what they took to be) proper attention after their next release, the MCD “Dagonite”, given to the public as a free downloadable EP, two members of the band left. UA decided to carry on alone and began working on material that would eventually make up the band’s first suffocating long-playing strike, 2008’s “Angel Eyes”. Attention to Lovecraft’s work was already beginning to wane even in the middle of writing the “Dagonite” EP, a 5-song dedication to “The Shadow Over Innsmouth”. The songs on that EP eventually strayed away during the writing process from their initial origins and become much darker and more personal in tone. It was decided to desert Lovecraft’s writings and try something original. Soon enough, Moribund Records signed the band and decided to release “Dagonite” as a proper CD - backtracking a few months - and this EP received substantial critical attention from black metal purists and dilettantes alike as it was deemed to be (blissfully in this age of boredom) outside the prevailing genre boundaries. The stage was set. As Brown Jenkins continued to grow, develop, and change, the newer material found on “Angel Eyes” (itself an ironic/subversive celebration of the Self and satanic Solipsism) proved to be the most progressive and innovative yet in the band’s short career, blending together doom, black, death metal, and everything in between. Jenkins refused to be restricted by the straitjacket of any one songwriting genus or the expectations of an insular group of fans - the material on this second release defied the limitations of trend or fashion, removing itself outside the pathetic craze for commanding “ideologies.” Sounding like no other band on the planet and only referring to internal compulsion or personal consistency, reflecting nothing but the Self and its History, Jenkins then followed with a left turn into completely new territory on the “Welcome the Bitterness” EP, released as the 7th work in God is Myth’s singular series of tributes to Lovecraft. Returning to a source of primary inspiration only further propelled the music towards the commitment of originality. “Death Obsession”, the last Jenkins work, and the most individual, original, and cohesive statement yet, is set to be released in the Spring or Summer of 2009. It is a monumental album, combining all of the tones, influences, means of expression and obsessive themes already explored, but moves the band even farther into its own seductive world, answering to no one, mirroring only internal darkness, focusing solely on the voice behind all of our exploits and pursuits: that of Death Himself, the Pale Conqueror. Selfishness is philanthropy, nihilism is kindness, death is the center of all things.

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