The Martyrdom of a Catastrophist

VINYL FORMAT. The tireless and ever-touring bearded men of Junius present their new record, The Martyrdom of a Catastrophist, on Mylene Sheath. Preparation for the long-awaited album began in 2006, with month-long writing/recording sessions in such unconventional locales as a bank vault in California, a warehouse in Texas, a farmhouse in Vermont, and a shack in the swamps of Louisiana. The result is a full-fledged concept album, inspired by the life and theories of controversial scholar Immanuel Velikovsky. From birth to death, The Martyrdom of a Catastrophist chronicles a man whose progressive theories on ancient history and the cosmos were widely challenged by mainstream academia during his lifetime. The album's ten songs are both cinematic and accessible, building to crescendos which echo some of Post Rock's most epic moments, but with vocals, hooks, and lyrics creating focus throughout. Actual quotations from Velikovsky's interviews and lectures are interspersed between songs, providing a sense of narrative to the proceedings. Junius produced The Martyrdom at the legendary A&M Records studios in Hollywood (now known as Henson Recording) over the course of a year, somewhat guerilla-style, during off-hours when the studio wasn't booked (the band has joked that they were bumped out by everyone from Akon to Bruce Springsteen - literally). While Junius' sound is sometimes tough to categorize, they have cited such artists as Bedhead (Junius singer/guitarist Joseph E. Martinez's uncle Trini was their drummer), Philip Glass, Hum, and M83 among a long list of inspirations.