Biography

Lower Forty-Eight was formed in May 2000 with the intent of playing music that has the heaviness of metal, the divergent structure of progressive rock and the intensity of punk and hardcore. Following their debut EP, ‘Gentle Tyranny‘ and a full-length album, ‘Halfback’, both released on their own King of Sticks recording cooperative, the San Francisco trio unleash their European debut, ‘Skin Failure’ – a dynamic, passionate album characterised by the powerful angular guitar and intense vocals of Andrew Lund and the precise, complex rhythms of Phil Becker (drums) and Grady Mutzel (bass).

San Francisco trio Lower Forty-Eight’s previous album, ‘Skin Failure’ (2003), was hailed in the press as a powerful, dynamic and complex album that combined the best elements of hardcore, mathrock, punk and emo.

With their latest album, ‘Apertures’, the band have further solidified their identity, creating their most accomplished album to date. ‘Apertures’ is a personal and sometimes harrowing account of human conflict and moral struggle, set to music that is heavy and intense, but also beautiful and melodic; a skillful fusion of metal, hardcore and indie-rock that highlights the band’s superb grasp of composition and structure. The culmination of two years of intensive writing and touring, ‘Apertures’ is a knife-edged album that is epic in its scale and cinematic in its passion.

Formed in 2000 and hailing from the bands Spackle, LandShark, Model, and The Rail Gun Ensemble, Lower Forty-Eight have always striven to forge new approaches to the standard rock constructs. Lower Forty-Eight will tour the UK / Europe in April-May 2006. Vocalist/guitarist Andy Lund is also currently filling in on bass for labelmates The Mass, with whom Lower Forty-Eight toured mainland Europe in 2004.

From the hyper-kinetic opener, ‘If I Dare’, to the thundering finale title track, ‘Skin Failure’ maintains a driving energy throughout, transiting through numerous tempo changes, careering from melodic to frenzied, and punctuated with explosive outbursts of guitar. The seamless blending of diverse elements to create songs that are intricate yet accessible reflects the high level of craftsmanship that Lower Forty-Eight apply to their songwriting.

Andrew Lund’s vocals, at times melodically melancholic, at other times furiously screamed, effectively underscore the personal nature of many of the songs’ lyrics. In the final half of the album, Lund delivers his own verdict on the American ‘state of the union’, heaping scorn upon the corporate greed of global capitalism, disregard for the environment and heavy-handed foreign policy espoused by the Bush administration.

“There’s something about our skin; failing us before we begin
There’s something in the road ahead of us
That bleeds and crushed by wheels of industry
I can’t get past the imagery
So many lives consumed by greed
With capital’s mighty rise humanity take the fall and for what?
A shiny new coin in the pockets of the masses of laborers across the earth
With revolution’s red breath we strive to circumvent the cause and effect of so many years of abuse and neglect
I’ll be the first up against the wall”
(from ‘Skin Failure’)

The album was recorded by Phil Becker with Andrew Lund and mastered by John Golden.

Releases by Lower Forty-Eight

Skin Failure
Apertures Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.